Dover Base Housing, Delaware

Community in Kent County · population 2,810 (2020 Census)

Household income: $82,161
Jan low / Jul high: 28° / 87°
Snow a year: 13 in
Tornadoes ≤10 mi since 1950: 12
Median age: 26.2

Dover Base Housing is a community of 2,810 people in Kent County, Delaware. It ranks more of a college town than 100% of Delaware towns, easier by car than 88% of Delaware towns, better for young professionals than 86% of Delaware towns.

Dover Base Housing in our rankings:

How Dover Base Housing ranks

Percentile among Delaware towns with at least 500 people on The Town Files lifestyle rankings. 50 is typical for the state; 90 means better than 90% of Delaware towns.

The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025).

Homes and cost of living

Median rent is $2,139 a month. 0.0% of households own their home.

Census ACS 5-year estimates, 2020–2024. "Typical town" = median of Delaware towns with 500+ people.

Housing	Dover Base Housing	Typical Delaware town
Median home value	—	$302,450
Median rent	$2,139	$1,342
Median household income	$82,161	$78,707
Home value ÷ income	—×	3.8×
Homeownership	0.0%	72.0%
Median year built	2003	1987
Seasonal / vacation homes	1.4%	—

Who lives in Dover Base Housing

People	Dover Base Housing	Typical Delaware town
Median age	26.2	39.5
Age 65 and over	2.3%	17.5%
Under 18	36.0%	—
Bachelor's degree or higher	48.2%	32.5%
Below the poverty line	2.2%	8.4%
Veterans	21.4%	—
Born outside the U.S.	2.3%	—
Work from home	5.6%	13.8%
Average commute	11.7 min	25.1 min
Homes with broadband	96.1%	93.0%

Weather in Dover Base Housing

July highs average 86.9°F and January lows 27.6°F. About 47.6 inches of rain and melted snow fall a year, with 13.2 inches of snow (typical Delaware town: 12.8 in). Expect about 25 days a year at 90°F or hotter and 79 nights at or below freezing.

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals: average daily high and low by month; precipitation and snowfall in inches. Temperatures from the Dover station (2.4 mi away).

Tornadoes, storms and disasters

12 tornadoes have passed within 10 miles of Dover Base Housing since 1950, compared with 13 for the typical Delaware town. 4 rated (E)F2 or stronger. The strongest, an EF2, struck on August 4, 2020 about 1.1 miles from the town center. The most recent was on March 16, 2026.

NOAA Storm Events Database, tornado tracks (start to end point) passing within 10 miles of the town center, 1950–2026.

Hail of 1 inch or larger has been reported within 10 miles 7 times; the largest was 1.75 inches on August 11, 1983.

Severe weather in Kent County since 1996

NOAA Storm Events Database, Kent County, 1996–2026 (all event types recorded since 1996). 5 deaths recorded.

Kent County has been included in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1953, most often for flood, drought, hurricane.

Declared	Incident	Declaration
May 29, 2026	Winter Storm	DR-4916: Severe Winter Storm
October 2, 2020	Hurricane	DR-4566: Tropical Storm Isaias
April 5, 2020	Biological	DR-4526: Covid-19 Pandemic
March 13, 2020	Biological	EM-3449: Covid-19
November 16, 2012	Hurricane	DR-4090: Hurricane Sandy

Jobs and pay in Kent County

Kent County had 71,071 jobs in 2024, paying an average of $57,464 a year. Unemployment was 4.5% in 2023; in Dover Base Housing itself the ACS puts it at 12.4%.

BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024, private-sector jobs and average annual pay.

Annual average unemployment rate (BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics via USDA ERS).

Towns near Dover Base Housing

Rising Sun-Lebanon, DE
1.7 mi · 4,104 people · home $389,900
Highland Acres, DE
1.9 mi · 3,492 people · home $306,400
Dover, DE
3.7 mi · 39,403 people · home $258,900
Camden, DE
4.1 mi · 3,715 people · home $300,100
Woodside East, DE
4.5 mi · 2,570 people · home $330,700
Clayton, DE
13.5 mi · 3,961 people · home $361,300
Harrington, DE
14.0 mi · 3,774 people · home $221,900
Smyrna, DE
14.1 mi · 12,883 people · home $291,400

Dover Base Housing questions

Is Dover Base Housing, Delaware a good place to retire?

On The Town Files lifestyle rankings, Dover Base Housing scores better for retirees than 2% of Delaware towns and quieter than 0%. 2.3% of residents are 65 or older (median age 26.2).

What is the weather like in Dover Base Housing?

July highs average 86.9°F and January lows 27.6°F (NOAA 1991–2020 normals). It gets about 47.6 inches of precipitation a year and 13.2 inches of snow.

Does Dover Base Housing get tornadoes?

12 tornadoes have passed within 10 miles of Dover Base Housing since 1950 (NOAA Storm Events); the strongest was an EF2 on August 4, 2020. The typical Delaware town has had 13.

How this page is made. Every number comes from public data, matched to Dover Base Housing's Census boundary (GEOID 1021387). Comparisons use the median of Delaware towns with at least 500 people. Weather comes from the nearest NOAA normals station; storm counts use NOAA tornado tracks within 10 miles of the town center.

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020–2024)
U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census and 2025 Gazetteer (2020 / 2025)
NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals (1991–2020)
NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (1950–2026)
FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations (this product uses the FEMA OpenFEMA API but is not endorsed by FEMA) (1953–2026)
NCES Common Core of Data (2023–24)
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; USDA ERS county unemployment (BLS LAUS) (2000–2024)
The Town Files lifestyle rankings, built from federal demographic, school, crime and housing data (2025)

Data snapshot 2026-11-12.