Dover

Strafford County33,364 residentsDover School District
59
C
Suburbgrade score

32nd of 60 Boston suburbs. Strong on commute & transport and cost of living, held back by housing & affordability.

Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Dover yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 59 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →

What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.

What Dover is like to live in, by category

Bars show Dover against Boston. Weights are published in full.

Housing & affordability

18% of the score · 30/100
F
Median home value$436,700
Boston $646,300
Median rent$1,607/mo
Boston $2,023/mo
Cost-burdened households37%
Boston 36%

Schools

18% of the score · 54/100
C−
Within-state proficiency36th pct
Boston median 47th pct
Student–teacher ratio12.8
Boston median 11.8
Graduation rate89%
Boston median 91%
EDFacts SY2021–22 · NCES CCD 2024–25 · EDFacts ACGR SY2018–19Full page →

Cost of living

14% of the score · 76/100
B
Housing cost index83
Boston 100
Eff. tax rate1.85%
Boston 1.01%
Local sales tax0.00%
Boston median 6.25%
Composed in-house · ACS 2020–24 · ACS 2020–24 · Tax Foundation state average, January 1, 2026Full page →

Commute & transport

14% of the score · 77/100
B
Mean commute22.7 min
Boston 30.3 min
Under 30 minutes77%
Boston 52%
Transit stops / sq mi6.8
Boston median 8.1 · within 2 miles

Amenities

12% of the score · 69/100
B−
Restaurants & cafés55
Boston median 51 · within 2 miles
Groceries4
Boston median 4 · within 2 miles
Parks24
Boston median 65 · within 2 miles

Employment & income

12% of the score · 59/100
C
Median household income$94,829
Boston $115,863
Unemployment4.1%
Boston 4.9%
Professional occupations53%
Boston 54%

Residents

12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.

Ask the people who live here

Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.

0 responses·Residents category: waiting for first responses·Live

Nobody has answered for Dover yet. If you live here, you can be the first.

Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →

Better than Dover on housing & affordability

Dover's weakest grade is F. Two suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.

Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24

Common questions about living in Dover

Is Dover, NH a good place to live?

Dover scores 59 out of 100, 32nd of 60 Boston suburbs. It is strongest on commute & transport and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.

Is Dover expensive to live in?

Cost of living grades B. The median home is $436,700, 32% below the Boston median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.85%. $1,607/mo is the median gross rent.

How good are the schools in Dover?

Schools grade C−. The districts serving Dover sit at the 36th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 89% graduation rate and a 12.8 student–teacher ratio. Dover is served by Dover School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.

How long is the commute from Dover?

The mean commute is 22.7 min, with 77% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 19% working from home. Transit density is 6.8 stops per square mile.

Can you walk anywhere in Dover?

Within two miles there are 4 groceries, 55 restaurants and cafés and 24 parks, which grades B− on amenities.

Are the homes in Dover old or new?

The median home in Dover was built in 1976 — newer than the Boston median of 1964. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 48% of homes are houses rather than flats.

Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.