SalemAR
A town of 1,611, settled in 1872. A regional job hub with 1,076 jobs.
Is Salem a good place to live?
Salem’s best subject grades are an A for schools and an A− for cost of living; its weakest is a D− for incomes. 29% of residents live below the poverty line in Salem, above both Arkansas’ towns (18%) and U.S. towns (9.6%). Only 3 of Arkansas’ 201 towns score lower on hazard risk. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 94% of the country. Camp Methodist Church and Green Valley Homestead is on the National Register of Historic Places. Salem has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
What makes Salem stand out
Where Salem beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Every workday, about 904 people come to Salem for work
Where Salem’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Salem grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arkansas), ordered by how far Salem is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Salem: who provides what
Who provides power, water and the rest in Salem, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Salem.
For health, Salem earns a D
19% of adults report frequent physical distress in Salem, above both the Arkansas town median (16%) and the median of U.S. towns (14%). 46% of adults have high blood pressure in Salem. Salem beats the Arkansas average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12.
| Salem | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 16% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 46% | 41% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 17% | 14% |
| What stands out | Salem | AR |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 32.8% | 18.6% |
| More adults with COPD | 12.6% | 8.6% |
| More adults with heart disease | 10.4% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Salem’s schools rank ahead of 93% of Arkansas districts
Its public schools are run by the Salem School District. Its two schools are below. The largest public high school is Salem High School, with 376 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salem Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 434 | A |
| Salem High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 7–12 | Grades 7–12 | 376 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AR on state tests and graduation
A job hub: Salem has 2.2 jobs for every working resident and draws in 904 commuters
About one in 3 of Salem’s working residents works in town. Salem’s median household income is $41,000. The top destinations are Mountain Home (11%), Little Rock (5%) and Batesville (4%).
| Salem | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 35% | 22% | 8% |
| Median household income | $41,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Salem stands out in Arkansas and nationally: the FEMA risk score there is higher
The FEMA risk score in Salem is 89 of 100. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Salem since 2008.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Violent crime per 1,000 residents
Property crime per 1,000 residents
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The typical home in Salem is valued at about $168K
The typical Salem home is worth about $168,000, up 2.1% in a year, 25% below the Arkansas typical home. 57% of Salem households own their home. Only 9 of the 123 Arkansas towns we compare have a lower median rent than Salem.
| Salem | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $676 a month | $878 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 57% | 60% | 73% |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Salem has mild winters and hot summers
Salem has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 90°, January nights drop to 26° and about 5 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Preacher Roe Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Everything we know about Salem
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Salem; the nearest are
About 3 of every 100 Salem residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Arkansas.
About Salem
City in Arkansas, United States
Salem is a city in and the county seat of Fulton County, Arkansas, United States. Salem was first incorporated in 1900. As of the 2020 census the population stood at 1,566.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1900
- Area
- 3.7 sq mi
- Elevation
- 663 ft
- ZIP code
- 72576
- Area code
- 870
Questions about Salem
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Salem, AR expensive?
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
What is Salem, AR known for?
2 notable people were born here, including Joe Brainard and Steven Walker.