Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Salem are higher than in 89% of U.S. towns
Only 6% stay in Salem for work; outside it, Groton is the main destination (16%, 15 miles). Below the poverty line: 6.2% of residents, against 10.0% across Connecticut. Salem grades A for jobs and income and C+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The commute and the jobs: Salem in brief
Salem’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Salem is better than 86% of U.S. towns, #59 of 155 in Connecticut. Household income is its strongest input ($123,245, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.2%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Salem could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Getting to work from Salem takes about 32 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Salem workers work from home, vs 16% across Connecticut. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,855 commuters (the 18% who work from home are left out). Across Connecticut: 82% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Salem on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,737 residents head out to work, 114 work right here, and 513 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,100 people are in Salem on a workday afternoon, 28% fewer than live here.
0.34 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where Salem goes to work
Where Salem clocks in
16% of workers
8% of workers
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
The kinds of work in Salem
627 jobs are based in Salem.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Salem, 2013 → 2023: 734 → 627. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Salem’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Half of Salem commutes less than 14 miles
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Most trips from Salem start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Salem is more walkable than 37% of U.S. towns, #115 of 155 in Connecticut. Both inputs place Salem near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,263 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 0.6% of Salem households have no vehicle (Connecticut 8.8%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Salem’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Salem is 565th among 4,039 U.S. towns of 3,000 to 5,800
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Bethany CT | 5,339 | $166K | 2.3% | 1.1% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 50 | Andover CT | 3,173 | $135K | 1.8% | 0.4% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 140 | East Granby CT | 5,432 | $121K | 3.2% | 1.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 563 | Saddle River NJ | 3,430 | $212K | 4.3% | 7.3% | 3% | A |
| 564 | Madison OH | 3,427 | $95K | 4.1% | 2.6% | 4% | A |
| 565 | Salem CT | 4,324 | $123K | 6.2% | 3.2% | 6% | A |
| 566 | Crockery Township MI | 4,784 | $90K | 2.4% | 3.4% | 5% | A |
| 567 | New Ipswich NH | 5,467 | $111K | 1.4% | 2.4% | 12% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 4,039 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Salem, the top three, the last and three more from Connecticut.
11% of Salem works in a town next door
The biggest share goes to Montville (4%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Salem workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salem | – | A | C+ | 32 min | $123,245 |
| Montville | 4% | B+ | C+ | 25 min | $96,454 |
| Bozrah | under 3% | A− | C− | 29 min | $108,516 |
| Colchester | 4% | A+ | C | 30 min | $122,390 |
| East Haddam | under 3% | A− | C− | 30 min | $107,861 |
| Lyme | under 3% | A | B | 31 min | $135,000 |
| East Lyme | 3% | A− | B | 26 min | $105,044 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Salem’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Salem: questions
What is the median household income in Salem?
$123,245 (±$7,876) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,781 across Connecticut and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Salem?
6.2%, against 10.0% across Connecticut and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Salem?
32 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Connecticut and 26 nationally. 18% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Salem work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Groton (16%, 15 mi), Norwich (8%, 10 mi), Waterford (5%, 11 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Salem walkable?
Salem is more walkable than 37% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 6.5 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Salem without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Salem, from the people who make the trip.
More of Salem
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.