DE · Housing Choice Voucher
Delaware Section 8 rent calculator
3,623 Delaware households rented with a tenant-based voucher at the end of 2025; Wilmington Housing Authority ran 1,467. The average household paid $527 a month toward rent and utilities.
Work out a Delaware voucher rent split
Monthly rent split
Enter your figures to see who pays what.
- You pay the owner
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- plus Voucher pays the owner
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- equals Owner receives
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- Your total share with utilities
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- Total tenant payment
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- Total assistance
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- Utility reimbursement
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- Gross rent
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- Above the payment standard
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Match the three Delaware counties to the correct HUD area
New Castle County is part of the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington interstate HUD area, while Kent County uses Dover and Sussex County has its own nonmetropolitan row. A New Castle address therefore does not use the Dover rent reference simply because both addresses are in Delaware. Locate the actual county before choosing a bedroom column or asking the housing authority about its effective payment standard.
For FY2027, the two-bedroom county references are $1,860 in New Castle, $1,629 in Kent and $1,498 in Sussex. The $362 difference between the first and last references is a difference in HUD area benchmarks, not an automatic $362 change in a household subsidy. The authority still supplies the payment standard and allowance needed by the rent calculation.
HUD lists Delaware State Housing Authority under two program codes, DE004 and DE901. The directory preserves those separate entries rather than treating the codes as proof of two unrelated organizations. Ask the administering agency which program and jurisdiction apply to your voucher; the report does not establish an open waiting list, portability acceptance or a currently available unit.
Who runs vouchers in Delaware
Wilmington Housing Authority is the largest voucher agency in Delaware, ahead of New Castle County Housing Authority (1,394 households) and 2 smaller agencies.
Delaware State Housing Authority is a Moving to Work agency and can set its own rent rules; check its rent policy against this estimate.
Waits before admission averaged 6 months at Delaware State Housing Authority and 55 at New Castle County Housing Authority.
Average family payments ran from $478 at Delaware State Housing Authority to $592 at New Castle County Housing Authority.
- Households
- 3,623
- Avg. family payment
- $527
- Avg. yearly income
- $19,751
- Avg. wait
- 53 months
- 2-bed / 3+ bed units
- 39% / 42%
| Agency | Households | Avg. family payment | Avg. wait |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmington Housing Authority DE001 | 1,467 | $492 | 53 mo |
| New Castle County Housing Authority DE005 | 1,394 | $592 | 55 mo |
| Delaware State Housing Authority MTWDE901 | 592 | $478 | 6 mo |
| Dover Housing Authority DE002 | 100 | $530 | 9 mo |
Source: HUD Picture of Subsidized Households 2025; field notes.
FY2027 rent references for Delaware
HUD’s county workbook contains 3 location rows across 3 FMR areas in Delaware. The two-bedroom references range from $1,498 in Sussex County (Sussex County, DE) to $1,860 in New Castle County (Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA). These are area references including utilities, not a statewide voucher amount.
Delaware metropolitan HUD areas
| HUD area | Rows | Studio | 1 bed | 2 beds | 3 beds | 4 beds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA | 1 | $1,438 | $1,558 | $1,860 | $2,216 | $2,445 |
| Dover, DE MSA | 1 | $1,286 | $1,294 | $1,629 | $2,244 | $2,590 |
The other 1 Delaware row uses 1 nonmetropolitan reference, with two-bedroom amounts from $1,498 to $1,498.
3 location rows
| Location / HUD area | Studio | 1 bed | 2 beds | 3 beds | 4 beds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kent County Dover, DE MSA | $1,286 | $1,294 | $1,629 | $2,244 | $2,590 |
| New Castle County Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA | $1,438 | $1,558 | $1,860 | $2,216 | $2,445 |
| Sussex County Sussex County, DE | $1,140 | $1,147 | $1,498 | $1,843 | $2,222 |
Source: HUD FY2027 county and town workbook, effective October 1, 2026 (notice); scope and dates. Section 8 fair market rents by ZIP code.
Delaware housing agency directory
The HUD Delaware contact report lists 6 agencies; these 6 run Section 8 or combined programs.
- Dover Housing AuthorityDE002 · Combined
- Delaware State Housing AuthorityDE004 · Combined
- Delaware State Housing AuthorityDE901 · Section 8
- New Castle County Housing AuthorityDE005 · Section 8
- Newark Housing AuthorityDE003 · Combined
- Wilmington Housing AuthorityDE001 · Combined
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