Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington | |
|---|---|
Downtown Wilmington and the Christina River | |
| Etymology: Named after Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington | |
| Nickname(s): Corporate Capital of the World, Chemical Capital of the World | |
| Motto: In the middle of it all | |
Location within New Castle County | |
| Coordinates: 39°44′45″N 75°32′48″W / 39.74583°N 75.54667°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Delaware |
| County | New Castle |
| Settled | March 1638 |
| Incorporated | 1731 |
| Borough Charter | 1739 |
| City Charter | March 7, 1832 |
| Named after | Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council-mayor |
| • Mayor | John Carney (D) |
| Area | |
| 17.19 sq mi (44.52 km2) | |
| • Land | 10.89 sq mi (28.22 km2) |
| • Water | 6.29 sq mi (16.30 km2) |
| • Urban | 213.35 sq mi (552.58 km2) |
| • Metro | 1,103.86 sq mi (2,859 km2) |
| Elevation | 92 ft (28 m) |
| Highest elevation (Mount Salem Hill) | 330 ft (100 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
| 70,898 | |
| • Density | 6,510.38/sq mi (2,512.48/km2) |
| • Urban | 484,926 (US: 87th) |
| • Urban density | 2,272.91/sq mi (877.57/km2) |
| • Metro | 723,993 (US: 82nd)(Wilmington Metropolitan Division) |
| • Metro density | 655.87/sq mi (253.23/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| ZIP Codes | 19801–19810, 19850, 19880, 19884–19886, 19890–19899 |
| Area code | 302 |
| FIPS code | 10-77580 |
| GNIS feature ID | 214862 |
| Airport | Wilmington Airport |
| Major highways | |
| Commuter rail | |
| Website | wilmingtonde |
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Wilmington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley metropolitan area. Wilmington was named by Proprietor Thomas Penn after his friend Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington, who was prime minister during the reign of George II of Great Britain.
As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 70,898. Wilmington is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan statistical area (which also includes Philadelphia, Reading, Camden, and other urban areas), which had a population of 6.245 million residents in 2020 and is the seventh-largest metropolitan region in the nation, and a combined statistical area population of 7.366 million.