PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Dover, DE

38.5
Life Score / 100
C-
Grade (curved)
#348
of 387 metros
10%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Dover ranks #348 of 387 US metros, ahead of 10% - carried by its wages (58/100) and held back most by environment (25/100).

58
strongest: Wages
43
then: Childcare
25
weakest: Environment
7
weighted dimensions

Where Dover sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

39 10th percentile higher than 10% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). This entry sits in this band. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Above this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Dover Life Score

Dover's composite score of 38.5 out of 100, a grade of C-, places the metro at rank #348 of 387, ahead of 10% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Wages (58/100) and Childcare (43/100), which pull the composite upward, while Environment (25/100) and Schools (25/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 97.5 (rent-RPP 95.9). BLS median salary $64,394, 59,250 jobs (Fast Food and Counter Workers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Cashiers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,470/mo (studio $1,158).

FBI UCR (DE): 368 violent, 1773 property/100K. NCES: 13.9:1 ratio, 10.3% charter. DOL infant childcare $11,172/yr. EPA: 26 Superfund sites (DE). Ranks #345-#351 below.

Dimension detail

How Dover scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 31/100 (20%)
Wages 58/100 (20%)
Rent 34/100 (15%)
Safety 42/100 (15%)
Schools 25/100 (10%)
Childcare 43/100 (10%)
Environment 25/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

97.5
Cost Index (RPP)
$64,394
Avg Median Salary
$1,470
2BR Fair Market Rent
368
Violent Crime/100K (DE)
13.9:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$11,172
Infant Childcare/yr (DE)
26
Superfund Sites (DE)
59,250
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Dover With...

Dover vs Philadelphia Compare → Dover vs Wildwood Compare → Dover vs Waterloo Compare → Dover vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Dover outranks 10% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#345 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 38.6 C-
#346 Bellingham, WA 38.6 C-
#347 Salinas, CA 38.8 C-
#348 Dover, DE 38.5 C-
#349 Fresno, CA 38.3 D
#350 Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA 38.2 D
#351 Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ 38.2 D

DE Metro Scores

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD C 45.4

Using Dover's Life Score

Dover is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is wages (58/100) and its weakest is environment (25/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Dover head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Dover lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Dover's biggest strengths? ▼
Dover's strongest dimensions are Wages (58/100), Childcare (43/100), Safety (42/100).
What are Dover's weakest areas? ▼
Dover's lowest-scoring dimensions are Environment (25/100), Schools (25/100), Cost of Living (31/100). Environment weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Dover compared to the national average? ▼
Dover's Regional Price Parity is 97.5 (2.5% less than national); rent RPP 95.9.
What is the average salary in Dover? ▼
Dover median salary: $64,394, 59,250 jobs. Top: Fast Food and Counter Workers, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Cashiers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Dover's 38.5/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.