Photo: Fletcher6 · CC BY-SA 3.0Salem has higher unemployment (5.1%) than 63% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 4.6 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 47.9 in Boston. Jobs and income earn Salem B; getting around on foot earns it A+. The trip to work takes 29 minutes on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Salem’s Jobs & income grade, measure by measure
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Salem is better than 62% of U.S. towns, #216 of 283 in Massachusetts. Job access by car holds Salem’s grade up (ahead of 91% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Salem could be anywhere from B− to A−.
The workday shuffle in and out of Salem
On a workday 17,447 residents head out to work, 3,521 work right here, and 13,783 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.83 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
18% of working residents work in Boston
Where Salem clocks in
18% of workers
6% 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.
65% of the jobs in Salem pay over $3,333 a month
17,304 jobs are based in Salem.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Salem, 2013 → 2023: 18,409 → 17,304. 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.
The daily trip from Salem: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.1 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Salem workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 19,644 commuters (the 22% who work from home are left out). Across Massachusetts: 75% drive alone, 8% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How many miles Salem commutes
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.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Salem
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Salem is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #19 of 283 in Massachusetts. 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 25,047 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 86% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 45% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.6 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 83% 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). 14.7% of Salem households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 7% of Salem’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 32,000 to 61,000, Salem ranks 546th of 953 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Arlington OH | 35,893 | $155K | 3.3% | 2.0% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 20 | Lexington MA | 34,648 | $238K | 4.7% | 2.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Shrewsbury MA | 39,627 | $139K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 40 | Arlington MA | 46,563 | $151K | 5.4% | 2.9% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 544 | Millcreek Township PA | 52,680 | $76K | 9.7% | 3.5% | 23% | B |
| 545 | Carpentersville IL | 37,045 | $87K | 10.3% | 5.9% | 6% | B |
| 546 | Salem MA | 45,381 | $85K | 12.1% | 5.1% | 17% | B |
| 547 | Bristol Township PA | 54,063 | $79K | 10.3% | 5.4% | 11% | B |
| 548 | Fairfield OH | 44,682 | $78K | 8.4% | 5.5% | 14% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 953 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | 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 Massachusetts.
18% of Salem works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Beverly (6%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Salem workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salem | – | B | A+ | 29 min | $85,153 |
| Beverly | 6% | A− | A+ | 30 min | $106,044 |
| Marblehead | 2% | A+ | A+ | 33 min | $182,132 |
| Peabody | 5% | A− | A− | 26 min | $96,657 |
| Danvers | 5% | A | A | 28 min | $125,395 |
| Swampscott | under 2% | A− | A+ | 34 min | $134,386 |
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?
$85,153 (±$5,154) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Salem?
12.1%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Salem?
29 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 22% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Salem work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (18%, 13 mi), Beverly (6%, 5 mi), Danvers (5%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Salem walkable?
Salem is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 14.3 out of 20, and 16% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Salem without a car?
7% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. 45% 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.