Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Salem gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $187K for a typical one, or 3.3 years of the county’s $56K median household income. It grades C− overall, 186th among Missouri's 247 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 93% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. 28% of working residents work locally in Salem, above both Missouri’s towns (13%) and U.S. towns (8%). Dent County Courthouse and W. A. Young House is on the National Register of Historic Places. Only 9 of the 242 Missouri towns we compare have a lower median rent than Salem.
Where Salem beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Salem is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 280 in 1870, 4,608 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1861 and 2 maps from 1941 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
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, fares better on crime within Missouri than nationally and is healthier than towns with similar incomes.
2.6 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. The trail density in Salem is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Salem | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.8% | 2.1% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Al Brown Ball Fields | — | 13 |
| 2. Dent County Fairgound | — | 6 |
| 3. Bonebrake | 0.2 mi | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Salem R-80 school district. Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Salem SR. High, with 606 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salem Upper Elem.Largest public elementary schoolGrades 2–5 | Grades 2–5 | 335 | C |
| Salem SR. HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 606 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
Against the 3,650 U.S. towns with household incomes like Salem’s, it is less healthy than 72%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income.
18% of Salem adults report frequent physical distress. Salem beats the Missouri average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 15. 21% of Salem adults smoke cigarettes.
| Salem | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 15% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 17% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 30% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 22% | 19% |
| What stands out | Salem | MO |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 25.6% | 15.8% |
| More adults with COPD | 12.2% | 8% |
| More adults with heart disease | 9.3% | 6.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Homes are within reach (about $187K for the typical one, A for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 25 miles. The median property tax bill is $760, against $1,948 across Missouri, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
50% of households own their home in Salem. Typical home values rose 6.1% in the year to September 2026.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 28.3 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 56% of Missouri’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 141 to 57 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Salem has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 22° and about 1 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 1,689 working residents takes 15.3 minutes, against 23.5 across Missouri.
About one in 4 of Salem’s working residents works in town. Salem’s median household income is $44,000. Since 2013, Salem has added 142 jobs, to 2,235 in 2023.
| Salem | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 15 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $44,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 14% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 51% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Salem; the nearest are
About 6 of every 100 Salem residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Missouri.
4 notable people were born in Salem.
City in Missouri, United States
Salem is a city in and the county seat of Dent County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,608 at the 2020 census, which allows Salem to become a Class 3 city in Missouri; however, the city has chosen to remain a Class 4 city under Missouri Revised Statutes. Salem is located a few miles north of the Ozark Scenic Riverways and close to Montauk State Park, which contains the headwaters of the Current River. The name Salem is derived from the Hebrew word Shalom, meaning "peace".
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 #186 of 247 in Missouri. It grades D for health, C for safety 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.
4 notable people were born here, including Paulette Jiles and Elmer Jacobs.
