Elevation of Dover
28ft
above sea level · 9 m
Dover is the capital of Delaware. Of the 50 state capitals, it’s the 4th lowest. The state’s largest city is Wilmington.
By the Mapsfera Team
Loading the map…
Place facts
- Coordinates
- 39.16° N · 75.52° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 39° 9′ 29″ N · 75° 31′ 28″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 18S · 454,695 E · 4,334,460 N
- Zone 18 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Eastern Time
- UTC−5 · UTC−4 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 40,592 people
- 23.9 sq mi of land · 1,700 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from May 2014: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Dover had 40,592 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 2.8% more than in April 2020, when it had 39,502. Its 23.9 sq mi of land work out to 1,700 people/sq mi; the state average is 544 people/sq mi.
It’s the 2nd most populous of the 79 places the Census counts in Delaware (cities, towns and CDPs), after Wilmington (73,512), and holds 3.8% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within Kent County. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 0.2 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with other state capitals
Dover sits at 28 ft (9 m) above sea level. Of the 50 state capitals, the highest is Santa Fe (6,997 ft) and the lowest is Providence (9 ft). The average is 1,098 ft: Dover is 1,070 ft below it.
The highest point in Delaware is Ebright Azimuth, at 448 ft according to the USGS: 420 ft above Dover.
- 47 Dover 28 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
Nearest cities with a page
Tools for this place
Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Dover.
What is the elevation of Dover?
Dover is 28 feet (9 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of Dover?
Latitude 39.15817 and longitude -75.52437, in decimal degrees (39° 9′ 29″ N · 75° 31′ 28″ W). In UTM, zone 18: 454,695 E and 4,334,460 N, on NAD83.
How does Dover rank among the highest state capitals?
It’s the 4th lowest of the 50 state capitals. The highest is Santa Fe (6,997 ft) and the lowest is Providence (9 ft).
What county is Dover in?
Kent County, Delaware.
Which is higher, Dover or Annapolis?
Annapolis. Dover sits at 28 ft and Annapolis at 44 ft: a difference of 16 ft, 53 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know