Dover, MA: town finances
Strong savings (20% of budget vs 7.3% typical); override vote unlikely, with room under the tax cap.
Budget grade
Better than 99% of MA towns · score 100 of 100
Ability to pay
Top 5% for income and property value
Shown separately; not part of the budget grade. Income per resident $133,756 (Census ACS 2020-24); property value (EQV) per resident $614,821 (DLS 2024).
Chance of an override vote
1 point on our 0-8 scale: Low 0-2, Medium 3-4, High 5+. It ranks towns; it is not a percentage.
Key numbers
| Measure | Dover | Median MA town |
|---|---|---|
| Typical tax bill, FY2026 (average single-family) | $19,088 | $6,755 |
| Tax bill as a share of median household income | ≤7.6% | 6.4% |
| Tax bill growth per year, FY2016-26 | 3.04% | 3.95% |
| Override vote dates, last 5 years | No | 35% of towns had one |
| Savings (reserves), % of budget, FY2024-26 average | 19.5% | 7.3% |
| Debt, % of property value, FY2023-25 (voter-approved debt at half weight) | 0.51% | 0.70% |
| Debt payments inside the tax cap, % of budget | 1.2% | 1.3% |
| Unused room under the tax cap, FY2026 (% of max levy) | 6.18% | 0.34% |
| School enrollment, 5-year change | -7% | -2% |
| Students per teacher, 2025-26 | 10.0 | 11.4 |
| Median single-family sale price, 2024 | $1.7M (51 sales) | $614k |
| Single-family price change, 2019-24 | +33.6% | +52.8% |
| Median household income (Census, 2020-24) | $250,000+ (Census cap) | $113,750 |
| Population (DLS) | 5,860 | 10,585 |
Main school district: Dover-Sherborn (regional district shared with 2 towns). Shaded = worse than the median town on tax bill share or enrollment. Medians are across all 351 towns with data.
Why this budget grade
Budget grade A, excellent (100/100; better than 99% of MA towns): reserves averaged 20% of budget over FY2024-26 (state median 7.3%); debt 0.51% of property value with voter-approved debt at half weight (0.78% before; median 0.70%); debt payments inside the tax cap 1.2% of budget (median 1.3%). Voter-approved amounts exceed its general-fund debt payments (often regional school debt), so the state median share is used.
Why this chance of an override vote
Chance of an override vote: Low (1 pt): voter-approved debt or capital increase passed since July 2021 (+1).
Context, not scored
Teacher jobs -1.6% last year; enrollment -7% over 5 yrs; regional district shared with 2 towns; tax bill up to 7.6% of median income (state median 6.4%).
"pts" are points toward the chance of an override vote. Max levy is the most the town can raise without a vote under Prop 2½. See how the budget grade works.
See this town in the full data table →