SalemAR
A town of 2,642.
Is Salem a good place to live?
Few places in the country grade higher. Salem earns an A+, 1st among Arkansas's 123 graded towns. A typical home costs about $241K, 3.6 years of the Little Rock metro’s $67K median household income, the median household earns $74K, and its public schools beat 85% of Arkansas towns on state tests and graduation. Its lowest mark, a B, is in health. 29% of residents are 65 or older in Salem, against 16% in Arkansas’ towns and 18% across U.S. towns. Only 5 of Arkansas’ 201 towns score lower on history. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 71% of U.S. towns.
What makes Salem stand out
Where Salem beats most towns.
Typical home value
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Salem Elementary School | K–5 | 469 |
99% of working residents leave 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 →
Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site and 18 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Salem. Close and well known come first.
16 mi National Historic SiteLittle Rock Central High School National Historic Site49K visitors a year
27 mi National ParkHot Springs National Park2.5M visitors a year
19 mi MuseumClinton Presidential Center
19 mi Stadium & arenaSimmons Bank Arena
40 mi State parkPetit Jean State Park27 mi Theme parkMagic Springs and Crystal FallsPhoto credits
Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site: Adam Jones, Ph.D., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hot Springs National Park: Unknown, Public domain · Clinton Presidential Center: Archipreneur, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Simmons Bank Arena: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 · Petit Jean State Park: ErgoSum88, Public domain
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Moving to Salem: who provides what
Salem is unincorporated, so Saline County and regional agencies provide most services.
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.
Salem pairs an A for schools with modest home prices, has less tooth loss than most of Arkansas and sends most of its workers to Little Rock and beyond.
Salem’s grade for schools is an A
Its A for schools comes with an A for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $241K.
Its public schools are run by the Bryant School District. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salem Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 469 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AR on state tests and graduation
The median age in Salem is higher than in most of Arkansas or the rest of the country
Salem’s median age is 53.8 years. 26% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 26% across Arkansas.
| Salem | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 53.8 years | 36.6 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 26% | 20% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
61% women, 39% men
About 64 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±10 points). Across Arkansas, 50.6% of residents are women. Among residents 75 and older, 72% are men (AR 42%).
| Salem | AR | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 4.8% | 12.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 4.3% | 10.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 3.4% | 9.4% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 17.4% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.4% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 16.4% | 11.8% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 15.5% | 12.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 18.4% | 10.3% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 10.4% | 7.2% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.7% | 11.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 41% | 34.1% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.4% | 20.7% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 5.1% | 8.2% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 19.9% | 16.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 5.8% | 9.5% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 2,600, single groups can be off by several points
A smaller share of residents in Salem live below the poverty line than in the typical Arkansas or U.S. town
Salem has 293 jobs for its 1,240 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
2.4% of residents live below the poverty line in Salem. Since 2013, Salem has added 132 jobs, to 293 in 2023. 0.6% of working residents work locally in Salem.
| Salem | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 2.4% | 18% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 0.6% | 22% | 8% |
| Median household income | $74,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Salem has mild winters and hot summers
Salem has mild winters and hot summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Salem is 92°F.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Inland flooding leads a high hazard risk in Salem
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 66% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Residents of Salem are healthier than 57% of U.S. towns
Its widest gap with Arkansas is tooth loss: 8.2% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 18.6% statewide. Within Arkansas it is healthier than 84% of the 123 graded towns: much of Arkansas scores lower on these measures.
Salem beats the Arkansas average on 13 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 31% of Salem adults feel lonely.
| Salem | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 35% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 20% | 14% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 34% | 39% | 35% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 34% | 25% |
| What stands out | Salem | AR |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 8.2% | 18.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10.9% | 18.5% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.2% | 8.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Salem’s grade for cost of living is an A
Typical home values rose 6.9% in the year to September 2026.
Typical home value
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Everything we know about Salem
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Salem
About 5 of every 100 Salem residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Arkansas.
About Salem
CDP in Arkansas, United States
Salem is a census-designated place (CDP) in Saline County, Arkansas, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 2,544. It is part of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 3.2 sq mi
- Elevation
- 469 ft
- Area code
- 501
Salem’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Salem.
Salem reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Salem with a neighbor →
Questions about Salem
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Salem, AR a good place to live?
Yes, by almost any measure. Salem grades A+ overall, better than 98% of U.S. towns and #1 of 123 in Arkansas. It grades B for health and A for schools.
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.