Salem TownshipAllegan County, MI
A town of 5,269. Public schools that outperform most of Michigan.
Is Salem Township a good place to live?
Salem Township gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $308K for a typical one, or 3.7 years of the Holland area’s $83K median household income. It grades A− overall, 123rd among Michigan's 697 graded towns. On the plus side, the median household earns $89K. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 94% of U.S. towns. On the outdoors, just 107 of Michigan’s 1,279 towns do worse.
What makes Salem Township stand out
Where Salem Township beats most towns.
Salem Township has grown 19% since 2010
4,446 counted in 2010 and 5,156 in 2020; an estimated 5,269 in 2025.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
How Salem Township grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Michigan), ordered by how far Salem Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Salem Township: who provides what
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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Salem Township.
Salem Township pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices and sends most of its workers to Grand Rapids and beyond.
Public schools in Salem Township beat 76% of Michigan districts
Its A− for schools comes with a B for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $308K.
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Marys Catholic Schools PrivateLargest elementary schoolGrades PK–8 | Grades PK–8 | 42 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MI on state tests and graduation
Most working residents commute out of Salem Township
Salem Township has 629 jobs for its 2,671 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. Jobs based here grew from 313 in 2011 to 629.
Most working residents leave Salem Township for work: only 6% work in town. 2.9% of Salem Township residents live below the poverty line, where Michigan’s towns sit at 8.9% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Jobs based in Salem Township grew to 629 in 2021, 316 more than in 2011.
| Salem Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 2.9% | 8.9% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 25 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $89,000 | $77,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2021 · ACS
Salem Township is healthier than 70% of U.S. towns
Salem Township beats the Michigan average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 20% of Salem Township adults binge drink, above both the Michigan town median (17%) and the median of U.S. towns (16%). 31% of Salem Township adults sleep under 7 hours.
| Salem Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 17% | 16% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 34% | 36% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 36% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 9.5% | 12% | 12% |
| What stands out | Salem Township | MI |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 11.2% | 15.4% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.5% | 8.7% |
| More binge drinkers | 20% | 15.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
More middle-aged adults than Michigan overall
Adults 35 to 64 are 47% of residents (38% statewide); people 65 and older are 13% of residents (19% statewide). 19% of residents are under 18 in Salem Township. Salem Township has grown 2.3% since 2020, to 5,269 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Salem Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aged 65 or older | 13% | 19% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 19% | 21% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 23% | 26% | 29% |
| Median age | 40.4 years | 42.5 years | 40.5 years |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.7 points. Across Michigan, 50.4% of residents are women.
| Salem Township | MI | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 10.2% | 11.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.3% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7.6% | 9.2% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 12.5% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 17.1% | 12.2% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 21.9% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7% | 11.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.4% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 2.7% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 45.6% | 28% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.4% | 21.9% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.1% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 17.6% | 19.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 5.6% | 12.7% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Salem Township has snowy winters and pleasant summers
Salem Township has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 18° and about 78 inches of snow falls in a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Salem Township has set aside 0.7% of its land for conservation
5.0 miles of trail in 0 parks and preserves.
| Salem Township | Michigan towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.7% | 4.4% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Salem Township faces a low natural-hazard risk, led by inland flooding
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 61% of U.S. communities. Since 2023, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Salem Township.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum and 12 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Salem Township. Close and well known come first.
19 mi MuseumGerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
30 mi Park & preserveNorth Country Trail
23 mi MuseumFrederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
37 mi Theme parkAir Zoo19 mi TheatreAcrisure Amphitheater
20 mi Theme parkRamona ParkPhoto credits
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum: Staff of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, Public domain · North Country Trail: Huron-Manistee National Forests, Public domain · Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park: User Jeffness on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Air Zoo: User:my name, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ramona Park: Gpwitteveen, CC BY-SA 3.0
Everything we know about Salem Township
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Salem Township
About 4 of every 100 Salem Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Michigan.
94% of working residents leave Salem Township for work
Where Salem Township’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2021
About Salem Township
Township in Michigan, United States
Salem Township is a civil township of Allegan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,156 at the 2020 census, up from 3,486 at the 2000 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 36 sq mi
- Elevation
- 666 ft
Salem Township’s neighbors
4 towns share a border with Salem Township.
| Town | MI rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salem Township | #123 | A− | B | — | A− | B+ |
| Overisel Township | #147 | A− | B− | — | A− | B+ |
| Monterey Township | #438 | C+ | B+ | — | B− | C+ |
| Jamestown Township | #57 | A | C | — | A+ | A |
| Dorr Township | #171 | A− | B− | — | A− | B+ |
Salem Township, Overisel Township, Monterey Township, Jamestown Township and Dorr Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Salem Township with a neighbor →
Questions about Salem Township
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Salem Township, MI a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Salem Township grades A− overall, better than 84% of U.S. towns and #123 of 697 in Michigan. It grades B+ for health and A− for schools. Walkability is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Salem Township, MI expensive?
Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.