Benjamin Caryl House · Photo: Tim Pierce · CC BY-SA 3.0Dover ranks among the highest-earning U.S. towns by household income
Household incomes here are among the highest in the country. 2.7% of residents live below the poverty line, against 10.0% across Massachusetts. The two grades for Dover are A− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Dover
Home offices are common in Dover
34% of Dover workers work from home, against 19% across Massachusetts. Time on the road ↓
Four in five Dover workers earn over $40,000 a year
81% of Dover’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
One in three of Dover works in Boston
867 working residents, 33%, have their main job in Boston, 16 miles away. That’s 8 times as many as work in Dover itself. The commute map ↓
Dover workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 35 minutes each way, against 29 across Massachusetts. Over a year that’s about 268 hours of commuting, 46 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Inside Dover’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Dover is better than 85% of U.S. towns, #117 of 283 in Massachusetts. Household income holds Dover’s grade up ($250,000+, U.S. $80,734); unemployment pulls it down (8.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and job access by car.
The Census reports Dover’s median household income as $250,000+, the top of its scale; the grade ranks it as tied with the 111 other graded places at that ceiling.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Dover could be anywhere from A− to A+.
Getting to work from Dover takes about 35 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 11 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dover workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,853 commuters (the 34% who work from home are left out). Across Massachusetts: 75% drive alone, 8% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Most jobs in Dover are in services
888 jobs are based in Dover.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dover, 2013 → 2023: 739 → 888. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Dover’s own residents hold wherever they work.
33% of working residents work in Boston
Where Dover clocks in
33% of workers
6% of workers
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Dover quiets down on a workday
On a workday 2,508 residents head out to work, 111 work right here, and 777 people come in from elsewhere.
About 4,300 people are in Dover on a workday afternoon, 29% fewer than live here.
0.34 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Near or far: the trip to work from Dover
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Most trips from Dover start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Dover is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns, #152 of 283 in Massachusetts. How people get to work scores higher than the street layout: 13.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, against 14.1% across Massachusetts, on an EPA index of 6.2.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,818 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 1.1% of Dover households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 10% of Dover’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 4,200 to 8,100, Dover ranks 592nd of 3,394 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Lincoln MA | 6,925 | $175K | 2.3% | 2.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 92 | Hopedale MA | 6,066 | $116K | 2.9% | 1.6% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 98 | West Newbury MA | 4,709 | $180K | 1.6% | 2.4% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 590 | Limestone Township IL | 4,961 | $112K | 5.0% | 2.4% | 2% | A− |
| 591 | Wamego Township KS | 5,838 | $103K | 4.1% | 1.3% | 26% | A− |
| 592 | Dover MA | 6,026 | $250K | 2.7% | 8.2% | 4% | A− |
| 593 | Cedarville Township OH | 6,320 | $95K | 11.9% | 9.7% | 26% | A− |
| 594 | Northvale NJ | 4,978 | $128K | 4.7% | 6.3% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 3,394 | Medina TX | 4,226 | $22K | 53.8% | 10.1% | 4% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Dover, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
The towns next door employ 11% of Dover
The biggest share goes to Needham (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Dover workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dover | – | A− | B+ | 35 min | $250,000+ |
| Needham | 4% | A | A+ | 28 min | $214,308 |
| Wellesley | 4% | A | A+ | 27 min | $250,000+ |
| Sherborn | under 2% | A | B+ | 35 min | $250,000+ |
| Walpole | under 2% | A | A | 34 min | $171,500 |
| Natick | 3% | A | A | 31 min | $138,538 |
| Medfield | under 2% | A+ | A− | 32 min | $235,800 |
| Westwood | under 2% | A+ | A− | 30 min | $223,125 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Dover’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- A ceiling on income. The Census stops at $250,000+, so the true median may be higher.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Dover: questions
What is the median household income in Dover?
$250,000+ (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dover?
2.7%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dover?
35 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 34% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dover work?
4% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (33%, 16 mi), Cambridge (6%, 13 mi), Waltham (4%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Dover walkable?
Dover is more walkable than 72% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 6.2 out of 20, and 13% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Dover without a car?
10% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Dover, from the people who make the trip.
More of Dover
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.