Bay State Atlas
Massachusetts Living Index

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.

Rural RetreatHistoric Village
Livability Index
57
/ 100
Ranks #105 of 194 MA towns

The numbers

Median home
$1.77M
6.7× household income
Household income
$250k+
ACS median
Commute to Boston
42 min
peak driving
Population
6,121
5-yr trend 65/100

How Dover scores

Schools
95
Safety
95
Walkability
15
Transit
8
Biking
28
Dining
28
Nightlife
15
Arts & Culture
35
Green Space
62
Diversity
22
Climate
72

Who lives in Dover

U.S. Census ACS 2018–2022 estimates. Rounded.

Median age
46.2
Foreign-born
15.3%
Bachelor's or higher
87.7%
Population
5,886
White76.7%
Hispanic / Latino2.7%
Asian12.8%
Black1.7%
Other / multi6.1%

Schools in Dover

Dover School District. Massachusetts DESE FY2024 (FY2025 graduation rates).

Overall vs MA
Above average
51/100
ELA · 3-8
p88
63.4%
Math · 3-8
p98
76.3%
ELA · 10
p10
0%
Math · 10
p9
0%
Grad rate
Spend / pupil
$26.6k
Top 25% in MA
Teachers / 100
8.7
Above average
Enrollment
497

Source: Massachusetts DESE Education-to-Career Research and Data Hub. Percentile ranks against 194 MA towns in our index.

The honest read

Best for
High-income families who want privacy, elite schools, and proximity to Route 128 corporate campuses.
The tradeoff
The most rural-feeling town at 38 miles from downtown Boston with basically no services or walkability; you will drive for everything.

You've now seen the honest read. Here's what most sites don't give you.

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Compare on your terms

These scores reflect a neutral weighting. Your priorities are not neutral. Open the full atlas to tune schools, walkability, affordability, commute, and seven more dimensions, and see where Dover lands for you.

Nearby towns

Bordering and adjacent Massachusetts towns near Dover.

Popular comparisons

Common head‑to‑heads people search when looking at Dover.

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