The map above shows Delaware and North Carolina side by side at exactly the same scale, using equal-area projections, so their true relative sizes are preserved.
Delaware vs North Carolina Geography
Land area
- Delaware has a land area of 1,949 square miles (5,047 km²), while North Carolina has 48,624 square miles (125,936 km²).
- North Carolina's land area is 25.0 times larger than Delaware's.
Total area
- Delaware: 2,489 square miles (6,446 km²) vs North Carolina: 53,819 square miles (139,390 km²), including inland and coastal water.
- North Carolina's total area is 21.6 times larger than Delaware's.
Length
- Delaware is 98 miles (158 km) long from north to south; North Carolina is 258 miles (415 km).
- North Carolina's north-south length is 2.6 times (163%) longer than Delaware's.
Width
- Delaware spans 96 miles (155 km) east to west; North Carolina spans 487 miles (784 km).
- North Carolina's east-west width is 5.1 times (407%) wider than Delaware's.
Highest point
- Delaware's highest point is Ebright Azimuth at 450 feet (137 m); North Carolina's is Mount Mitchell at 6,674 feet (2,034 m).
- Mount Mitchell is 6,224 feet higher than Ebright Azimuth.
Lowest point
- Delaware's lowest point is Atlantic Ocean at 0 feet; North Carolina's is Atlantic Ocean at 0 feet.
- Both lowest points are at or near sea level.
Delaware vs North Carolina Population and History
Population
- Delaware has a population of 1,051,917 (2024), while North Carolina has 11,046,024 (2024).
- North Carolina's population is 10.5 times larger than Delaware's.
Population density
- Delaware: 539.9 people per square mile vs North Carolina: 227.2.
- Delaware's population density is 2.4 times (138%) higher than North Carolina's.
Biggest city
- Delaware's biggest city is Wilmington with 73,176 people; North Carolina's is Charlotte with 943,476.
- Charlotte's population is 12.9 times larger than Wilmington's.
Largest metro area
- Delaware's largest metropolitan area is Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area (6,330,422 people) vs North Carolina's Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area (2,883,370).
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area's population is 2.2 times (120%) larger than Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area's.
History
- Delaware: Admitted to the Union on December 7, 1787, as the 1st state.
- North Carolina: Admitted to the Union on November 21, 1789, as the 12th state.
- In its current form, Delaware is the older of the two by 2 years.
Delaware vs North Carolina Economy
GDP
- Delaware's GDP is $111.0 billion (2024) vs North Carolina's $844.2 billion.
- North Carolina's economic output is 7.6 times (661%) larger than Delaware's.
GDP per capita
- Delaware: $105,495 per person vs North Carolina: $76,427.
- Delaware's GDP per capita is 1.4 times (38%) higher than North Carolina's.
Average income
- Delaware: $68,061 vs North Carolina: $65,634 average income per person (per capita personal income).
- Delaware and North Carolina have about the same average income.
Delaware vs North Carolina Counties
Number of counties
- Delaware has 3 counties, while North Carolina has 100.
- North Carolina's county count is 33.3 times higher than Delaware's.
Biggest county by area
- Delaware's largest county is Sussex County at 936 square miles; North Carolina's is Robeson County at 947 square miles.
- Sussex County and Robeson County have about the same land area.
Smallest county by area
- Delaware: New Castle County (426 sq mi) vs North Carolina: Chowan County (173 sq mi).
- New Castle County's land area is 2.5 times (147%) larger than Chowan County's.
Most populous county
- Delaware: New Castle County (588,093 people) vs North Carolina: Wake County (1,232,444 people).
- Wake County's population is 2.1 times (110%) larger than New Castle County's.
Least populous county
- Delaware: Kent County (192,690 people) vs North Carolina: Tyrrell County (3,517 people).
- Kent County's population is 54.8 times larger than Tyrrell County's.
Richest county
- Delaware: Sussex County ($73,647 per capita income) vs North Carolina: Chatham County ($91,638).
- Chatham County's income is 1.2 times (24%) richer than Sussex County's.
Poorest county
- Delaware: Kent County ($55,474 per capita income) vs North Carolina: Warren County ($40,932).
- Kent County's income is 1.4 times (36%) richer than Warren County's.
Delaware vs North Carolina Taxes
State income tax
- Delaware has a top income tax rate of 6.6%, while North Carolina has a top income tax rate of 3.99%.
- Delaware's top rate is 2.61 percentage points higher.
Property tax
- Delaware: 0.47% effective rate vs North Carolina: 0.61% of home value per year.
- North Carolina's rate is 0.14 percentage points higher.
Sales tax
- Delaware: 0% combined state and average local rate vs North Carolina: 7.1%.
- North Carolina's combined rate is 7.1 percentage points higher.
Official Websites
Delaware official website · North Carolina official website
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More Size Comparisons
All Delaware size comparisons · All North Carolina size comparisons
Area, elevation and boundary figures come from official national statistics and US Census Bureau and Natural Earth boundary data; US state population, economic, county and tax figures come from the US Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Tax Foundation. Figures are rounded and for general reference.