Income

California vs Delaware: Unemployment Rate

Delaware has a lower unemployment rate than California.

California

CA · West

5.5%

Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate (BLS, December 2025).

Delaware

DE · South

Winner

5.2%

Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate (BLS, December 2025).

Visual comparison

California5.5%

Delaware5.2%

Difference: 0.30 percentage points — Delaware leads.

National Rankings

Where They Rank Nationally

See where both states fall among all 50 states for unemployment rate.

California #50 · 5.5%

Delaware #46 · 5.2%

Best Worst

10 Best States — Unemployment Rate

Lower is better

Hawaii

2.2%

South Dakota

2.2%

North Dakota

2.6%

Vermont

2.6%

Alabama

2.7%

Nebraska

3.0%

New Hampshire

3.1%

Wisconsin

3.1%

Maine

3.2%

#10

Mississippi

3.4%

Selected states

#50

California

5.5%

#46

Delaware

5.2%

California ranks 50th and Delaware ranks 46th nationally for unemployment rate.

Related context

Jobs Picture

Unemployment is one signal — the employment ratio and job growth round out the full picture.

MetricCaliforniaDelaware

Employment / Pop. Ratio 60.2% 59.6% Job Growth -0.1% 1.1% Median Household Income $84,097 $79,325 Poverty Rate 12.0% 10.5%

What this means