Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Yes, by almost any measure. Dover earns an A+, 41st among Massachusetts's 282 graded towns. It is among the healthiest towns in the country on CDC estimates, its schools rank ahead of 97% of Massachusetts towns, and the median household earns $250K. The exception is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $1.7 million for a typical one and 15 times the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. 85% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Dover, above both the Massachusetts town median (47%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Only 4 of Massachusetts’ 325 towns score higher on the outdoors. Dover has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Elm Bank and Benjamin Caryl House.
Where Dover beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Dover | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 3.6% | 11.9% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Chickering | PK–5 | 492 |
| Charles River | PK–8 | 186 |
| Charles River School | PK–8 | 186 |
38.7% of the town is conserved land, across 55 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Dover is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 485 in 1790, 5,923 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1894 and 6 maps from 1889 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Dover. Close and well known come first.
Big draw10 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw13 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw12 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Big draw31 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
14 mi LakeWalden Pond
12 mi MuseumMuseum of Fine Arts Boston477K visitors a yearGillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Walden Pond: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Museum of Fine Arts Boston: Martin~jawiki at Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Dover, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Dover.
Dover is among the three healthiest towns in Massachusetts, has schools in the top 5% of Massachusetts and keeps more of its land conserved than most of Massachusetts.
At 15 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income, the typical home (about $1.74M) costs more against local pay than in 99% of Massachusetts towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living.
98% of Dover households own their home. The typical Dover home is worth about $1,737,000, up 2.6% in a year, more than twice the Massachusetts typical home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A+ ranks #4 of the 283 Massachusetts towns we grade for schools. Its A+ for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.74M.
Its public schools are run by the Dover-Sherborn school district. Three of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Dover-Sherborn Regional High, with 610 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChickeringLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 492 | A+ |
| Dover-Sherborn Regional HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 610 | A+ |
| Dover-Sherborn Regional Middle SchoolTop results in townGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 471 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Its 3,796 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 93% of Massachusetts towns. Its A+ for the outdoors ranks #3 of 283 in Massachusetts.
Dover’s trail density is 5.0 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Hale Reservation, 621 acres with 13.6 miles of trail. 77 miles of trail in 55 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Noanet Woodlands | 15.9 mi | 602 |
| 2. Hale Reservation | 13.6 mi | 621 |
| 3. Wylde Woods | 4.7 mi | 198 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
It ranks #2 of the 279 Massachusetts towns we grade on the CDC estimates behind the Health Grade. Its widest gap with Massachusetts is tooth loss: 3.6% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 11.9% statewide.
Dover beats the Massachusetts average on 24 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 21% of adults have obesity in Dover. No town among the 279 in Massachusetts we compare has a lower share of adults who get no exercise outside work than Dover.
| Dover | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 28% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 6.1% | 11% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 19% | 25% |
| What stands out | Dover | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 3.6% | 11.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 4.7% | 12.4% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.4% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Violent crime is rare: 6 reported in 2025, 1 per 1,000 residents.
The property crime rate in Dover is 3.6 per 1,000 residents.
| Dover | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.6 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 81% of U.S. communities. Since 1979, 11 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Dover.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
34.2% of workers work from home, against 18.6% across Massachusetts.
Most working residents leave Dover for work: only 4% work in town. Since 2013, Dover has added 149 jobs, to 888 in 2023. Only 4 of the 283 Massachusetts towns we compare have a higher median household income than Dover.
| Dover | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $250,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 35 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 2.7% | 6% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.2% | 9.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Dover has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 18° and about 56 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
49 within 15 miles of the center of Dover
About 7 of every 100 Dover residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Massachusetts.
Where Dover’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
2 places in Dover on the National Register of Historic Places.
7 towns share a border with Dover.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Dover grades A+ overall, better than 96% of U.S. towns and #41 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A+ for health, A− for safety and A+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
