Retirement Lists

Safety in Dover, Delaware

West Loockerman Street in downtown w:Dover, Delaware
Photo by Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5

Dover safety

Selected police counts and flood maps need careful, address-level review

Dover Police's 2025 report lists 47 criminal shooting incidents, 23 robberies, 60 burglaries, and more than 93,000 calls for service. These selected agency figures do not form a single comparable citywide crime rate, and fast call answering is not arrival time.

Use FEMA and Delaware flood resources for the exact home, including drainage that may not appear on every map. Review low-lying streets, roof, trees, lighting, roads, power, warnings, insurance, and emergency access.

The safety picture

Start with the overall picture, then look at the details that matter for daily life.

Violent Crime
1,025 per 100k

Poor

Property Crime
6,159 per 100k

Very Poor

Day to day confidence

Nighttime comfort, response, scams, stability, and solo living add practical context.

Major Disaster Declarations Since 2000
6

Weather and natural risks

Review each risk in its own right before choosing a neighborhood or property.

Natural Disaster Risk
Moderate
Flood Risk
Moderate
Wildfire Risk
Low
Storm Risk
Moderate
Heat Risk
Moderate
Drought Risk
Moderate

Dover in everyday life

Could Dover work for you?

What may work well

  • Dover Police and official flood resources identify concrete questions for local and property review.
  • The city has identifiable hospital, heritage, library, park, and transit resources.

What to think about

  • Selected police counts are not a comparable overall rate.
  • Small local-drainage flooding may not appear in every map.
  • Flood, storms, heat, roads, power, and care access vary by property.

Review Dover safety by address

  1. Use current information

    Keep police, city, flood, hospital, insurance, and weather guidance available.

  2. Inspect the property

    Review flood, drainage, low streets, roof, trees, lighting, roads, power, insurance, and emergency access.

  3. Visit in changing conditions

    Check the home after dark, after rain, during heat, and after a storm or freeze rather than relying on one clear visit.

Questions retirees ask

Is Dover safe?

The available police sources do not provide a single comparable city-proper crime rate. Review current local information and the exact home, including flood, lighting, roads, power, and emergency access.

Why check local drainage?

Flood maps can miss small drainage problems, and elevation, roads, power, insurance, and care access can change the practical safety of one property.

Dover safety is best represented through current official information and an address-level review of police data limits, flood, drainage, lighting, roads, power, and emergency routes.

Sources

Safety depends on the neighborhood, the places you go each day, transportation, and personal comfort.

Use official local sources and recent neighborhood-level context before choosing where to stay, rent, or buy.

Not yet available for this place: Overall Safety.

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How this city research is made

Retirement Lists uses documented public sources and methods to research, review, and correct city information. Read our Editorial Policy.