ABSTRACT We use TESS 10-min full-frame images (Sectors 27–55) to study a sample of 1708 stars within 500 pc of the Sun that lie in a narrow colour range in the centre of the δ Scuti instability strip (0.29 < GBP − GRP < 0.31). Based on the Fourier amplitude spectra, we identify 848 δ Scuti stars, as well as 47 eclipsing or contact binaries. The strongest pulsation modes of some δ Scuti stars fall on the period–luminosity relation of the fundamental radial mode but many correspond to overtones that are approximately a factor of two higher in frequency. Many of the low-luminosity δ Scuti stars show a series of high-frequency modes with very regular spacings. The fraction of stars in our sample that show δ Scuti pulsations is about 70 per cent for the brightest stars (G < 8), consistent with results from Kepler. However, the fraction drops to about 45 per cent for fainter stars and we find that a single sector of TESS data only detects the lowest amplitude δ Scuti pulsations (around 50 ppm) in stars down to about G = 9. Finally, we have found four new high-frequency δ Scuti stars with very regular mode patterns, and have detected pulsations in λ Mus that make it the fourth-brightest δ Scuti in the sky (G = 3.63). Overall, these results confirm the power of TESS and Gaia for studying pulsating stars.