Census tract · Sussex County

Census Tract 502, Sussex County, Delaware

Census Tract 502, GEOID 10005050200, in Sussex County, Delaware, partly within Ellendale. 4,239 residents in the ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates (±647); the 2020 Census counted 3,744.

Residents, 2020-2024

4,239

±647 (90% margin)
2020 Census count: 3,744

Median household income

$69,632

±$8,572 (90% margin)
Sussex County: $81,497

Median home value

$240,600

±$25,406 (90% margin)
Sussex County: $382,600

Median gross rent

$1,198

±$149 (90% margin)
Sussex County: $1,238

Where is Census Tract 502?

Census Tract 502 is one of 75 census tracts in Sussex County, Delaware. It covers 40.91 square miles of land, 92 residents per square mile in 2020. Its GEOID, 10005050200, names it uniquely (how tract numbers and GEOIDs work).

Places Census Tract 502 lies in (share of its 2020 census blocks)
PlaceShare of the tract
Ellendale25%
Census Tract 502 (marked with a dot) in Sussex County, Delaware. Boundaries: Census Bureau 2024.
501.01501.05503.02505.01505.03508.01508.05 502 5 mi
Census Tract 502 (shaded) and the tracts that border it, numbered. Boundaries: Census Bureau 2024 cartographic boundary file, 1:500,000.

7 census tracts border Census Tract 502: Tract 501.01 ($86,382), Tract 501.05 ($68,012), Tract 503.02 ($85,875), Tract 505.01 ($82,328), Tract 505.03 ($47,843), Tract 508.01 ($73,906) and Tract 508.05 ($116,051). The figure in brackets is each tract's median household income.

Whether a tract counts as low- or moderate-income for bank lending (the Community Reinvestment Act) is set by the FFIEC against its metro area's family income: look it up in the FFIEC census geocoder.

Source: 2024 Gazetteer and 2020 block assignment files, U.S. Census Bureau · Census reference files

How many people live in Census Tract 502?

The 2020-2024 American Community Survey puts Census Tract 502's population at 4,239 (±647) in 1,492 households; the 2020 Census counted 3,744 residents and 1,453 housing units.

Counts, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure Tract 502Sussex CountyDelaware
Total population 4,239 ±647 255,626 1,021,191
Households 1,492 ±270 106,441 402,038
Average household size 2.83 ±0.30 2.38 2.48
Housing units 1,553 ±271 151,799 464,203

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026); 2020 Census P.L. 94-171 · Check it at data.census.gov

Who lives in Census Tract 502?

The median resident of Census Tract 502 is 35.3 years old; 28.7% are under 18 and 11.8% are 65 or older. The largest group is non-Hispanic white residents at 51.6%, then non-Hispanic Black residents at 24.4%. 9.9% of residents were born outside the United States.

Age, origin, education, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Race groups are non-Hispanic; Hispanic includes any race.
Measure Tract 502Sussex CountyDelaware
Median age 35.3 ±6.6 51.9 41.6
Under 18 years 28.7% ±6.1 pts 18.1% 20.7%
65 years and over 11.8% ±2.4 pts 30.2% 20.6%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 21.3% ±8.3 pts 11.5% 11.0%
White alone, not Hispanic 51.6% ±8.5 pts 72.3% 58.1%
Black or African American alone, not Hispanic 24.4% ±7.0 pts 9.8% 21.4%
Asian alone, not Hispanic 0.0% ±0.9 pts 1.3% 4.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone, not Hispanic 0.4% ±0.6 pts 0.2% 0.1%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, not Hispanic 0.0% ±0.9 pts 0.0% 0.0%
Two or more races, not Hispanic 2.4% ±1.4 pts 4.4% 4.5%
Some other race alone, not Hispanic 0.0% ±0.9 pts 0.5% 0.5%
Born outside the United States 9.9% ±3.8 pts 8.4% 10.7%
Speak a language other than English at home (age 5+) 17.6% ±6.8 pts 13.0% 15.1%
Civilian veterans (age 18+) 7.0% ±3.1 pts 8.5% 7.4%
With a disability 14.0% ±4.8 pts 14.9% 14.1%
No health insurance coverage 11.6% ±4.2 pts 7.0% 6.3%
High school graduate or higher (age 25+) 88.5% ±3.6 pts 90.2% 91.7%
Bachelor's degree or higher (age 25+) 12.8% ±3.9 pts 33.0% 35.8%
Graduate or professional degree (age 25+) 3.7% ±2.0 pts 14.1% 15.3%
Lived in the same house a year earlier 94.9% ±6.4 pts 90.0% 89.3%

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profiles DP02, DP05) · Check it at data.census.gov

What do households in Census Tract 502 earn?

Half of the 1,492 households in Census Tract 502 earn less than $69,632 a year (±$8,572), against $81,497 across Sussex County: 55th highest of the county's 73 tracts with a reliable estimate. 13.1% of residents live below the poverty line.

Income and poverty in 2024 dollars, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure Tract 502Sussex CountyDelaware
Median household income $69,632 ±$8,572 $81,497 $84,954
Mean household income $87,909 ±$13,708 $109,282 $112,616
Per capita income $30,679 ±$5,154 $46,684 $45,375
People below the poverty line 13.1% ±5.7 pts 10.9% 10.4%
Children under 18 below the poverty line 21.9% ±12.8 pts 18.9% 15.0%
Households receiving SNAP 15.8% ±5.7 pts 10.6% 10.7%
Households with a computer 97.1% ±2.6 pts 95.7% 96.2%
Households with a broadband subscription 93.0% ±4.0 pts 91.5% 92.4%

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP03) · Check it at data.census.gov

What does housing cost in Census Tract 502?

Owners occupy 84.3% of Census Tract 502's occupied homes and renters 15.7%. The median owner-occupied home is valued at $240,600 by its owner (±$25,406). The median renter pays $1,198 a month including utilities.

Housing, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure Tract 502Sussex CountyDelaware
Median home value (owner-occupied) $240,600 ±$25,406 $382,600 $352,000
Median gross rent $1,198 ±$149 $1,238 $1,401
Renters paying 35% or more of income on rent 24.2% ±18.6 pts 42.8% 40.3%
Median monthly owner costs, with a mortgage $1,337 ±$69 $1,736 $1,816
Owner-occupied homes 84.3% ±6.1 pts 81.6% 73.0%
Renter-occupied homes 15.7% ±6.1 pts 18.4% 27.0%
Housing units 1,553 ±271 151,799 464,203
Single-family detached homes 81.1% ±6.7 pts 65.4% 59.1%
Mobile homes 17.6% ±6.3 pts 12.8% 7.0%
Built 2020 or later 3.6% ±2.5 pts 6.1% 3.1%
Built 2010 to 2019 13.3% ±4.2 pts 19.2% 12.3%
Built 1939 or earlier 2.8% ±2.1 pts 4.4% 8.0%
Households with no vehicle 0.5% ±0.8 pts 3.3% 6.2%

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP04) · Check it at data.census.gov

How do people in Census Tract 502 get to work?

78.8% of Census Tract 502's workers drive alone. The average trip to work takes 27.7 minutes. The unemployment rate in 2020-2024 averaged 6.7%.

Work and commuting, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Measure Tract 502Sussex CountyDelaware
In the labor force (age 16+) 66.4% ±5.0 pts 54.1% 62.1%
Unemployment rate 6.7% ±3.1 pts 5.3% 5.1%
Drove alone to work 78.8% ±9.7 pts 75.4% 71.7%
Carpooled 6.6% ±4.6 pts 8.0% 7.8%
Public transportation 0.0% ±1.9 pts 0.5% 1.8%
Walked 2.4% ±2.7 pts 1.3% 2.0%
Worked from home 8.9% ±6.4 pts 13.4% 15.0%
Mean travel time to work 27.7 min ±3.8 27.3 min 26.0 min

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) (Data Profile DP03) · Check it at data.census.gov

How does Census Tract 502 compare with the other tracts in Sussex County?

Among Sussex County's tracts with a reliable estimate, Census Tract 502 ranks as shown below (1 = highest).

Census Tract 502's rank among the tracts of Sussex County
MeasureIn Sussex County
Population26th of 73
Residents per square mile72nd of 74
Median household income55th of 73
Per capita income66th of 73
Median home value67th of 73
Median gross rent34th of 58
Poverty rate14th of 49
Bachelor's degree or higher66th of 72
Median age71st of 73
Owner-occupied share40th of 73

The tracts next to it on Sussex County's income ladder

Median household income, ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
TractRankMedian household incomeResidents
Tract 508.0752nd$73,194±$17,170 · within the margin of this tract1,674
Tract 513.0953rd$72,273±$21,175 · within the margin of this tract1,316
Tract 51454th$70,903±$22,088 · within the margin of this tract3,853
Tract 50255th$69,632±$8,5724,239
Tract 506.0156th$68,588±$20,917 · within the margin of this tract6,319
Tract 501.0557th$68,012±$12,742 · within the margin of this tract5,818
Tract 515.0258th$67,207±$15,871 · within the margin of this tract3,132

"Within the margin": the two incomes differ by less than their combined 90% margins, so the survey cannot say which is higher and the ranks between them are not firm.

Source: PlainCities ranks computed from the American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026) · How ranks are computed

How reliable are the figures for Census Tract 502?

2 of the 18 figures for Census Tract 502 on this page carry a coefficient of variation over 40% and are marked with a ring: they come from a small sample, so read them as rough.

A census tract's figures rest on a few hundred sampled households over five years, so its margins are wider than a city's. Two tracts differ only when the gap between them is larger than their combined 90% margin (the square root of the sum of the two squared margins). How to read a margin of error.

Source: American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau (released January 2026): margins of error as published · Check it at data.census.gov

How these figures are made: methodology and release checks · reading a margin of error · every state · corrections