Delawareans report that lack of financial knowledge carries a high cost, according to the NFEC’s most recent survey. Participants across the state responded to the single question: “During the past year, about how much money do you think you lost because you lacked knowledge about personal finances?” The results are shown below. Since 2017, the NFEC has conducted this annual survey, consistently revealing that the average individual cost of financial illiteracy approaches or exceeds $1,000 per person – with estimated national losses reaching into the hundreds of billions of dollars each year, and losses in the hundreds of millions across Delaware.

Americans experience financial vulnerability in two primary areas: food insecurity and housing insecurity. In the state of Delaware, one out of every eight individuals faces hunger – representing 134,320 people or 12% of the state population, according to the nonprofit Feeding America. Among that group, 37,920 are children. Food-insecure people in Delaware would need more than $90 million per year in additional funding to meet their food needs.

Further data from the World Population Review (WPR) indicate a housing insecurity rate of 13% in Delaware, with 1,358 state residents being unhoused as of 2024. Given that more than half a million people across the U.S. are experiencing homelessness today, this may seem like a small number – but given the relatively tiny size of the First State, the proportion is not insignificant. In addition, that figure has increased by 28% since 2007.