Salem Township’s household incomes are lower than in 96% of U.S. towns
At home: 2% of workers have no commute at all (Missouri 13%). 23.1% of residents live below the poverty line, against 12.6% across Missouri. The two grades for Salem Township are D− for jobs and income and C for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Salem Township
A longer commute than the towns next door
Salem Township averages 27 minutes each way, more than any bordering town (17 to 24 minutes). Next door ↓
Few Salem Township workers work from home
Only 2% of workers work from home, against 13% across Missouri. Almost everyone here travels to a job. Time on the road ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; with 876 working residents, small shifts move the shares.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Salem Township
All three inputs sit close together, so no single one decides Salem Township’s grade.
Unemployment (2.9%) is left out: Salem Township’s labor force is under 1,000, too few workers for a steady figure.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income and poverty, Salem Township could be anywhere from D− to D.
Commuting from Salem Township: about 27 minutes a trip
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Salem Township workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 772 commuters (the 2% who work from home are left out). Across Missouri: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Salem Township on a workday afternoon
On a workday 760 residents head out to work, 116 work right here, and 432 people come in from elsewhere.
About 2,000 people are in Salem Township on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.63 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
12% of working residents work in Kennett
Where Salem Township clocks in
12% of workers
9% of workers
8% 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.
What Salem Township’s employers do
548 jobs are based in Salem Township.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Salem Township, 2013 → 2023: 640 → 548. 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 Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The commute from Salem Township, by distance
About 29% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
Most trips from Salem Township start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Salem Township is more walkable than 29% of U.S. towns. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.2% across Missouri.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 789 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 14.1% of Salem Township households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Salem Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
Where Salem Township sits among U.S. towns of 1,700 to 3,200
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenilworth IL | 2,437 | $250K | 2.1% | 4.0% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Chevy Chase Village MD | 1,978 | $250K | 1.2% | 2.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Warson Woods MO | 1,990 | $207K | 1.3% | 1.8% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 47 | Weatherby Lake MO | 2,139 | $153K | 3.4% | 1.4% | 1% | A+ |
| 48 | Lake Winnebago MO | 1,869 | $179K | 1.0% | 0.0% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,847 | Soap Lake WA | 1,817 | $48K | 27.4% | 8.9% | 3% | D− |
| 4,848 | Crandon WI | 1,726 | $43K | 20.9% | 1.8% | 16% | D− |
| 4,849 | Salem Township MO | 2,360 | $40K | 23.1% | 2.9% | 13% | D− |
| 4,850 | Macon MS | 2,432 | $32K | 34.7% | 8.5% | 24% | D− |
| 4,851 | Wewoka OK | 3,046 | $38K | 28.5% | 11.2% | 27% | D− |
| … | |||||||
| 4,995 | Lame Deer MT | 1,872 | $24K | 55.8% | 42.2% | 60% | 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 Township, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
The towns around Salem Township
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Salem Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salem Township | – | D− | C | 27 min | $40,352 |
| Independence Township | under 2% | D | B | 22 min | $55,521 |
| Clay Township | 2% | D− | B− | 24 min | $50,000 |
| Buffalo Township | under 2% | D− | D | 17 min | $24,537 |
| Arbyrd | under 2% | — | — | 21 min | — |
Same-state neighbors only. Arbyrd: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Clay Township. Darker towns draw more of Salem Township’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 Township: questions
What is the median household income in Salem Township?
$40,352 (±$8,853) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Salem Township?
23.1%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Salem Township?
27 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 2% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Salem Township work?
13% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kennett (12%, 12 mi), Paragould (9%, 19 mi), Senath (8%, 2 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Salem Township walkable?
Salem Township is more walkable than 29% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 6.6 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Salem Township without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 14% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Salem Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Salem Township
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.