Dent County Courthouse · Photo: Kbh3rd · CC BY 4.0Household incomes in Salem are lower than in 94% of U.S. towns
About one in four stay in Salem for work; outside it, Rolla is the main destination (9%, 24 miles). 11.1% of residents live below the poverty line, where Missouri as a whole has 12.6%. The two grades for Salem are C 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
Salem at work: what stands out
Commutes from Salem are quick
The average trip to work takes 15 minutes, against 24 across Missouri. That’s about 69 hours a year less on the road than the typical Missouri worker. Time on the road ↓
Fewer than half of Salem workers earn over $40,000 a year
39% of Salem’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, wherever they work, and 19% earn $1,250 a month or less. The jobs ↓
Salem’s biggest commute is a long one
The top workplace outside Salem is Rolla, 25 miles away as the crow flies. 9% of working residents (147) make that trip; no town closer to home draws more of them. How far ↓
A big share show a job far from home
33% of working residents have a main job more than 50 miles away. Part of that is employers that report every worker at one head office, so not all of those trips happen daily. How far ↓
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.
Income, poverty and work: Salem’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Salem is better than 26% of U.S. towns, #164 of 247 in Missouri. Unemployment holds Salem’s grade up (3.0%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($43,923, U.S. $80,734).
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Salem could be anywhere from D to B−.
Getting to work from Salem takes about 15 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 4.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Salem workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,636 commuters (the 6% 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.
The 2,235 jobs based in Salem
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Salem, 2013 → 2023: 2,093 → 2,235. 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.
Short hops and long hauls from Salem
About 33% 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.
The daily flow of workers through Salem
On a workday 1,214 residents head out to work, 475 work right here, and 1,760 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,200 people are in Salem on a workday afternoon, 12% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.32 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.
Where people from Salem work
Where Salem clocks in
9% of workers
2% of workers
2% 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.
In Salem, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Salem is more walkable than 41% of U.S. towns, #191 of 247 in Missouri. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any 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 1,738 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). 8.1% of Salem households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Salem’s commuters take a bus or train.
Among U.S. towns of 3,300 to 6,300, Salem ranks 2,893rd of 3,798 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 4 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 34 | St. Paul MO | 3,849 | $159K | 0.5% | 0.5% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 176 | Frontenac MO | 3,790 | $233K | 2.0% | 4.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,891 | Bensley VA | 5,949 | $51K | 22.0% | 6.5% | 2% | C |
| 2,892 | Belding MI | 6,000 | $60K | 15.5% | 5.4% | 9% | C |
| 2,893 | Salem MO | 4,674 | $44K | 11.1% | 3.0% | 28% | C |
| 2,894 | Kutztown PA | 4,255 | $53K | 20.6% | 6.2% | 9% | C |
| 2,895 | Vassalboro ME | 4,647 | $72K | 12.0% | 7.4% | 4% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 3,798 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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 Missouri.
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?
$43,923 (±$8,132) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Salem?
11.1%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Salem?
15 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Salem work?
28% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Rolla (9%, 24 mi), Columbia (2%, 100 mi), St. James (2%, 25 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Salem walkable?
Salem is more walkable than 41% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 9.1 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Salem without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
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.