Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Salem grades B+ overall, 53rd of 125 graded towns in New Hampshire. The median household earns $110K. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 90% of the country. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $606K, 5.2 years of the Boston metro’s $116K median household income. On safety, just 10 of New Hampshire’s 149 towns do worse. Salem Common Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places. On civic life, just 7 of New Hampshire’s 187 towns do worse.
Where Salem beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| William T. Barron Elementary School | K–5 | 377 |
| North Salem Elementary School | K–5 | 353 |
| William E. Lancaster School | K–5 | 294 |
Salem Common Historic DistrictCensus counts: 1,218 in 1790, 30,089 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1880 and 6 maps from 1935 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Hampshire), ordered by how far Salem is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Salem. Close and well known come first.
Big draw31 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
in town Ancient siteAmerica's Stonehenge
Big draw32 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
in town Theme parkCanobie Lake Park
25 mi LakeWalden Pond
31 mi AttractionFreedom TrailFenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · America's Stonehenge: User:Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Canobie Lake Park: Alex1961, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Walden Pond: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Freedom Trail: Ingfbruno, CC BY-SA 3.0
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 19, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Salem.
Salem sends many workers across the state line to Andover, is safe by national standards but not by New Hampshire’s and gets more snow than most of the country, though not than most of New Hampshire.
29% of Salem adults feel lonely, below both the New Hampshire town median (30%) and the median of U.S. towns (33%). 15% of Salem adults report frequent mental distress. Salem tracks New Hampshire closely on all 32 CDC measures.
| Salem | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 30% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 14% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 11% | 14% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Salem School District. Three of its 14 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodbury SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 762 | B+ |
| Salem High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,116 | B+ |
| The Birches Academy of Academics - Art A Public Charter SchTop results in townGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 286 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NH on state tests and graduation
The Haverhill weather station, 8 miles away, records that 58 inches of snow fall in a normal winter: more than most of the country, but less than 83% of New Hampshire places with climate records.
Salem has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. Among 126 New Hampshire towns, just 7 have a higher July high than Salem.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Salem’s median rent is $1,625 a month, above both New Hampshire’s towns ($1,382 a month) and U.S. towns ($1,185 a month). The typical Salem home is worth about $606,000, up 2.9% in a year, 19% above the New Hampshire typical home.
| Salem | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,625 a month | $1,382 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 76% | 82% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
38% of working residents cross a state line to work, Andover among the top destinations.
Most working residents leave Salem for work: only 17% work in town. The average trip to work in Salem is 29 minutes. The top destinations are Manchester (6%), Nashua (5%) and Andover (4%).
| Salem | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Median household income | $110,000 | $103,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5% | 6.8% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
13 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. Only 5 of the 126 New Hampshire towns we compare have a lower trail density than Salem. The biggest place to walk is Salem Town Forest, 352 acres with 5.5 miles of trail.
| Salem | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.4% | 18% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 1.2 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Salem Town Forest | 5.5 mi | 352 |
| 2. Michele Memorial Park | — | 47 |
| 3. Millville Street Wetland | — | 46 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
At 22.2 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 93% of New Hampshire’s graded towns. Each of the 4 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Derry (B+) to Atkinson (A+).
Salem’s property crime rate is 15.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Salem | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 15.3 per 1,000 residents | 4.4 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.5 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
106 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 11 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 59% of U.S. communities. Since 1987, 106 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Salem.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the New Hampshire average. 16% of residents are under 18 in Salem. Salem has grown 5.9% since 2020, to 31,868 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate.
| Salem | New Hampshire towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 16% | 18% | 22% |
| Median age | 44.6 years | 45 years | 40.5 years |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 39% | 39% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 19% | 20% | 18% |
48% women, 52% men
About 107 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.5 points). Across New Hampshire, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Salem | NH | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 7.8% | 9.3% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.4% | 8.9% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7% | 8.7% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.8% | 12.7% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 12.2% | 12.4% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 14.7% | 12.4% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16.5% | 15.5% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.1% | 12.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 7.5% | 7.9% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.4% | 5.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 31.3% | 26.8% | 26% |
| Some college | 18.9% | 17.2% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 6.8% | 9.8% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 24.2% | 24.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.5% | 16.1% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
8 within 15 miles of the center of Salem
About 4 of every 100 Salem residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Hampshire.
Town in New Hampshire, United States
Salem is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 30,089 at the 2020 census. Salem is a suburb of Boston and Manchester located on Interstate 93. As the first town along I-93 northbound in New Hampshire, Salem has grown into a regional commercial hub for the northern section of Greater Boston, anchored by the Mall at Rockingham Park and Tuscan Village. Other major sites include Canobie Lake Park, a large amusement park; and America's Stonehenge, a stone structure of disputed origins. It is the former home of Rockingham Park, a horse racetrack. The Sununu political family hails from Salem, including former New Hampshire governor and White House Chief of S…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Salem.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. It grades A for health, C+ for safety and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
New Hampshire has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Salem sits nearer the middle.
