Bay State Atlas ← All 194 towns
Town comparison · Massachusetts

Sherborn vs Dover

MetroWest · Greater Boston
Dover leads 3–1 on headline livability metrics

Across the six headline livability metrics (schools, safety, walkability, biking, affordability, and commute), Dover edges Sherborn 3 to 1 with 2 ties. Median homes in Sherborn run roughly $590k cheaper than in Dover, about 33% less.

The two towns at a glance

Sherborn

MetroWest · pop. 4,430
Sherborn is the ultra-wealthy rural option west of Boston, Dover-Sherborn schools, massive lots, and a near-total absence of commercial development.
59
Default fit score
equal weights, 0–100
Full Sherborn profile →

Dover

Greater Boston · pop. 6,121
Old-money suburb where the roads have no sidewalks by design and the Dover-Sherborn Regional School District has a national reputation. Horse farms and conservation land sit alongside homes that rarely appear on the open market.
58
Default fit score
equal weights, 0–100
Full Dover profile →

Head-to-head: every metric

Sherborn Dover
Headline
Livability index 53 57
Economics
Median home $1.18M $1.77M
Household income $243k $265k
Price ÷ income 4.8× 6.7×
Tax burden 60 52
Schools & Safety
Schools 95 95
Safety 96 95
Getting around
Commute to Boston 38 min 38 min
Walkability 10 15
Transit 5 8
Biking 22 28
Lifestyle
Dining 15 28
Nightlife 8 15
Arts & culture 18 35
Green space 65 62
Community
Diversity 12 22
Climate 73 72
5-yr trend 62 65

Clay = wins this metric. Direction matters: lower median home and shorter commute are better; everything else, higher is better.

Compare on your terms

These winners are based on a neutral, equal weighting of every metric. Your priorities are not neutral. Open Sherborn vs Dover in the interactive atlas to tune schools, walkability, affordability, commute, and seven more dimensions, and watch the verdict change.

Stuck between Sherborn and Dover?

I'm Gary Fikes, a licensed real estate agent at MP Signature Realty and the curator of this site. I've walked both towns. Tell me what matters most and I'll give you a straight answer within 1 business day. No auto-dialer, no spam, no resale.

About this comparison

Bay State Atlas ranks 194 Massachusetts towns using public data (Census ACS, MA DESE schools, Walk Score, MA Department of Revenue tax data, and the FBI UCR safety index) normalized to 0–100. Every weight is editable. This page is a static, indexable snapshot. The live tool is faster and lets you customize what counts.