Dover, Delaware has 5 accredited schools offering child development programs, with tuition ranging from $15,208 to $31,088 per year for indexed programs. Dover has a population of about 39,491. Median household income is $58,336 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 27.1% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In Delaware, the top-earning child development-related role is Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education at a median $74,030 annually (BLS, May 2025).
Closest Child Development Schools to Dover
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer child development programs near Dover, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Dover city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
- Graduation rate 30%
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
- Average net price (lower is better) 20%
- Retention rate 15%
- Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Dover.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Graduation rate
81%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$72,950
Avg net price
$17,799/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 91%
- Programs offered: 179
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all Delaware schools on the Delaware child development page.
Child Development Wages Near Dover
Dover is part of the Dover, DE metro area (BLS area code 20100). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Delaware statewide.
| Occupation |
Median Wage |
Source |
COL-Adjusted (US=100) |
| Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education |
$34,620 |
Dover, DE |
$35,508 |
| Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare |
$57,280 |
Dover, DE |
$58,749 |
| Child, Family, and School Social Workers |
$51,690 |
Dover, DE |
$53,015 |
| Childcare Workers |
$31,200 |
Dover, DE |
$32,000 |
| Special Education Teachers, Preschool |
$59,400 |
Dover, DE |
$60,923 |
| Social and Human Service Assistants |
$40,000 |
Dover, DE |
$41,026 |
| Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education |
$74,030 |
DE statewide |
$75,928 |
| Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other |
$56,000 |
Dover, DE |
$57,436 |
Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.
Dover at a Glance
| Metric |
Value |
Source |
| Population |
39,491 |
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003) |
| Median household income |
$58,336 |
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013) |
| Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+ |
27.1% |
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003) |
| Regional Price Parity (US=100) |
97.5 (below U.S. average) |
BEA RPP 2024 |
Other Dover-Area Cities With Child Development Programs
- Milford, DE – 18.1 mi away (20,683 pop)
- Middletown, DE – 22.3 mi away (32,540 pop)
- Bridgeton, NJ – 24.3 mi away (27,722 pop)
- Millville, NJ – 29.5 mi away (28,059 pop)
- Lewes, DE – 33.2 mi away (27,008 pop)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many accredited child development schools are near Dover, DE?
Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering child development programs near Dover. The closest is University of Delaware in Newark, DE (38.0 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Bowie State University (67.2 miles). 4 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying child development roles near Dover?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying child development-related roles near Dover are: Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education ($74,030), Special Education Teachers, Preschool ($59,400), Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare ($57,280). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Delaware statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Milford instead of Dover?
Milford, DE is 18.1 miles from Dover and has its own set of local child development programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
Is Dover an affordable place to study child development?
Dover’s median household income of $58,336 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Dover while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Delaware public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.
How do I verify a program is accredited?
Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.
Learn More About Child Development Programs
Other Programs Available in Dover
Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Dover:
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- Retail Management programs in Dover, DE
- Risk Management programs in Dover, DE
- Statistics programs in Dover, DE
- Taxation programs in Dover, DE
- Corrections programs in Dover, DE
- Crime Analysis programs in Dover, DE
- Criminal Justice Administration programs in Dover, DE
- Criminology programs in Dover, DE
- Cybercrime programs in Dover, DE
- Emergency Management programs in Dover, DE
- Fire Science programs in Dover, DE
- Forensic Science programs in Dover, DE
- Legal Services programs in Dover, DE
- Legal Studies programs in Dover, DE
- Paralegal programs in Dover, DE
- Security Management programs in Dover, DE
- Cloud Computing programs in Dover, DE
- Computer Engineering programs in Dover, DE
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- Mobile App Development programs in Dover, DE
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- Machine Learning programs in Dover, DE
- Supply Chain Management programs in Dover, DE
- Data Analytics programs in Dover, DE
- Public Health programs in Dover, DE
- Human Resources programs in Dover, DE
- Project Management programs in Dover, DE
- Special Education programs in Dover, DE
- Homeland Security programs in Dover, DE
- Marketing programs in Dover, DE
- Finance programs in Dover, DE
- Kinesiology programs in Dover, DE
- Sports Management programs in Dover, DE
- Early Childhood Education programs in Dover, DE
- Elementary Education programs in Dover, DE
- Biology programs in Dover, DE
- Communications programs in Dover, DE
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- Business Administration programs in Dover, DE
- Computer Science programs in Dover, DE
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- Engineering programs in Dover, DE
- Technology programs in Dover, DE
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- Social Work programs in Dover, DE
- Counseling programs in Dover, DE
Data verified: September 5, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
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