Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Salem gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $209K for a typical one, or 2.8 years of the Louisville/Jefferson County metro’s $74K median household income. It grades C− overall, ranked 545th of 585 in Indiana. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 95% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, and the median household income is $57K, and 26% of residents live below the poverty line. History is its standout character grade: an A, better than 94% of U.S. towns, with 5 places on the National Register. 26% of residents live below the poverty line in Salem, where Indiana’s towns sit at 10% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. On hazard risk, just 99 of Indiana’s 1,098 towns do worse. Its National Register listings include Hay-Morrison House and Washington County Courthouse.
Where Salem beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 1,223 in 1850, 6,371 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1863 and 3 maps from 1950 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Salem is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
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.
Ordered by what stands out in Salem.
Salem trades lower home prices for longer drives to work, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Indiana (mostly inland flooding) and has poverty well above the Indiana rate.
22% of Salem adults smoke cigarettes. Salem beats the Indiana average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 19. 15% of Salem adults binge drink.
| Salem | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 17% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 21% | 19% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 12% |
| What stands out | Salem | IN |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 12.6% | 8.1% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 23.7% | 15.4% |
| More smokers | 22% | 15.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 97% of Indiana towns, with expected losses of about $275 per resident a year; that rating is what its C for hazard risk is built on.
The FEMA risk score in Salem is 73 of 100. Since 1990, 22 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Salem.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Salem has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 22° and about 14 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Homes are within reach (about $209K for the typical one, A for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 24 miles.
Salem’s median rent is $690 a month. The typical Salem home is worth about $209,000, up 2.8% in a year, 19% below the Indiana typical home.
| Salem | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $690 a month | $947 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 74% | 76% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
About one in 4 of Salem’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Indianapolis (6%), New Albany (6%) and Jeffersonville (4%).
| Salem | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 25% | 11% | 8% |
| Median household income | $57,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 8.8% | 7.8% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Just 21 of its 2,705 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Salem itself; its outdoors grade is D.
0.0 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Riley's Place | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Salem; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Salem residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Indiana.
5 places in Salem on the National Register of Historic Places.
17 notable people were born in Salem.
City in Indiana, United States
Salem is a city in and the county seat of Washington Township, Washington County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 census, Salem had a population of 6,371.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Salem grades C− overall, better than 20% of U.S. towns and #545 of 585 in Indiana. It grades D for health and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
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.
17 notable people were born here, including John Hay and Newton Booth.
