Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Salem Township gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $110K, 1.8 years of the Centralia area’s $61K median household income. It grades B overall, ranked 417th of 767 in Illinois. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 72% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. 34% of working residents work locally in Salem Township, above both the Illinois town median (8.3%) and the median of U.S. towns (8%). The biggest park or preserve is Bryan Memorial Park, at 61 acres.
Where Salem Township beats most towns.
Where Salem Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Salem Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,182 in 1870, 7,282 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1850 and 3 maps from 1934 on.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Salem Township, 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 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Salem Township.
5,586 jobs are based in Salem Township, 1.5 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 15.3 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
About one in 3 of Salem Township’s working residents works in town. Salem Township’s average trip to work is 15 minutes. Jobs based in Salem Township grew to 5,586 in 2023, 735 more than in 2013.
| Salem Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 15 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 4.5% | 11% | 11% |
| Median household income | $65,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Its public schools are run by Salem SD 111. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Salem Community High School, with 706 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Park Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 4–8 | Grades 4–8 | 528 | B+ |
| Salem Community High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 706 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within IL on state tests and graduation
Salem Township beats the Illinois average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 15% of Salem Township adults report frequent physical distress.
| Salem Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 35% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| What stands out | Salem Township | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.9% | 9.9% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 16.7% | 10.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Since 1979, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Salem Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Salem Township has chilly winters and warm summers. The July high in Salem Township is 87°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Salem Township | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.4% | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Marion County Fair Grounds | 0.9 mi | 57 |
| 2. Bryan Memorial Park | — | 61 |
| 3. Tully Park | — | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Salem Township
About 4 of every 100 Salem Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
City in Illinois, United States
Salem is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,282 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Salem Township.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salem Township | #417 | B | A− | — | B+ | C |
| Tonti Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Odin Township | — | — | A− | — | D | C |
| Raccoon Township | — | — | A− | — | C | C |
| Stevenson Township | — | — | A | — | A− | C |
Odin Township, Raccoon Township and Stevenson Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Salem Township, Odin Township, Raccoon Township and Stevenson Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Tonti Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Salem Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Salem Township grades B overall, better than 58% of U.S. towns and #417 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C for health and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
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−.