List of municipalities in Delaware

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Map of the United States with Delaware highlighted
Map of the United States with Delaware highlighted

Delaware is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic. According to the 2016 United States Census estimate, Delaware is the 6th least populous state with 952,065 inhabitants but the 2nd smallest by land area spanning 1,948.54 square miles (5,046.7 km2) of land.[1] Delaware is divided into three counties and contains 57 incorporated places consisting of cities, towns, and villages.[1]

The largest municipality by population in Delaware is Wilmington with 70,635 residents, while the largest by area is Dover which spans 23.15 sq mi (60.0 km2). The smallest municipality by both measurements is Hartly with 71 residents in an area of 0.06 sq mi (0.16 km2).[1]

List of municipalities[]

  State capital and county seat State capital

  County seatCounty seat

Rank Name Type Population[2] Area[3] County Hundred Settled Inc. Origin of Name
1 Wilmington † City 70,898 17.19 sq mi New Castle Wilmington Hundred 1638 1739 Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington or corruption of Willington after Thomas Willing[4]
2 Dover ‡ City 39,403 23.97 sq mi Kent East Dover Hundred 1683 1829 Dover in Kent, England[4]
3 Newark City 30,601 9.43 sq mi New Castle White Clay Hundred 1694 1758 Newark-on-Trent[4]
4 Middletown Town 23,192 12.65 sq mi New Castle St. George's Hundred 1675 February 12, 1861 Halfway between and Odessa, Delaware[4]
5 Smyrna Town 12,883 6.31 sq mi Kent/New Castle Duck Creek Hundred Ancient Greek city of Smyrna[4]
6 Milford City 11,190 9.94 sq mi Kent/Sussex Milford Hundred/Cedar Creek Hundred February 5, 1807 Named for numerous mills around town[4]
7 Seaford City 7,957 5.16 sq mi Sussex Seaford Hundred April 6, 1865 Seaford, East Sussex
8 Georgetown † Town 7,134 5.02 sq mi Sussex Georgetown Hundred 1791 March 2, 1869 Commissioner George Mitchell[4]
9 Millsboro Town 6,863 5.43 sq mi Sussex Dagsboro Hundred 1792 March 9, 1893
10 Elsmere Town 6,229 0.99 sq mi New Castle Christiana Hundred c1890 March 9, 1909
11 New Castle City 5,551 3.52 sq mi New Castle New Castle Hundred 1651 February 25, 1875
12 Clayton Town 3,961 1.95 sq mi Kent/New Castle Duck Creek Hundred Thomas Clayton or Col. Joshua Clayton[4]
13 Laurel Town 3,865 2.86 sq mi Sussex Little Creek Hundred April 13, 1883 laurel trees
14 Harrington City 3,774 2.73 sq mi Kent Mispillion Hundred March 23, 1869 Hon. Samuel M. Harrington[4]
15 Camden Town 3,715 3.75 sq mi Kent North Murderkill Hundred 1852[5]
16 Lewes City 3,303 5.11 sq mi Sussex Lewes & Rehoboth Hundred 1631 February 2, 1818 Lewes, East Sussex
17 Milton Town 3,291 1.89 sq mi Sussex Broadkill Hundred March 17, 1865 Poet John Milton[6]
18 Selbyville Town 2,878 3.60 sq mi Sussex Baltimore Hundred March 16, 1901 Sampson Selby
19 Townsend Town 2,717 1.04 sq mi New Castle Appoquinimink Hundred April 3, 1885 Samuel Townsend[4]
20 Ocean View Town 2,636 2.79 sq mi Sussex Baltimore Hundred April 13, 1889 Views the Ocean
21 Bridgeville Town 2,568 4.82 sq mi Sussex Northwest Fork Hundred March 29, 1871
22 Delmar Town 2,027 1.90 sq mi Sussex Little Creek Hundred March 9, 1899 Delaware Maryland contraction[4]
23 Cheswold Town 1,923 1.84 sq mi Kent Kenton Hundred/Little Creek Hundred 1856
24 Delaware City City 1,885 1.95 sq mi New Castle Red Lion Hundred 1826 Delaware River
25 Millville Town 1,825 2.55 sq mi Sussex Baltimore Hundred April 11, 1907
26 Wyoming Town 1,680 1.06 sq mi Kent North Murderkill Hundred March 20, 1869 Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania
27 Felton Town 1,316 0.78 sq mi Kent South Murderkill Hundred 1856 February 21, 1861 President of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Samuel M. Felton Sr.[7]
28 Bellefonte Town 1,225 0.18 sq mi New Castle Brandywine Hundred March 9, 1915
29 Blades Town 1,179 0.56 sq mi Sussex Broad Creek Hundred 1850s March 10, 1915 Named for James Blades who owned a tract of land along the Nanticoke River which became Bladesville, and later, Blades[8]
30 Rehoboth Beach City 1,108 1.64 sq mi Sussex Lewes & Rehoboth Hundred March 19, 1891 Rehoboth (Bible)
31 Frederica Town 1,073 1.74 sq mi Kent South Murderkill Hundred 1826
32 Greenwood Town 990 0.79 sq mi Sussex Northwest Fork Hundred 1858 March 9, 1901 [9]
33 Bethany Beach Town 954 1.16 sq mi Sussex Baltimore Hundred March 29, 1909 Bethany (Biblical village)
34 Newport Town 910 0.48 sq mi New Castle Christiana Hundred 1735 April 17, 1873[10]
35 Dagsboro Town 870 1.44 sq mi Sussex Dagsboro Hundred February 9, 1899 John Dagworthy[4]
36 Frankford Town 790 0.73 sq mi Sussex Dagsboro Hundred 1808
37 Ellendale Town 487 0.42 sq mi Sussex Cedar Creek Hundred 1867 March 30, 1905 The town is rumored to be named after either the daughter of Whig Republican Alfred Short,[11] a state legislator, the wife of Dr. John S. Prettyman who laid out the town,[4] or the daughter of Mr. Thomas William Dale, the chief engineer of the railroad survey team.[12]
38 South Bethany Town 451 0.54 sq mi Sussex Baltimore Hundred 1952 June 18, 1969 Bethany (Biblical village)
39 Arden Village 430 0.26 sq mi New Castle Brandywine Hundred 1900 December 22, 1965
40 Houston Town 381 0.38 sq mi Kent Milford Hundred March 26, 1913 John W. Houston[4]
41 Odessa Town 366 0.52 sq mi New Castle St. George's Hundred April 4, 1873 Odessa in Ukraine[4]
42 Dewey Beach Town 353 0.33 sq mi Sussex Lewes & Rehoboth Hundred June 29, 1981
43 Fenwick Island Town 343 0.48 sq mi Sussex Baltimore Hundred July 8, 1953 Thomas Fenwick
44 Bowers Town 278 0.32 sq mi Kent South Murderkill Hundred March 9, 1907
45 Magnolia Town 277 0.20 sq mi Kent South Murderkill Hundred April 3, 1885 Pierre Magnol[4]
46 Ardentown Village 255 0.23 sq mi New Castle Brandywine Hundred 1922 June 30, 1975
47 Bethel Town 239 0.44 sq mi Sussex Broad Creek Hundred April 4, 1907 Bethel[4]
48 Ardencroft Village 226 0.09 sq mi New Castle Brandywine Hundred 1950 July 7, 1976
49 Slaughter Beach Town 218 1.44 sq mi Sussex Cedar Creek Hundred Unknown, numerous theories [13]
50 Kenton Town 215 0.18 sq mi Kent Kenton Hundred
51 Little Creek Town 195 0.10 sq mi Kent Little Creek Hundred
52 Woodside Town 190 0.17 sq mi Kent North Murderkill Hundred April 4, 1911
53 Leipsic Town 178 0.32 sq mi Kent Little Creek Hundred February 26, 1852 Leipzig in Saxony, Germany[4]
54 Viola Town 140 0.18 sq mi Kent North Murderkill Hundred
55 Henlopen Acres Town 139 0.26 sq mi Sussex Lewes & Rehoboth Hundred June 4, 1970 Thijmen Jacobsz Hinlopen
56 Farmington Town 92 0.07 sq mi Kent Mispillion Hundred March 15, 1909
57 Hartly Town 75 0.06 sq mi Kent West Dover Hundred March 23, 1869

List of former municipalities[]

Name Type County Hundred Settled Incorporated Status
North Laurel Town Sussex Little Creek Hundred March 13, 1915 Merged with Laurel by act of state legislature on April 13, 1929
Saint Georges Town New Castle St. George's Hundred 1825 Voluntarily had town charter revoked in 1940

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Population Estimates, July 1, 2016, (V2016)". . United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  2. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2018". Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  3. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off.
  5. ^ "Town History | Town of Camden | Kent County Delaware". Archived from the original on 2011-05-05. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
  6. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-11-10. Retrieved 2013-09-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ "Welcome to the Town of Felton". delaware.gov. Government Information Center. September 4, 2014. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  8. ^ "History: A Town Called Blades, Delaware - Town of Blades - Sussex County Delaware". delaware.gov.
  9. ^ Delaware (1901). At a General Assembly Begun at Dover, in the Delaware State, ... the Following Acts Were Passed ... J. Adams. p. 393. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
  10. ^ "History | Town of Newport | New Castle County Delaware". Archived from the original on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
  11. ^ "Ellendale Delaware -- Sussex County Online, Delaware". sussexcountyonline.com. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
  12. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-11-11. Retrieved 2013-09-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ^ "Home". Archived from the original on 2011-02-07. Retrieved 2016-05-13.


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