Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Salem grades A− overall, 36th of 151 graded towns in Connecticut. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 94% of the country. Its schools outperform 89% of the state's and the median household earns $123K. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $478K, 5.5 years of the Norwich metro’s $87K median household income. 29% of the land in Salem is conserved, against 14% in Connecticut’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. On hazard risk, just 12 of Connecticut’s 175 towns do better. Salem has 4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Salem Historic District and Abel H. Fish House.
Where Salem beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Salem | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 4.6% | 9.8% |
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Salem Elementary School | PK–8 | 389 |
Census counts: 1,053 in 1820, a low of 403 in 1930, 4,213 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1835 and 5 maps from 1893 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Connecticut), ordered by how far Salem is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Salem. Close and well known come first.
9 mi Stadium & arenaMohegan Sun Arena
10 mi State parkGillette Castle State Park
29 mi Stadium & arenaPeoplesBank Arena
38 mi Stadium & arenaYale Bowl
26 mi Stadium & arenaPratt & Whitney Stadium
36 mi Theme parkLake CompounceMohegan Sun Arena: Bbjeter, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Gillette Castle State Park: Original uploader was Kevinpepin at en.wikipedia, Public domain · PeoplesBank Arena: PeoplesBank Arena, CC BY 2.5 · Yale Bowl: Kenneth Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Pratt & Whitney Stadium: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0 · Lake Compounce: Wildcat1 at English Wikipedia, Public domain
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 Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Salem.
Salem has less tooth loss than most of Connecticut and pairs an A for schools with high home prices.
Its widest gap with Connecticut is tooth loss: 4.6% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 9.8% statewide.
In Salem, 8% of adults have diabetes, where Connecticut’s towns sit at 9.4% and U.S. towns at 12%. Just over a tenth of Salem adults report frequent physical distress.
| Salem | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8% | 9.7% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8% | 9.4% | 12% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 19% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 12% | 14% |
| What stands out | Salem | CT |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 4.6% | 9.8% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.2% | 14.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
That grade comes with a C− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $478K.
Public schools: the Salem School District. Its one school is below. The town’s only public school teaches 389 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salem Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 389 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CT on state tests
Nehantic State Forest, at 884 acres with 4.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Across 19 parks and preserves: 46 miles of trail. Salem’s trail density stands at 1.6 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Walden Preserve | 4.7 mi | 605 |
| 2. Nehantic State Forest | 4.5 mi | 884 |
| 3. Zemko Pond Wildlife Management Area | 4.3 mi | 461 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Jobs in Salem fell by 107 from 2013 to 2023, to 627. The average trip to work for Salem comes to 32 minutes. For half of commuters, work is under 14 miles away. The top destinations are Groton (16%), Norwich (8%) and Waterford (5%).
| Salem | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 27 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $123,000 | $109,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.2% | 11% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 6.2% | 5.8% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate puts Salem at 4,324 residents, up 3.4% since 2020. Adults 18 to 34 are 14% of residents (22% statewide). Also worth knowing: just over half of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in the town.
| Salem | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 51% | 45% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 23% | 19% | 22% |
| Median age | 40.9 years | 44.4 years | 40.5 years |
47% women, 53% men
About 115 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.4 points). Across Connecticut, 50.9% of residents are women.
| Salem | CT | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13% | 10.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.3% | 9.8% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 2.3% | 9.3% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.1% | 12.6% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 17% | 12.7% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 9.1% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.5% | 14.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 13.6% | 10.7% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.1% | 7.8% | 7% |
| No diploma | 1.4% | 8.5% | 10.4% |
| High school | 18.1% | 25.3% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.4% | 16.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.4% | 7.6% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 31.1% | 23.3% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 19.5% | 19.2% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates · in a town of 4,300, single groups can be off by several points
Flood insurance has paid one claim in Salem since 2010. Storm and flood damage is expected to run lower than in nearly two thirds of U.S. communities. Expected losses in Salem break down as 51% from inland flooding and 40% from hurricanes.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Homes in Salem are typically worth about $478,000, up 8.8% in a year, 7% above the Connecticut typical home. The share of households in Salem who live in a home they own: 87%. The rent at the middle of the market in the town is $1,440 a month.
| Salem | Connecticut towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 87% | 81% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,440 a month | $1,451 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
3 within 15 miles of the center of Salem
About 6 of every 100 Salem residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Connecticut.
Where Salem’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
4 places in Salem on the National Register of Historic Places.
Town in Connecticut, United States
Salem is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 4,213 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Salem.
| Town | CT rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salem | #36 | A− | C− | — | A | A |
| Montville | #105 | B− | C+ | — | C+ | A− |
| Bozrah | — | — | C+ | — | C− | A− |
| Colchester | #73 | B+ | C− | — | B | A |
| East Haddam | #49 | A− | C+ | — | B | A |
| Lyme | — | — | C− | — | A | A |
| East Lyme | #32 | A− | D | A | B+ | A |
Bozrah and Lyme have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Salem, Montville, Bozrah, Colchester, East Haddam and Lyme report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Salem with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. It grades A for health and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
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