Does Delaware have a state income tax?

Yes — a graduated rate from 2.2% to 6.6%, with the top 6.6% rate applying to taxable income of $60,000 or more. It's not a flat rate, and there's no bracket-free exemption above that threshold.

Does Delaware really have no sales tax?

Yes. Delaware is one of only five U.S. states with no state sales tax at all, on anything — a genuine, year-round cost difference from neighboring Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland, all of which charge sales tax, and part of why Delaware draws both retail shoppers and relocating residents from those states.

Do movers need a special license for in-state moves in Delaware?

No. Unlike some neighboring states, Delaware does not require its own state-issued license for movers doing household goods moves entirely within the state — the Public Service Commission's regulated industries don't include movers, and oversight instead runs through DelDOT vehicle rules and standard business licensing. Interstate movers still need federal FMCSA/USDOT authority regardless of which state they're based in.

When is moving season busiest in Delaware?

Like most of the country, late spring through summer is the general peak. No additional Delaware-specific seasonal spike was found beyond that — the state's beach communities see heavy summer vacation-rental turnover, but that's short-term rental traffic rather than a documented driver of household moving volume.

How much does it cost to move within Delaware, e.g. from Wilmington to Dover?

There's no separate in-state corridor pricing yet — use the local-move rows in the cost table above as a starting range, or the [moving cost calculator](/moving-calculator) for a number based on your actual home size and distance. At about 48 miles, Wilmington-Dover sits right at the edge of what's typically priced as a local move versus a short-haul long-distance one.

Why are people moving to Delaware right now?

The most-cited pull factors are financial and geographic rather than climate-driven: no sales tax, no state tax on Social Security income, comparatively low property taxes, and a location that puts Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC all within a roughly 1-2 hour drive — attractive to retirees and to commuters who want mid-Atlantic job access without mid-Atlantic city costs.

What's rent like in the Wilmington area right now?

HUD's Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in Wilmington is $1,760/month for FY2026, a useful benchmark for typical mid-market rent in the metro where Delaware's largest concentration of jobs and housing sits.

How close is Delaware to Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington DC?

Wilmington sits about 30 miles from Philadelphia, roughly 65 miles from Baltimore, and about 105 miles from Washington DC — close enough that all three are realistic commute or day-trip distances from northern Delaware, a big part of why the state pulls residents from all three metro areas rather than losing them.

What's the deadline to register to vote after moving to Delaware?

Registration closes on the fourth Saturday before a primary or general election; Delaware does not offer same-day registration, so new residents planning to vote in an upcoming election should register well before moving day, not after.

Moving to Delaware: Costs, Routes & What to Know

Last reviewed 2026-08-25 · Next review due 2026-09-25

A typical 3-bedroom move in or out of Delaware runs $1,400-$2,450 locally or $4,200-$6,720 long-distance (national planning ranges). Delaware is one of only five states with no sales tax at all, and it has posted real net in-migration in recent years — about 4,900-6,900 more people moving in from other states than leaving, depending on the Census data series — driven heavily by retirees and commuters from the Philadelphia-Baltimore-DC triangle.

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Delaware at a glance

Delaware is the second-least-populous U.S. state at roughly 1.06 million residents, concentrated overwhelmingly in northern New Castle County around Wilmington — the state's largest city and the anchor of the Delaware side of the Philadelphia metro area — with Dover (the state capital, in Kent County) and Newark (home to the University of Delaware) as the other two major population centers. Delaware has no state sales tax at all, one of only five states in that position, but it does levy a graduated individual income tax topping out at 6.6%. That combination, plus no tax on Social Security income, low property taxes, and easy driving proximity to Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC, has made Delaware a genuine draw for retirees and hybrid commuters rather than a pass-through state — it has posted real net domestic in-migration in the most recent Census data, a contrast with several of its higher-tax mid-Atlantic neighbors.

Population: 1,059,952; July 1, 2025
State income tax: Yes
Major metros: Wilmington (71,727 city population; anchors the Delaware portion of the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area), Dover (39,837 city; Dover, DE metro area ~192,690), Newark (30,330 city) — 2024 American Community Survey figures via [Delaware Demographics](https://www.delaware-demographics.com/cities_by_population), Dover metro figure via [Census Reporter](http://censusreporter.org/profiles/31000US20100-dover-de-metro-area/)

graduated individual income tax from 2.2% to 6.6%, with the 6.6% top rate applying to taxable income at and above $60,000. Delaware Division of Revenue — Personal Income Tax FAQs. Separately, and notably: Delaware has no state sales tax at all. Tax Foundation — Delaware

Who is moving in and out

Delaware has posted genuine net domestic in-migration in the most recent Census data, a real and comparatively unusual position among East Coast states. ACS 2024 state-to-state flow data shows about 34,600 people moved into Delaware from other states against about 29,700 who left — a net gain of roughly 4,900. The most recent Census Population Estimates vintage (July 2024-June 2025) shows a domestic net gain of about 6,900 for that specific year, plus another 3,500 from international migration, only partly offset by deaths exceeding births by 554 — for total population growth of about 9,800 over the year. Maryland and Pennsylvania are consistently both the top source of new Delaware residents and the top destination for people leaving, reflecting how much of Delaware's migration is short-distance movement within the same Philadelphia-Baltimore-DC commuter region rather than long-haul relocation.

Inbound: 34,600
Outbound: 29,700
Net domestic: +4,900

Top origin states

Maryland (7,000)
Pennsylvania (6,700)
New Jersey (3,400)
New York (2,700)
Virginia (1,900)

Top destination states

Pennsylvania (6,700)
Maryland (5,800)
New Jersey (3,300)

Data year: 2024 ACS state-to-state migration flows (via USAFacts); Census Population Estimates Program Vintage 2025 (July 2024-June 2025) for the most recent net-domestic-migration figure

two legitimate Census products report different net-domestic-migration totals for overlapping-but-distinct periods (+4,900 ACS state-to-state flows vs. +6,900 Population Estimates Vintage 2025) — both are shown with their specific source and period rather than picking one and hiding the gap. The outbound-by-destination breakdown for New York and Virginia specifically was not separately itemized in the source used and is not invented here.

Typical moving costs

These figures are national moving-industry planning ranges scaled by home size, not Delaware-specific pricing — cost data at that level of granularity isn't reliably published for any single state. They use the same underlying benchmarks as MoverQuoteEngine's own moving cost calculator: an hourly local-move rate and a per-pound long-distance rate, scaled by the typical crew time and shipment weight for each home size. A genuinely Delaware-specific range would need to be derived from this state's own priced move corridors, once enough live route pages exist to support that — not attempted in this pass (see `upgrade_note` below).

National planning ranges by home size for local and long-distance moves
Home size	Local	Long-distance
Studio	$600-$1,050	$1,250-$2,000
1 Bedroom	$800-$1,400	$2,000-$3,200
2 Bedroom	$1,100-$1,925	$3,000-$4,800
3 Bedroom	$1,400-$2,450	$4,200-$6,720
4 Bedroom	$1,800-$3,150	$5,500-$8,800
5+ Bedroom	$2,200-$3,850	$7,000-$11,200

For a number tailored to your actual move, use the moving cost calculator.

Once this state has enough live `/moving-from-{city}-us-to-{city}-us` route pages, replace this national-benchmark table with a state-specific range derived from those priced corridors — the same approach movingcostadvisor.com uses. Not done here because the route inventory wasn't available to this research pass.

New-resident deadlines

Topic	Requirement	Source
Driver's license	New Delaware residents must obtain a Delaware driver's license within 60 days of establishing residency, applying in person at a DMV office (Delaware City, Dover, Georgetown, or Wilmington) with an out-of-state license, proof of legal presence, and two proofs of Delaware residency.	Delaware DMV — Guidelines for New Residents
Vehicle registration	New residents must title and register their vehicle in Delaware within 60 days of establishing residency, with valid Delaware liability insurance in place.	Delaware.gov — Moving to Delaware guide
Voter registration	Standard registration (online, by mail, or in person) closes on the fourth Saturday before a primary or general election; special elections require registration at least 10 days in advance. Delaware does not offer same-day registration.	Delaware Department of Elections — Voter Registration

Housing, season and licensing

Housing snapshot

HUD's Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom unit in Wilmington is $1,760/month for FY2026 — a useful proxy for typical mid-market rent in the metro anchoring Delaware's most populous county. HUD Fair Market Rents dataset; figure via fmr.fyi — Wilmington, DE FY2026 Fair Market Rent, a third-party aggregator of HUD's published FMR data (not independently re-derived from HUD's raw file in this pass).

No distinct Delaware-specific peak-season driver turned up beyond the national late-spring through summer pattern.

Mover licensing

No — Delaware does not require its own state-issued license or authority for movers doing intrastate (in-state-only) household goods moves. The Delaware Public Service Commission, which regulates electric, gas, water, wastewater, telecom and certain transportation services, does not list household goods movers among its regulated industries; oversight instead falls to DelDOT for vehicle weight/size rules and motor-carrier registration (IFTA/IRP), and to the Division of Revenue for standard business licensing — not a mover-specific credential. Two independent sources cross-checked. Federal FMCSA/USDOT authority remains mandatory for any interstate move, as everywhere. Delaware Public Service Commission — About; ThreeMovers — Delaware Moving Permits; TrustedMovePro — Delaware Intrastate Compliance

Common in-state corridors

Wilmington → Dover — ~48 miles via US-13/DE-1, the state's main north-south commercial spine
Wilmington → Newark — ~12 miles, both within New Castle County
Dover → Rehoboth Beach/Lewes — ~40-45 miles, the Kent-to-Sussex corridor into Delaware's beach communities

Popular routes

Live city-pair route pages touching Delaware will appear here as they publish.

Main inbound partners

Main outbound partners

Partner-state lists come from Census migration flows. Linked corridors above are live published route pages, not guessed slugs.

Delaware city guides

No live Delaware city guide is published yet — more cities coming soon.

Coming soon: Wilmington, Dover, Newark.

Frequently asked questions

Does Delaware have a state income tax?: Yes — a graduated rate from 2.2% to 6.6%, with the top 6.6% rate applying to taxable income of $60,000 or more. It's not a flat rate, and there's no bracket-free exemption above that threshold.
Does Delaware really have no sales tax?: Yes. Delaware is one of only five U.S. states with no state sales tax at all, on anything — a genuine, year-round cost difference from neighboring Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland, all of which charge sales tax, and part of why Delaware draws both retail shoppers and relocating residents from those states.
Do movers need a special license for in-state moves in Delaware?: No. Unlike some neighboring states, Delaware does not require its own state-issued license for movers doing household goods moves entirely within the state — the Public Service Commission's regulated industries don't include movers, and oversight instead runs through DelDOT vehicle rules and standard business licensing. Interstate movers still need federal FMCSA/USDOT authority regardless of which state they're based in.
When is moving season busiest in Delaware?: Like most of the country, late spring through summer is the general peak. No additional Delaware-specific seasonal spike was found beyond that — the state's beach communities see heavy summer vacation-rental turnover, but that's short-term rental traffic rather than a documented driver of household moving volume.
How much does it cost to move within Delaware, e.g. from Wilmington to Dover?: There's no separate in-state corridor pricing yet — use the local-move rows in the cost table above as a starting range, or the moving cost calculator for a number based on your actual home size and distance. At about 48 miles, Wilmington-Dover sits right at the edge of what's typically priced as a local move versus a short-haul long-distance one.
Why are people moving to Delaware right now?: The most-cited pull factors are financial and geographic rather than climate-driven: no sales tax, no state tax on Social Security income, comparatively low property taxes, and a location that puts Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC all within a roughly 1-2 hour drive — attractive to retirees and to commuters who want mid-Atlantic job access without mid-Atlantic city costs.
What's rent like in the Wilmington area right now?: HUD's Fair Market Rent for a 2-bedroom in Wilmington is $1,760/month for FY2026, a useful benchmark for typical mid-market rent in the metro where Delaware's largest concentration of jobs and housing sits.
How close is Delaware to Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington DC?: Wilmington sits about 30 miles from Philadelphia, roughly 65 miles from Baltimore, and about 105 miles from Washington DC — close enough that all three are realistic commute or day-trip distances from northern Delaware, a big part of why the state pulls residents from all three metro areas rather than losing them.
What's the deadline to register to vote after moving to Delaware?: Registration closes on the fourth Saturday before a primary or general election; Delaware does not offer same-day registration, so new residents planning to vote in an upcoming election should register well before moving day, not after.