Dover by the Numbers from AskDover
About 1 in 9 Dover households has no car.
That is more common than in Kent County or Delaware. Most residents live near a bus stop, but no DART bus in the current schedule stops in Dover on Sunday.
The line shows the likely range. Dover's gap with the county and the state is larger than the margins.
Source: Census American Community Survey, table B08201. Download the data (CSV).
See the numbers as a table
| Place | Survey years | No vehicle | Give or take | Households |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dover | 2005-09 | 10.3 | 1.8 | 13,701 |
| Dover | 2010-14 | 12.4 | 2.2 | 12,680 |
| Dover | 2015-19 | 13.6 | 2.1 | 14,098 |
| Dover | 2020-24 | 11.6 | 2.6 | 15,428 |
| Kent County | 2005-09 | 6.3 | 0.7 | 56,740 |
| Kent County | 2010-14 | 6.5 | 0.8 | 59,142 |
| Kent County | 2015-19 | 6.6 | 0.8 | 65,796 |
| Kent County | 2020-24 | 6.6 | 0.9 | 71,424 |
| Delaware | 2005-09 | 6.8 | 0.3 | 325,160 |
| Delaware | 2010-14 | 6.4 | 0.3 | 339,046 |
| Delaware | 2015-19 | 6.0 | 0.3 | 363,322 |
| Delaware | 2020-24 | 6.2 | 0.4 | 402,038 |
Need a ride? See help for older adults and people with disabilities, including DART Paratransit.
No clear change over 15 years
Dover's share was 10.3% in 2005-09 and 11.6% in 2020-24. That change is smaller than the survey's margin, so we can't say it went up (source).
Most Dover workers drive to work alone
72.8% of Dover workers drove alone to work in 2020-24. The survey puts the bus and other transit at 1.2%, give or take 0.7 points. That estimate, like the one for biking, is too uncertain to use (source).
Working from home rose from 3.2% in 2015-19 to 9.0% in 2020-24, a change larger than the margin.
An estimate is too uncertain when its coefficient of variation is over 30%, a common Census rule of thumb.
Source: table B08301. Workers 16 and older.
See the numbers as a table
| How they got to work | Share | Give or take | Workers | Too uncertain? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drove alone | 72.8 | 2.4 | 13,459 | No |
| Carpooled | 9.0 | 1.9 | 1,658 | No |
| Worked from home | 9.0 | 1.8 | 1,659 | No |
| Walked | 6.0 | 2.3 | 1,105 | No |
| Bus or other transit | 1.2 | 0.7 | 225 | Yes |
| Bicycle | 0.4 | 0.5 | 70 | Yes |
Fewer walk to work than in 1980
Before 2005, the NHGIS series we use does not split driving alone from carpooling, so the long view counts all cars, trucks and vans: 84.2% in 1980 and 81.8% in 2020-24 (NHGIS), (B08301).
Census years count every worker and survey estimates have margins, so small changes across the break, like the drop in the car share, are not firm.
Points are spaced by year. The last four points are survey estimates for five-year spans.
Sources: IPUMS NHGIS time series table C54 for 1980 to 2000, table B08301 after that.
See the numbers as a table
| Year or survey years | Car, truck or van | Transit | Walked | Worked from home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 84.2 | 0.5 | 11.6 | 0.7 |
| 1990 | 90.2 | 0.6 | 5.4 | 2.0 |
| 2000 | 89.8 | 1.0 | 4.9 | 2.7 |
| 2005-09 | 89.8 | 2.6 | 3.7 | 2.8 |
| 2010-14 | 87.9 | 2.6 | 4.1 | 3.8 |
| 2015-19 | 88.5 | 1.7 | 5.4 | 3.2 |
| 2020-24 | 81.8 | 1.2 | 6.0 | 9.0 |
More long commutes
Among workers who leave home for work, 19.0% had a trip of 45 minutes or more in 2020-24, up from 11.2% in 2005-09. The rise is larger than the margin (source).
Workers who work from home are left out.
Source: table B08303.
See the numbers as a table
| Survey years | Under 15 minutes | 15 to 29 minutes | 30 to 44 minutes | 45 minutes or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-09 | 48.7 (+/- 4.0) | 32.0 (+/- 3.3) | 8.1 (+/- 1.8) | 11.2 (+/- 1.9) |
| 2010-14 | 46.9 (+/- 4.2) | 32.1 (+/- 3.2) | 7.0 (+/- 1.6) | 14.0 (+/- 2.4) |
| 2015-19 | 45.6 (+/- 3.3) | 28.3 (+/- 2.8) | 12.2 (+/- 2.2) | 13.8 (+/- 2.2) |
| 2020-24 | 45.4 (+/- 4.0) | 25.5 (+/- 3.5) | 10.1 (+/- 2.6) | 19.0 (+/- 3.2) |
DART's routes in Dover
On a sample weekday, 372 bus trips stop at one or more of 188 stops inside the city, on 11 routes. The first leaves a Dover stop at 4:40 a.m. and the last at 9:41 p.m. (DART schedule data).
On Saturday, 8 of the 11 routes run, with 127 trips. On Sunday, the feed shows no trips at Dover stops.
Bus figures use DART's schedule for May 17, 2026 to November 14, 2026. We will update them when DART publishes a new one.
- 4:40 a.m.first weekday bus at a Dover stop
- 9:41 p.m.last weekday bus at a Dover stop
- 8 of 11routes run on Saturday. None run on Sunday.
Routes are listed by number. A trip is one bus run in one direction. The typical gap is the middle wait between buses in the same direction from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. at their first Dover stop.
Source: DART First State schedule data (GTFS), version May 2026_20260429.
See the numbers as a table
| Route | Name | Weekday trips | Typical gap, minutes | First in Dover | Last in Dover | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | Walker Road | 26 | 60 | 6:05 a.m. | 6:26 p.m. | Yes | No |
| 104 | Camden Walmart | 62 | 30 | 6:05 a.m. | 9:41 p.m. | Yes | No |
| 105 | Dover AFB | 25 | 60 | 6:00 a.m. | 6:00 p.m. | Yes | No |
| 107 | Luther Village | 24 | 60 | 5:55 a.m. | 5:30 p.m. | No | No |
| 108 | Persimmon Tree / Town Point | 30 | 60 | 6:00 a.m. | 8:22 p.m. | Yes | No |
| 109 | Dover Mall | 42 | 30 | 6:30 a.m. | 7:04 p.m. | Yes | No |
| 112 | DelTech / West Dover | 62 | 30 | 6:00 a.m. | 9:28 p.m. | Yes | No |
| 301 | Intercounty Wilmington / Dover | 36 | 51 | 4:40 a.m. | 8:46 p.m. | Yes | No |
| 302 | Intercounty Dover / Middletown | 31 | 60 | 5:40 a.m. | 9:35 p.m. | Yes | No |
| 303 | Intercounty Dover / Milford / Georgetown | 22 | 95 | 5:31 a.m. | 9:15 p.m. | No | No |
| 307 | Intercounty Lewes TC / Dover | 12 | 162 | 5:40 a.m. | 8:58 p.m. | No | No |
How many people live near a stop
67.0% of Dover's 39,404 residents in the 2020 Census lived within a quarter mile of a stop with weekday service. For Saturday stops it is 57.2% (Census blocks).
A quarter mile is a common walking guide. We measured in a straight line from the center of each Census block, so real walks are often longer.
- 67.0%of residents live within a quarter mile of a weekday stop.
- 57.2%of residents live within a quarter mile of a Saturday stop.
Most Dover stops are a sign on a pole
Of the 188 DART stops inside the city, 25 have a shelter and 6 more have a bench. The other 157, or 83.5%, have neither (source).
Sheltered stops tend to be the busy ones. On the sample weekday, 24.4% of the times a bus stopped in Dover, it was at a stop with a shelter. The inventory has no rider counts and no wheelchair access field, so we can't say how many riders wait without shelter or which stops are accessible.
- 25stops have a shelter
- 6more have a bench only
- 157are a sign on a pole
Each stop counts once. The state file lists some stops more than once, with the same details.
Source: DART First State bus stop inventory on the Delaware Open Data Portal, service change May 2026.
See the numbers as a table
| What the stop has | Stops | Share of stops |
|---|---|---|
| Shelter | 25 | 13.3 |
| Bench, no shelter | 6 | 3.2 |
| Sign or pole only | 157 | 83.5 |
What a ride costs
A ride within Kent County costs $2.00 for adults. People 65 and older or with a certified disability pay $0.80 with a Medicare card or DART reduced fare ID, and students pay $1.00. A 30-day pass is $60.00, and an ADA paratransit ride is $4.00 (DART fares). The fare page lists no reduced price for passes.
Paying cash for a round trip on 22 workdays costs $88 a month, so the pass is cheaper for a daily rider. 12 passes cost $720, about 1.2% of Dover's median household income of $60,199, give or take $4,412 (income).
| Fare | Price, dollars |
|---|---|
| One ride, adult | 2.00 |
| One ride, 65 and older or with a disability | 0.80 |
| One ride, student | 1.00 |
| Day pass | 4.00 |
| 7-day pass | 16.00 |
| 30-day pass | 60.00 |
| ADA paratransit ride | 4.00 |
Fares effective February 14, 2021, as listed on DART's fare page on 2026-11-02. Trips into another county cost more. Children up to 46 inches ride free with a paying adult.
Source: DART First State fares.
Help getting a ride
AskDover's help page lists DART Paratransit and the Delaware Aging and Disability Resource Center. Paratransit gives rides to people with qualifying disabilities and to adults 65 or older who apply. The resource center connects older adults and caregivers to services, including rides. Rules and hours can change, so call before you plan a trip.
How we did this
- Census: American Community Survey 5-year estimates for Dover city, Kent County and Delaware, and census counts for 1980 to 2000, from IPUMS NHGIS. We checked the latest Dover figures against tables saved from data.census.gov on 2026-11-02 (vehicles), (commute), (travel time).
- Give or take: the Census publishes margins at 90% confidence. We call a change or gap real only when it is larger than the combined margin, and we compared survey spans that do not overlap.
- Buses: DART First State's public schedule file, version May 2026_20260429, for sample days in early November. A stop counts if it sits inside the Census city limits. Later schedule changes are not shown.
- Stops and fares: the state's DART stop inventory, matched to the schedule by stop number, and DART's fare page, both saved on 2026-11-02. Income is the Census median household income for 2020-24, table B19013.
- Near a stop: 2020 Census block population, placed at each block's center point, within 402 meters of a stop.
- AI and review: this report is AI-assisted. An AI model wrote the text and code from a computed data file, and a person reviews it before publishing. A script checks every number on the page against that file. The scripts and saved raw data are kept with this report.
What this data can't tell you
- Why people don't have a car. Some can't afford one, some don't drive, and some choose not to. The survey doesn't say.
- How many people ride the bus. The commute survey counts only trips to work, and its bus figure is too uncertain to use.
- Whether a stop is easy to reach. Sidewalks and crossings are not in this data, and the stop list has no field for wheelchair access.
- Rides that are not on a schedule, such as paratransit, taxis, and rides from family or churches.