Delaware’s budget basics

According to the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO), Delaware’s total expenditures in fiscal year (FY) 2022 were $14.4 billion, including general funds, other state funds, bonds, and federal funds. NASBO reported that total expenditures across all states in FY 2022 were $2.9 trillion, ranging from $5.6 billion in Wyoming to $510.0 billion in California.

Each state allocates spending and taxes differently among different levels of governments, and local governments often administer programs with state funds, so combined state and local government data show a more complete picture of individual benefits and contributions when comparing states.

Per the US Census Bureau, Delaware’s combined state and local direct general expenditures were $11.6 billion in FY 2020 (the most recent year census data were available), or $11,732 per capita. (Census data exclude “business-like” activities such as utilities and transfers between state and local governments.) National per capita direct general expenditures were $10,540.

Delaware’s largest spending areas per capita were public welfare ($2,839) and elementary and secondary education ($2,307). The Census Bureau includes most Medicaid spending in public welfare but also allocates some of it to public hospitals. Per capita spending is useful for state comparisons but is an incomplete metric because it doesn’t provide any information about a state’s demographics, policy decisions, administrative procedures, or residents’ choices.

Delaware’s combined state and local general revenues were $13.1 billion in FY 2020, or $13,158 per capita. National per capita general revenues were $10,933. Delaware does not levy a general sales tax but it does have a gross receipts tax (Census counts this revenue as either general sales tax revenue or selective sales tax revenue). After federal transfers, Delaware’s largest sources of per capita revenue were individual income taxes ($1,759) and charges ($1,586), such as state university tuition and highway tolls.

Delaware also has an idiosyncratic source of tax revenue: Delaware is home to nearly 80 percent of all publicly traded companies and over two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies. The state credits its “flexibility in formation” and “customer service” for attracting so many companies, but many firms locate there in large part because of its relatively lax business laws and its exemption of intangible income from tax. However, Delaware collects a corporate income tax and license fees from its corporations. As a result, this small state has the eighth-highest per capita corporate income tax revenue ($254 compared with the national average of $183) and far and away the highest per capita revenue from corporate license fees (Delaware collected $1,657 in 2020 while the next-highest state was $118 and national average was $20.) Corporate license fees accounted for 12.6 percent of Delaware’s state and local general revenue in 2020; the national average was 0.2 percent.

Delaware’s politics

Governor John Carney Jr., a Democrat, was elected in 2020 with 60 percent of the vote. The next gubernatorial election is in 2024.

Democrats control both the House of Representatives (26 Democrats to 15 Republicans) and Senate (15 Democrats to 6 Republicans), with veto-proof majorities in both houses. Control of the governor’s mansion and each house of the legislature gives Democrats a trifecta in Delaware. All Delaware House seats are on the ballot in 2022 because representatives serve two-year terms. Senators serve a combination of two- and four-year terms during each decade’s legislative district apportionment cycle. This 2-4-4 term system ensures all Senate seats are up for election after new legislative district boundaries are drawn. All senators are therefore up for election in 2022.