As of the census of 2000, there were 1,815 people, 770 households, and 489 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,623.6 people per square mile. There were 790 housing units at an average density of 1,577.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the borough was 96.47% White, 1.05% African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.83% Asian, 0.72% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.43% of the population. There were 770 households, out of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.4% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.90. In the borough the population was spread out, with 23.7% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 98.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.9 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $41,250, and the median income for a family was $46,086. Males had a median income of $33,796 versus $22,826 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $19,108. About 4.3% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.5% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.
Dover received national attention in 2004–05, after the Dover Area School District voted to include the following statement about intelligent design in the biology curriculum of its schools:
Aftermath
The controversial statement by the school board triggered the court case Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District in late 2005. The case was resolved on December 20, 2005, when Judge John E. Jones III ruled that the Dover Area School District cannot teach Intelligent Design in a science class room, due to its religious origins. The separation of church and state principle, as derived from the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibits any government agency from endorsing religious points of view. In an upset election on November 8, 2005, the eight Republican school board members who voted for the language were all defeated by the challengers from the Dover Cares slate—four Democrats and four Republicans, forced by election rules to run on the Democratic ticket—who opposed the teaching of intelligent design in a science class. Over the past few years Dover has incorporated a Comparative Religion course as an elective for students who want to learn more about all the religions of the world.
