How dark is the sky in Dover, DE?

Dover reads as urban on this dataset's scale. Sky glow overhead most nights. Typically only planets, the Moon, and a handful of the brightest stars are visible. Dover's sky is brighter than 94.4% of the 3,206 cities in this dataset.

Worth remembering: this is satellite radiance, not a ground observation. A true Bortle rating needs a human eye at night, this is the closest large-scale substitute.

The nearest darker sky to Dover

Smyrna, DE, about 10 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the suburban band, one step darker than Dover. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

Smyrna, DE is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.

Dover against the rest of the dataset

Dover, DE counts roughly 40,191 residents, among the 3,206 US cities this site tracks. Among all 3,206 cities here, Dover ranks 3,009 from darkest to brightest, 1 being the darkest measured.