county

Salem city, VA

Demographic and economic profile of Salem city, VA, sourced from the US Census Bureau (American Community Survey) via Data USA.

AI Overview

Salem city is a small independent city of 25,477 residents with a stable, modestly educated workforce—31.1% hold a bachelor's degree or higher and the unemployment rate sits at 3.4%, though labor force participation is relatively low at 60.9%. Median household income is $66,725 and median worker earnings are $36,740, supported by affordable housing with a median home value of $244,800 and median rent of $1,046 per month. Population has been essentially flat, declining just 0.2% over five years, and a mean commute of 19.0 minutes reflects the city's compact, self-contained character.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 · generated Jul 6, 2026 · derived from cached Census, BEA & ACS data on this page

Population

25,477

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Household Income

$66,725

Data USA · as of 2024

Median Age

40.0 yrs

Data USA · as of 2024

Population Growth (5-year)

-0.2% since 2018

Salem city lost population at this rate over the prior 5-year ACS5 window.

Demographics

Race & Ethnicity

  • White Alone21,128 (82.5%)
  • Black or African American Alone2,217 (8.7%)
  • Two Races Including Some Other Race643 (2.5%)
  • Some Other Race Alone555 (2.2%)
  • Two Races Excluding Some Other Race, & Three or More Races505 (2.0%)
  • Asian Alone503 (2.0%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Languages Spoken at Home

  1. 1.Spanish591
  2. 2.Other Indo-European150
  3. 3.German or other West Germanic118
  4. 4.Tagalog (incl. Filipino)86
  5. 5.Arabic71

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population Under 18

19.0%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Working-Age (18–64)

61.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Population 65 and Over

19.5%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Foreign-Born Population

4.5%

Data USA · as of 2024

Veterans

1,459

Data USA · as of 2024

Economy

GDP per Capita

—

Not yet cached

Cost of Living Index

—

Not yet cached

Per Capita Income

$38,127

Census ACS · as of 2023

Unemployment Rate

3.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Poverty Rate

10.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Top Industries

  1. 1.Educational Services, & Health Care & Social Assistance3,917
  2. 2.Retail Trade (Group)1,601
  3. 3.Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation, & Accommodation & Food Services1,155
  4. 4.Manufacturing (Group)1,131
  5. 5.Finance & Insurance, & Real Estate & Rental & Leasing821

Data USA · as of 2024

Top Occupations

  1. 1.Management, Business, Science, & Arts Occupations5,220
  2. 2.Sales & Office Occupations2,902
  3. 3.Service Occupations2,031
  4. 4.Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations1,444
  5. 5.Natural Resources, Construction, & Maintenance Occupations703

Data USA · as of 2024

Specialized Industries (Location Quotient)

  1. 1.Wholesale Trade (LQ 1.43×)411
  2. 2.Educational Services & Health Care (LQ 1.39×)4,050
  3. 3.Retail Trade (LQ 1.09×)1,481
  4. 4.Finance, Insurance, & Real Estate (LQ 1.08×)900
  5. 5.Other Services (LQ 1.01×)592

Census ACS · as of 2023

Housing

Median Home Value

$244,800

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Gross Rent

$1,046/mo

Census ACS · as of 2023

Homeownership Rate

62.8%

Data USA · as of 2024

Home Value Distribution

  • $300,000 to $399,9991,171 (18.2%)
  • $200,000 to $249,9991,043 (16.2%)
  • $250,000 to $299,999951 (14.8%)
  • $150,000 to $174,999700 (10.9%)
  • $500,000 to $749,999629 (9.8%)
  • $400,000 to $499,999456 (7.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Higher

31.1%

Census ACS · as of 2023

High School Diploma or Higher

94.2%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Workforce

Labor Force Participation

60.9%

Census ACS · as of 2023

Median Worker Earnings

$36,740

Census ACS · as of 2023

Mean Commute Time

19.0 min

Data USA · as of 2024

Households Without a Vehicle

6.4%

Census ACS · as of 2023

How People Get to Work

  • Drove Alone9,326 (76.7%)
  • Worked At Home1,316 (10.8%)
  • Carpooled843 (6.9%)
  • Walked617 (5.1%)
  • Other20 (0.2%)
  • Public Transit16 (0.1%)

Data USA · as of 2024

Similar Locations

5 counties with comparable population, workforce, income, education, and cost of living. Click any to compare.

More on FDI Connect

Compare Salem city against other US geographies, save it to your shortlist, see active property listings on the interactive map, and unlock the full demographic dashboard.

Open full dashboardCreate free account

Data: US Census Bureau American Community Survey, served via Data USA and the Census Bureau API. See each metric tile for the specific dataset.