Living in Dover, DE
Small city in Delaware
Dover is a small city in Delaware, home to about 39,000 people, with 257,000 living within 31 mi. Day to day, much of daily life is walkable. Life moves at a relaxed pace, and homes are mostly apartments.
Is Dover a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Low natural disaster risk: 6 federally declared disasters since 2000
- Affordable housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $314k and rents for $2,040 a month
- Low taxes: about $2,739 state income tax per resident, 0.6% property tax
- Easy flying: PHL is 52 mi away
👎 Cons
- Fewer graduates: 27% of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher
- Fewer family amenities than most places
- Quieter on culture: few museums and attractions nearby
- Weaker public schools: test results below the US average
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how Dover ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in Dover: common questions
What is the cost of living in Dover?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $314k, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $2,040 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are close to the US average (index 98, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in Dover?
Delaware collects about $2,739 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 0.6% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is Dover safe?
Violent crime is well above the national rate (2.3× in FBI 2019 data).
How are the schools in Dover?
Public schools in Dover test below the US average in math and reading (2018–19 state tests, put on one national scale with NAEP), with about 14 students per teacher.
What is the weather like in Dover?
Dover has cool winters: winter days average around 47°F and summer days around 85°F, with roughly 13″ of snow a year.
Does Dover get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is low, mainly from flooding, hurricanes and cold waves: 6 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 0.69 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to Dover?
The nearest major airport is PHL, about 52 mi away.
How Dover scores
Each bar compares Dover with the other 1,990 places in Best Life Fit Me. A dot shows where it sits between two ends, such as major metro and small town; neither end is better. Coloured bars run from poor (red) to excellent (green).
Places like Dover
These places have the most similar overall profile across all 24 aspects.
The circle is each place's all-round score out of 100: the average of its 15 quality scores, from red (poor) to green (excellent).
Nearby
See all the best places to live in Delaware.
Is Dover right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.