Delaware has about 1.1 million residents. Registered nurses average $99,460 a year, 15th among the fifty states and the District of Columbia. That is high for a small state, and it follows from where Delaware sits, between the Philadelphia and Baltimore markets.
Licensure
The Delaware Board of Nursing licenses registered nurses and licensed practical nurses through the Division of Professional Regulation. Its office is in the Cannon Building on Silver Lake Boulevard in Dover, telephone (302) 744-4500. Rules and applications are at dpr.delaware.gov.
Delaware was one of the first states to implement the Nurse Licensure Compact. A nurse living here holds one multistate license good in every other compact state, Maryland and Pennsylvania included.
Nurse practitioner practice
Delaware is a full practice state. Nurse practitioners evaluate patients, order and interpret tests, and prescribe under the nursing board's authority. A transition period of collaborative practice comes first, before independent authority is granted. See nurse practitioner practice authority.
Nursing education
The University of Delaware School of Nursing in Newark is the state's largest program. Delaware State University in Dover and Wilmington University run the other baccalaureate programs, and Delaware Technical Community College supplies associate degree and practical nurse graduates from campuses in all three counties.
Pay and workforce
Nearly all of the state's hospital nursing work sits in New Castle County, around Wilmington and Newark, where ChristianaCare is the largest employer in Delaware. Kent and Sussex counties depend on smaller hospitals. The Sussex beach towns swell every summer, lifting emergency and urgent care staffing needs with them.
Delaware is small enough that a nurse can reach Philadelphia or Baltimore hospitals in an hour or two, and since Pennsylvania and Maryland are both compact states, a Delaware multistate license covers that commute. Delaware is also one of five states with no critical access hospitals, because nowhere in it is remote enough to qualify.
Related
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, state population estimates for July 1, 2025. Accessed September 8, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, registered nurses (29-1141), May 2025. Accessed September 8, 2026.
- Delaware Board of Nursing, contact details and licensing information. Accessed September 8, 2026.
- Nurse Licensure Compact, member states. Accessed September 8, 2026.
- Critical Access Hospital locations list. Flex Monitoring Team. Accessed September 8, 2026.
- American Association of Nurse Practitioners, State Practice Environment. Accessed September 8, 2026.