Dover through time
How Dover city limits grew
Dover grows when land outside the city limits is annexed. The state has kept a record of each annexation since 2004. The census measures the city land area every ten years.
Dover covers 15,316 acres today, by the state map.
Acres annexed by year
Years are the date the state recorded the annexation. Records that were withdrawn are not counted. Owner names are left out.
| Year | Acres | Annexations |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 200.8 | 6 |
| 2005 | 24.7 | 6 |
| 2006 | 368.3 | 9 |
| 2007 | 11.3 | 5 |
| 2008 | 3 | 2 |
| 2012 | 1.8 | 1 |
| 2013 | 3 | 2 |
| 2015 | 1.1 | 1 |
| 2016 | 253.1 | 3 |
| 2018 | 2 | 2 |
| 2019 | 0.6 | 1 |
| 2020 | 74.5 | 3 |
| 2021 | 6.5 | 4 |
| 2022 | 0.6 | 1 |
| 2023 | 43.3 | 3 |
| 2026 | 12.4 | 3 |
Acres annexed by decade
| Decade | Acres | Annexations |
|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 608 | 28 |
| 2010s | 261.5 | 10 |
| 2020s | 137.3 | 14 |
Land area by census
Sources
- State of Delaware FirstMap, Municipal Annexations layer (checked 2026-11-02)
- State of Delaware FirstMap, Municipalities layer
- 1990 Census of Population and Housing, Population and Housing Unit Counts, Delaware (CPH-2-9), Table 9, land area of Dover city, 1990
- Census 2000 Gazetteer Files, places, Dover city land area
- 2010 Census Gazetteer Files, places, Dover city ALAND_SQMI
- 2020 Census Gazetteer Files, places, Dover city ALAND_SQMI