Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Dover grades B+ overall, ranked 60th of 125 in New Hampshire. It is healthier than 91% of U.S. towns. It reports less crime per resident than 76% of U.S. towns. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $541K, 4.7 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 94% of U.S. towns, with 19 places on the National Register. On walkability, just 6 of New Hampshire’s 187 towns do better. 20% of the land in Dover is conserved, where New Hampshire’s towns sit at 18% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. Its National Register listings include Religious Society of Friends Meetinghouse and County Farm Bridge.
Where Dover beats most towns.
Its founding year, 1623, comes before those of 99% of the New Hampshire towns we grade with a known year. Its 19 National Register listings are more than in 97% of New Hampshire towns with a listing.
Census counts: 1,998 in 1790, 32,741 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1700 and 5 maps from 1916 on.
Dover takes its name from Dover in Kent, England, 3,300 miles across the Atlantic.
UKUK editionDover, settled in 1623, takes its name from Dover, a large town in Kent, England.
2 more U.S. towns are named after Dover:Dover, DE40,592Dover, NY8,419
Named after: each U.S. town’s Wikipedia article. Grades compare each town with towns in its own country, so they aren’t a head-to-head.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Hampshire), ordered by how far Dover is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Dover. Close and well known come first.
36 mi LakeLake Winnipesaukee
29 mi Ancient siteAmerica's Stonehenge
15 mi LighthouseCape Neddick Light
10 mi MuseumStrawbery Banke
33 mi Theme parkCanobie Lake Park
12 mi LandmarkFort William and MaryLake Winnipesaukee: No machine-readable author provided. JohnJHenderson~commonswiki assumed (based o, Public domain · America's Stonehenge: User:Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cape Neddick Light: Stefan Hillebrand, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Strawbery Banke: Ken Gallager (Ken Gallager from en.wikipedia), Public domain · Canobie Lake Park: Alex1961, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Fort William and Mary: AlexiusHoratius, 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 19, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Dover.
Dover has more 90° days than almost anywhere else in New Hampshire, trades workers with Portsmouth and other neighbors and has seen reported crime fall by a third or more.
30% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Dover, against 33% in New Hampshire’s towns and 36% across U.S. towns. 10% of adults report frequent physical distress in Dover. Dover beats the New Hampshire average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1.
| Dover | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 33% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 12% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 7.9% | 9.5% | 12% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 34% | 35% |
| What stands out | Dover | NH |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 4.8% | 6% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 5.2% | 6.2% |
| Fewer adults treating high blood pressure | 72.2% | 76.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Dover School District. Two of its 9 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dover Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 5–8 | Grades 5–8 | 941 | C+ |
| Dover Senior High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,371 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NH on state tests and graduation
33 miles of trail in 22 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Bellamy River Wildlife Management Area, 420 acres with 3.4 miles of trail. The trail density in Dover is 1.2 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Bellamy River Wildlife Management Area | 3.4 mi | 420 |
| 2. Franklin-McElheny Preserve | 1.1 mi | 52 |
| 3. Bellamy River Wildlife Sanctuary | 1 mi | 38 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Reported crimes fell from 332 to 211 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
New Hampshire has less reported crime than most states, so among its own towns Dover sits closer to the middle.
| Dover | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.6 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.6 per 1,000 residents | 4.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The Durham weather station records that about 15 days a year reach 90°, the #2 highest of 321 New Hampshire places with climate records. January nights average 14.8°: colder than most of the country, but milder than 87% of New Hampshire places with climate records; July afternoons average 81.6°.
Dover has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. About 39 inches of snow falls in a winter. Dover’s January low is 15°F.
| Dover | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 15°F | 13°F | 22°F |
| July high | 82°F | 81°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Dover has about as many jobs (15,986) as working residents, but only 3,051 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Dover for work: only 19% work in town. The top destinations are Portsmouth (21%), Durham (5%) and Rochester (4%). Half commute less than 10 miles.
| Dover | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 19% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Work from home | 19% | 16% | 11% |
| Average trip to work | 23 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $95,000 | $103,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
53% of Dover households own their home. The typical Dover home is worth about $541,000, up 1.5% in a year, 6% above the New Hampshire typical home.
| Dover | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 53% | 82% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,607 a month | $1,382 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 54% of U.S. communities. Since 1983, 32 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Dover.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Dover
About 6 of every 100 Dover residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New Hampshire.
19 places in Dover on the National Register of Historic Places.
29 notable people were born in Dover.
City in New Hampshire, United States
Dover is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 32,741 at the 2020 census, making it the most populous city in the New Hampshire Seacoast region and the fifth most populous city in New Hampshire. It is the county seat of Strafford County, and home to Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, the Woodman Institute Museum, and the Children's Museum of New Hampshire.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Dover.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Rollinsford (B) comes closest. Rochester next door grades lower for schools (D to Dover’s C+) and higher for cost of living (B− to C−).
| Town | NH rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dover | #60 | B+ | C− | A− | C+ | A |
| Rollinsford | #69 | B | C− | A | C+ | A |
| Newington | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Madbury | — | — | B− | — | A | A |
| Somersworth | #109 | C | C | C+ | C− | B+ |
| Rochester | #95 | C+ | B− | — | D | B+ |
Madbury has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Madbury and Rochester report no FBI crime data of their own. Newington isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Dover with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Dover grades B+ overall, better than 67% of U.S. towns and #60 of 125 in New Hampshire. It grades A for health, A− for safety and C+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes, by national standards. New Hampshire has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Dover sits nearer the middle.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
29 notable people were born here, including Conor Casey and Jessica Parratto.
.jpg){kind=link}
