Best Mental Health Counseling Schools Near Dover, DE (2026)

Dover, Delaware has 22 accredited schools offering mental health counseling programs, with tuition ranging from $4,322 to $65,230 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 the Dover, DE metro area, the top-earning mental health counseling-related role is Clinical and Counseling Psychologist at a median $111,300 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).


Closest Mental Health Counseling Schools to Dover

The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer mental health counseling 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:

  • 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.

Ranked by BOC Score โ€” U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.

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#1

Wilmington University

New Castle, DE 36.3 miles from Dover
  • 4 year
  • Campus + Online
45.6 BOC Score
Graduation rate 46%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $53,844
Avg net price $15,644/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 57%
  • Programs offered: 54

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all Delaware schools on the Delaware mental health counseling page.


Mental Health Counseling 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.

OccupationMedian WageSourceCOL-Adjusted (US=100)
Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselor$60,990Dover, DE$62,554
Marriage and Family Therapist$69,450Dover, DE$71,231
Clinical and Counseling Psychologist$111,300Dover, DE$114,154
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker$58,670Dover, DE$60,174

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

MetricValueSource
Population39,491Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income$58,336Census 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 Mental Health Counseling Programs


Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited mental health counseling schools are near Dover, DE?

Our directory has 22 accredited schools offering mental health counseling programs near Dover. The closest is Wilmington University in New Castle, DE (36.3 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Eastern University (62.0 miles). 10 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

What are the highest-paying mental health counseling roles near Dover?

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying mental health counseling-related roles near Dover are: Clinical and Counseling Psychologist ($111,300), Marriage and Family Therapist ($69,450), Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselor ($60,990). 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 mental health counseling 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 mental health counseling?

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 Mental Health Counseling Programs

Other Programs Available in Dover

Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Dover:

Data verified: August 11, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024โ€“2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.