Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Dover’s best subject grade is an A for cost of living; its weakest is a D for health. On cost of living, just 22 of Tennessee’s 292 towns do better. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 76% of U.S. towns. No town among the 132 in Tennessee we compare has a lower property crime rate than Dover. 37% of the land in Dover is conserved, above both Tennessee’s towns (1.8%) and U.S. towns (4.3%). Fort Donelson National Battlefield and Samuel Stacker House is on the National Register of Historic Places. Dover has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Dover beats most towns.
Fort Donelson National Battlefield1,417 counted in 2010 and 1,826 in 2020; an estimated 1,918 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Tennessee), ordered by how far Dover is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 298 in 1860, 1,826 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 3 maps from 1936 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
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.
About one in 5 of Dover’s working residents works in town. Jobs based in Dover grew to 1,152 in 2023, 258 more than in 2013. 7% of residents live below the poverty line in Dover, where Tennessee’s towns sit at 14% and U.S. towns at 9.6%.
| Dover | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 22% | 12% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 7% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $75,000 | $61,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by the Stewart County school district. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dover ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 486 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within TN on state tests and graduation
0.1 miles of trail in 2 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Lick Creek Recreation Area, at 50 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lick Creek Recreation Area | — | 50 |
| 2. Day Use Area | — | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Dover beats the Tennessee average on 0 of 31 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 43% of adults have high blood pressure in Dover.
| Dover | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 41% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 19% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 16% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 24% | 19% |
| What stands out | Dover | TN |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 10.7% | 8.6% |
| More adults with heart disease | 8.5% | 7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 9.9% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Dover home is worth about $254,000, up 1% in a year, 23% below the Tennessee typical home. Dover’s median rent is $743 a month.
| Dover | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $743 a month | $947 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 66% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Dover has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Dover is 89°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 65% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Dover's reported crime rate is well below Tennessee's. Violent crime is rare: 1 reported in 2023.
FBI crime data, 2023 · crimes reported to police
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Tennessee average. 19% of Dover residents are under 18. Dover has grown 4.8% since 2020, to 1,918 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Dover | Tennessee towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 19% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 41.4 years | 40 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 25% | 23% | 29% |
52% women, 48% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±4.7 points. Across Tennessee, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Dover | TN | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 6.6% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12% | 10.3% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 9.2% | 8.9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 13.7% | 13.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.9% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 16.2% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 10.1% | 12.8% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 8.5% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.9% | 6.7% | 7% |
| No diploma | 14.4% | 10% | 10.4% |
| High school | 41.6% | 31.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 14.7% | 19.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 4.3% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.1% | 19.4% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.9% | 11.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 1,900, single groups can be off by several points
None within 15 miles of Dover; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Dover residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Tennessee.
Where Dover’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
3 notable people were born in Dover.
City in Tennessee, United States
Dover is a city in and the county seat of Stewart County, Tennessee, 67 miles (108 km) west-northwest of Nashville on the Cumberland River. Fort Donelson National Cemetery is in Dover. As of the 2020 census, Dover had a population of 1,826. Dover is part of the Clarksville metropolitan area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.
3 notable people were born here, including William B. Ross and James Cullen Martin.
