Best PlacesKent Acres, Dover, DE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Kent Acres, Dover, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Kent Acres, Dover ranks 2,719th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Kent Acres, Dover
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Kent Acres, Dover's strengths and weaknesses
Where Kent Acres, Dover ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$749 a month, better than 93% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Short commute19.5 minutes each way, better than 82% of neighborhoods
Where Kent Acres, Dover ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 63 pleasant days a year, better than only 13% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Kent Acres, Dover
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Kent Acres, Dover home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $100,107, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Kent Acres, Dover's effective rate of 0.36%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Kent Acres, Dover
Kent Acres, Dover's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Kent Acres, Dover.
Who works in Kent Acres, Dover, and how
Work in Kent Acres, Dover centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Kent Acres, Dover
The coast is about 13 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Kent Acres, Dover, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Kent Acres, Dover, month by month
Kent Acres, Dover sees roughly 63 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 46, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46° | 36° | 27° |
| April | 68° | 55° | 45° |
| July | 89° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 72° | 61° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Kent Acres, Dover
The nearest airport, New Castle, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Philadelphia International, about 53 miles away.
The best schools in and around Kent Acres, Dover
Schools across Kent Acres, Dover average a B−, better than 64% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- South Dover Elementary SchoolD · 18% proficient
Top middle schools
- F. Niel Postlethwait Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Fred Fifer Iii Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
- William Henry Middle SchoolD− · 16% proficient
Top high schools
- Caesar Rodney High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
- Dover High SchoolC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Kent Acres, Dover school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Kent Acres, Dover measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Kent Acres, Dover against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Kent Acres, Dover
Is Kent Acres, Dover a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Kent Acres, Dover ranks 2,719th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low property taxes, affordable childcare, and state infrastructure, and lowest on an overheated housing market and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Kent Acres, Dover expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $299,798. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $100,107 median income, cost of living beats 78% of neighborhoods.
Is Kent Acres, Dover safe?
Kent Acres, Dover is safer than 54% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $403 per resident a year.
Compare Kent Acres, Dover with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Kent Acres, Dover. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Kent Acres, Dover represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Kent Acres, Dover detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Kent Acres, Dover: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Kent Acres, Dover: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Kent Acres, Dover: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Kent Acres, Dover: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Kent Acres, Dover detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.