Photo: Zeete · CC BY-SA 4.0Dover has higher unemployment (5.9%) than 73% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 4.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 43.7 in Jersey City. Jobs and income earn Dover B−; getting around on foot earns it A. 6% of workers work from home; New Jersey has 17%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Getting to work from Dover, in brief
No single place dominates Dover’s commute
The biggest draw, New York City, NY, gets only 5% of working residents, and 60% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Dover residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Dover draws workers from far and wide
The 6,770 jobs in Dover are filled from a wide area. Dover’s own residents hold 11% and the ten next-biggest home towns 28%; the other 61% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Commutes from Dover are quick
The average trip to work takes 26 minutes, against 31 across New Jersey. That’s about 38 hours a year less on the road than the typical New Jersey worker, and quicker than any town next door (30 to 32 minutes). 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.
Why Dover gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Dover is better than 50% of U.S. towns, #402 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car holds Dover’s grade up (ahead of 94% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Dover could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
5% of working residents work in New York City
Where Dover clocks in
5% of workers
4% 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.
Each way, about 26 minutes from Dover
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Dover workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 9,906 commuters (the 6% who work from home are left out). Across New Jersey: 75% drive alone, 10% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The workday shuffle in and out of Dover
On a workday 7,494 residents head out to work, 748 work right here, and 6,022 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.82 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
What work there is in Dover: 6,770 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Dover, 2013 → 2023: 5,568 → 6,770. 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.
Where in the region Dover works
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.
Dover is easy on foot, hard by bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Dover is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns, #257 of 468 in New Jersey. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 4.2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 13.2% across New Jersey.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 10,590 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 79% 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 4.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 80% 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). 11.9% of Dover households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Dover’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Dover is 1,306th of 2,023 U.S. towns of 13,000 to 26,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Trophy Club TX | 13,695 | $201K | 2.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 19 | Hanover Township NJ | 15,105 | $157K | 3.2% | 2.6% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 33 | Berkeley Heights Township NJ | 15,140 | $205K | 1.9% | 3.3% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 37 | Scotch Plains Township NJ | 25,437 | $184K | 2.5% | 3.2% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,304 | White Oak MD | 17,329 | $83K | 15.1% | 7.1% | 1% | B− |
| 1,305 | Washington Township IN | 14,073 | $64K | 12.0% | 2.3% | 40% | B− |
| 1,306 | Dover NJ | 18,919 | $74K | 14.2% | 5.9% | 9% | B− |
| 1,307 | Norwood OH | 19,658 | $72K | 17.5% | 4.6% | 7% | B− |
| 1,308 | Center Township IN | 16,383 | $68K | 11.1% | 3.0% | 35% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,023 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 New Jersey.
10% of Dover works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Rockaway Township (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Dover workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dover | – | B− | A | 26 min | $73,737 |
| Wharton | 2% | B− | A | 32 min | $85,767 |
| Rockaway Township | 4% | A | B+ | 30 min | $141,868 |
| Randolph Township | 4% | A | B+ | 30 min | $175,000 |
| Mine Hill Township | under 2% | A | B | 30 min | $119,583 |
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.
- 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?
$73,737 (±$4,923) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Dover?
14.2%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Dover?
26 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Dover work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are New York City (5%, 36 mi), Rockaway Township (4%, 6 mi), Randolph Township (4%, 3 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Dover walkable?
Dover is more walkable than 88% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.7 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Dover without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 12% 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.