Keep the measures separate

24,400 is projected additional housing need by 2030; nearly 20,000 is a separate shortage of affordable rentals for very low-income households.

SECTION 01

What the 24,400 figure means

The statewide assessment estimates a need for approximately 24,400 new residential units by 2030 to meet expected growth. It is a planning estimate, not a count of permits, homes under construction or a statutory production quota. It is also not the same thing as the estimated shortage of affordable rental units for the lowest-income households. Those figures address different parts of the housing system and should not be added together as though they were identical categories.

Source note Delaware State Housing Authority assessment page · Statewide needs overview

SECTION 02

The need varies by county

The 2025 statewide growth-and-development overview, drawing on the housing assessment, allocates the estimated 24,400-unit need approximately as follows: 4,016 units in New Castle County, 6,941 in Kent County and 13,392 in Sussex County. The county figures sum to 24,349; the statewide headline is rounded. Sussex’s larger projected requirement reflects the geographic distribution of forecast demand in the assessment, not a conclusion that every proposed subdivision is suitable or approved.

Source note Delaware State Planning data workgroup overview

SECTION 03

A separate affordable-rental shortage

The assessment identifies nearly 20,000 affordable rental homes missing for households earning below 50% of area median income. The 2026 Housing for Every Delawarean Act repeats this estimate in its findings. The shortage is not a count of all vacant units; it concerns rental homes affordable and available to a defined income group. A unit may physically exist but remain unaffordable or unavailable to a very low-income household.

Source note Chapter 343, SS2 for SB 23 · DSHA housing needs assessments

SECTION 04

How to use the assessment

The DSHA assessment page provides the executive summary, full report and interactive dashboard. Use county and submarket tables to compare tenure, income, household type and housing condition. Note the publication date and forecast horizon: the assessment is a structured baseline, not a live market-price feed. For current rent or home-price questions, use recent Census, HUD and market sources rather than extrapolating the 2030 demand estimate.
SECTION 05

What the numbers do not tell you

A statewide demand estimate does not identify which specific parcel should be developed, what infrastructure is available or what a project's actual affordability mix will be. Those questions require county and municipal plans, zoning, utility capacity, transportation review, environmental constraints and project-level records. The assessment helps frame the scale of need; it does not replace local review.