BlockBefore

Wilmington, Delaware

33 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1904 and the latest in 1997. It stands in the Wilmington census division. It lies in ZIP code area 19801. It stands on Brandywine Creek. The Survey maps it on the Wilmington South quadrangle. 70,898 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 92 feet above sea level.

Wilmington within New Castle County

On record in Wilmington

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 12 of 130 shown

Every listing in New Castle County

Population over time

4 figures

Wilmington fell from 75,000 to 70,898 between 1974 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
197475,000
198070,000-5,000 (-7%)
201070,851
202070,898+47 (+0%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

14 surveys from 33 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

What the histories say of this town

97,702 words

1 chapter about Wilmington from the published histories of the county, public domain and reproduced complete.

ChapterFrom Length
HistoryA History of the Original Settlements on the Delaware : from Its Discovery by Hudson to the Colonization Under William Penn : to Which Is Added an Account of the Ecclesiastical Affairs of the Swedish Settlers, and a History of Wilmington, from Its First Settlement to the Present Time (1846)97,702 words in 7 parts

Fires near this place

4 since 2004

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Wilmington between 2004 and 2017, burning about 1 acre in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2
Equipment and vehicle use1
Other causes1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
19 April 2017Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreNew Jersey Forest Fire Servicenot named
19 April 2014Other causesunder an acreNew Jersey Forest Fire Servicenot named
20 November 2004Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreDelaware State Fire Marshal's Officenot named
10 November 2004Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreDelaware State Fire Marshal's Officenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in New Castle County

Mines and quarries near this place

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Wilmington: 3 plants, 2 past producers. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Chromium, Titanium, Fluorine-Fluorite, Titanium, Pigment. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
American Minerals/ Wilmington, De.ChromiumPast Producer
Edgemoor Plant TiTitanium, PigmentPlant1956
Wilmington Plant DupontTitaniumPlant
Wilmington Plantozark-MahoningFluorine-FluoritePlant
Winzinger PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in New Castle County

Storms near this place

31 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Wilmington in 31 storm reports between 1995 and 2026: 16 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 3 flood, 3 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2013Thunderstorm WindWilmington$25,000A severe thunderstorm knocked down a couple of trees in Wilmington.
June 2025LightningWilmington$1,000Multiple structure fire reports near Wilmington due to lightning strikes. Time estimated.
March 2026Thunderstorm WindWilmington-Downed tree in Wilmington blocking an exit off I-95 Northbound. Downed tree limbs also reported in neighborhoods nearby. Time estimated from radar.
March 2026Thunderstorm WindWilmington-Numerous reports of tree damage and powerlines down across the city of Wilmington. Time estimated.
June 2023Flash FloodWilmington-Governor Printz Boulevard was closed in Edgemoor between Lea Boulevard and Edgemoor Road due to flooding.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindWilmington-A couple reports were received of downed wires near 10th St. Time estimated from radar.
August 2020Flash FloodWilmington-East 12th Street was closed at Interstate 495 in Wilmington due to flooding.
April 2020Thunderstorm WindWilmington-A couple reports of tree limbs and wires down in the area. Time estimated from radar.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindWilmington-Trees down or snapped on North Madison Street between West 9th and West 10th streets in Wilmington. Time estimated from radar.
February 2016FloodWilmington-The Brandywine river flooded the afternoon of 2/25 due to heavy rain from the night before. The Brandywine State park had flooding in the parking lot starting around 11am. The local museum further upstream also was closed for the day. Some high water was also noted at the local zoo.
April 2015Flash FloodWilmington-Thunderstorms with heavy rain caused flash flooding along 12th Street near the Brandywine Creek in Wilmington. Vehicles were stuck in flood waters on that roadway. No serious injuries were reported. Event precipitation totals since the morning of the 20th included 2.83 inches at the New Castle County Airport, 2.81 inches in Newport, 2.52 inches in Newark and 2.40 inches in Hockessin.
July 2013Thunderstorm WindWilmington-A severe thunderstorm knocked down trees and wires in Wilmington.
June 2012HailWilmington-A thunderstorm dropped nickel-size hail in Wilmington.
August 2011HailWilmington-Quarter size hail fell from a severe thunderstorm in Wilmington.
September 2011FloodWilmington-The Brandywine Creek at Wilmington was above its 16.5 foot flood stage from 915 a.m. EDT through 1141 a.m. EDT on the 8th. It crested at 16.7 feet at 1015 a.m. EDT on the 8th.
May 2010HailWilmington-Nickel to quarter size hail fell in Wilmington. In northern Wilmington, the hail briefly covered the ground.
March 2009HailWilmington-Dime to nickel size hail fell in northeastern New Castle County in Wilmington and Brandywine Hundred.
June 2009HailWilmington-The same severe thunderstorm dropped penny size hail in Wilmington.
August 2008Heavy RainWilmington-Thunderstorms with heavy rain caused poor drainage flooding that entered a couple of basement apartments at the Dana Apartments on North Tatnall Street. About a dozen residents were evacuated from two basement apartments. Three apartments and families above the flooded apartments were also displaced because the electricity was turned off. The building sits lower than the street. Adjusted for hail Doppler Radar storm total estimates were between one inch and an inch and a quarter.
October 1995Thunderstorm WindWilmington-A severe thunderstorm caused wind damage to the Pike Creek Shopping Center in the Prices Corner area of New Castle County. Extensive roof damaged occurred in the strip mall with Eckerd Drug, Buster Brown and Carousel Cards hit the hardest. In surrounding areas the severe thunderstorm caused slight wind damage to two buildings in the Goldey-Beacom College. Snapped and downed trees took down wires and caused power outages to about 4,000 persons.
February 2008FloodWilmington-no account filed
July 2006Thunderstorm WindWilmington-no account filed
July 2006Thunderstorm WindWilmington-no account filed
September 2006Thunderstorm WindWilmington-no account filed
August 2004Thunderstorm WindWilmington-no account filed
June 2001HailWilmington-no account filed
March 2000Thunderstorm WindWilmington-no account filed
August 1999LightningWilmington-no account filed
August 1999Thunderstorm WindWilmington-no account filed
July 1998Thunderstorm WindWilmington-no account filed
June 1997Thunderstorm WindWilmington-no account filed

Every storm recorded in New Castle County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Landlith0.9 miles33
South Wilmington1.2 miles33
Augustine Hills1.2 miles35
Concord1.3 miles35
Augustine1.3 miles35
Penn Rose1.6 miles35
Rock Manor1.6 miles35
Wawaset Park1.6 miles35

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on WilmingtonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q174224The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 214862. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.