Living in Dover, NH
College town in New Hampshire
Dover is a college town in New Hampshire, home to about 33,000 people, with 381,000 living within 31 mi. Day to day, there is some transit, though many people drive. Life moves at a relaxed pace, and homes are mostly apartments.
Is Dover a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Mild summers: highs around 78°F
- Safe: violent crime is 0.2× the US rate (FBI 2019)
- Great outdoors: hills or mountains nearby
- Strong healthcare: 4 top-rated (4–5★) hospitals within 31 mi
👎 Cons
- Few dog parks: 1 within 9 mi
- Cloudier than most places
- Quieter on culture: few museums and attractions nearby
- Fewer family amenities than most places
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 $570k, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $2,690 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are above the US average (index 106, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in Dover?
New Hampshire collects about $66 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 2.02% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is Dover safe?
Violent crime is well below the national rate (0.2× in FBI 2019 data).
How are the schools in Dover?
Public schools in Dover test close to the US average in math and reading (2018–19 state tests, put on one national scale with NAEP), with about 15 students per teacher.
What is the weather like in Dover?
Dover has cold winters: winter days average around 35°F and summer days around 78°F, with roughly 39″ of snow a year.
Does Dover get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is low, mainly from flooding: 9 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 0.21 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to Dover?
The nearest major airport is PWM, about 43 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 New Hampshire.
Is Dover right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.