Dover

Population & Demographics

Dover, DE

Dover is home to 39,837 people. Explore its demographics, housing, and economy — plus how its 16,022 resident workers commute each day.

DelawareCensus ACS 5-Year · LODES 2023
39,837
people
Population

39,837 residents

Median age 34.7 · U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year (2024).

Dover population & demographics

Who lives in Dover — population, age, housing, and income, from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Population
39,837
Median age
34.7yrs
Median household income
$60,199
Median home value
$258,900
Median gross rent
$1,344/mo
Bachelor’s degree or higher
26.7%
Poverty rate
15.0%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2024 5-Year Estimates. Values shown as “—” are suppressed or unavailable for this place.

Race & ethnicity in Dover

How Dover breaks down by race and ethnicity — each bar is that group’s share of the population, from the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year (2024).

Black44.8%
White34.1%
Hispanic or Latino10.7%
Two or more races6.5%
Asian2.9%
Some other race0.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native0.1%

Race across Dover

Each dot is a group of people, placed in their 2020 Census block and colored by race or ethnicity — the pattern shows where groups live across Dover.

Dover at a glance
Employed Residents
16,022
Fewer than the city’s total population
Median home–work distance
29.4mi
Straight-line, not road distance
Work Locally
31.3%
Share working within the area
Work from home
9.0%
Residents who work from home (ACS)
Top destination outside city
Smyrna
Excludes local — most work in-city

These figures are for Dover proper — the Census place within its city limits — not the surrounding metro area. Metro-wide totals you’ll see elsewhere are larger because they bundle in neighboring cities and suburbs.

How Dover commutes

Every dot is a worker moving between home and job. Trace where the area pulls people in from — and where its residents head each day.

64
Commute Score

64 / 100

How short the typical commute is here, on an absolute 0–100 scale (higher is shorter). How it’s calculated.

Dover

16,022 commutes, one dot at a time

Dover

Where 16,022 workers commute

Each dot ≈ 75 workers

Where residents work

Top destinations for people who live in Dover, by worker count.

1Dover0.0 mi5,009
2Smyrna9.9 mi669
3Wilmington40.7 mi640
4Milford18.1 mi471
5New Castle35.1 mi440
6Camden4.0 mi440
7Middletown22.4 mi381
8Georgetown33.2 mi250

Who commutes in

Top origin places for workers who travel into Dover.

1Dover0.0 mi5,009
2Smyrna9.9 mi929
3Wilmington40.7 mi488
4Rising Sun-Lebanon4.3 mi453
5Camden4.0 mi442
6Highland Acres2.9 mi442
7Middletown22.4 mi417
8Bear32.7 mi328

Top industries

The sectors that employ Dover’s workforce. Each bar is scaled to that sector’s share of all local jobs — the top sectors shown don’t add up to 100%.

Bar length = each sector’s share of all local jobs (0–100%)
PAPublic Administration18.8%
HCHealth Care and Social Assistance15.6%
RTRetail Trade10.5%
AFAccommodation and Food Services10.2%
EDEducational Services7.5%
ADAdministrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services7.5%
MFManufacturing5.5%
PTProfessional, Scientific, and Technical Services5.3%
COConstruction4.3%
Connectivity

Internet options for Dover

The biggest home-internet providers in the area — tap any to compare local plans.

4 providers · 2 with fiber
Speed availabilityshare of homes a plan reaches
1 Gbps~all homes
2 Gbps98%
5 Gbps
8 Gbps
See all internet providers in Dover

FindBetterInternet is a CensusFlow partner site — we link out so you can compare local plans, and CensusFlow’s Census data stays independent. Provider data is from the FCC National Broadband Map (satellite + fixed wireless excluded).