Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Salem grades D− overall, 452nd among New Jersey's 466 graded towns, mostly because of safety and health. It reports more crime per resident than 98% of U.S. towns, including 34 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Residents are less healthy than 97% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. One bright spot: it is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 100% of U.S. towns, with 3 places on the National Register. 25% of residents live below the poverty line in Salem, against 6% in New Jersey’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Only 3 of New Jersey’s 530 towns score lower on incomes. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 91% of U.S. communities, with coastal flooding at the top.
Where Salem beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Market Street Historic District
Its founding year, 1675, comes before those of 97% of the New Jersey towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 929 in 1810, a peak of 9,050 in 1950, 5,296 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1850 and 6 maps from 1890 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New Jersey), 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 MuseumUSS New Jersey
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaLincoln Financial Field
Big draw28 mi Stadium & arenaXfinity Mobile Arena
Big draw31 mi Ancient siteIndependence Hall3.0M visitors a year
Big draw32 mi MuseumEastern State Penitentiary
Big draw39 mi MuseumLynnewood HallUSS New Jersey: Camera Operator: PH3 BRYANT, Public domain · Lincoln Financial Field: The original uploader was Betp at French Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Xfinity Mobile Arena: Jen Smith, CC BY 3.0 · Independence Hall: Mys 721tx, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Eastern State Penitentiary: Davidt8, Public domain · Lynnewood Hall: Shuvaev, 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 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Salem.
Salem is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it reports violent crime at 3 times the New Jersey rate and carries more natural-hazard risk than most of New Jersey (mostly coastal flooding).
Violent crime runs at 6.3 per 1,000 residents, 3 times the New Jersey rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−. Reported crimes fell from 251 to 138 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Salem’s violent crime rate is 6.3 per 1,000 residents. Salem reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 98% report less. Salem’s property crime rate is 19.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Salem | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 6.3 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 19.3 per 1,000 residents | 7.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Each of its 4 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its D, Mannington Township highest at A−.
Its public schools are run by the Salem City School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Salem High School, with 393 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salem Middle SchoolLargest public middle schoolGrades 3–8 | Grades 3–8 | 472 | D |
| Salem High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 393 | C |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NJ on state tests and graduation
Against the 2,036 U.S. towns with household incomes like Salem’s, it is less healthy than 80%, so its D− isn’t only a matter of income. All 4 graded neighbors score healthier than its D−, from Quinton Township (C−) to Pennsville Township (B−).
30% of adults say their health is fair or poor in Salem. Among 468 New Jersey towns, just 6 have a higher share of adults who report frequent physical distress than Salem. 21% of adults report frequent mental distress in Salem.
| Salem | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 15% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 11% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 9.7% | 12% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 15% | 17% |
| What stands out | Salem | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.9% | 7.5% |
| Fewer binge drinkers | 12.5% | 15.5% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 19.4% | 7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
At 2.6 years of the Philadelphia metro’s $91K median household income, the typical home (about $234K) costs less against local pay than in 98% of New Jersey towns; that ratio is one input to its B for cost of living. 64.2% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 51.6% across New Jersey.
The typical Salem home is worth about $234,000, about the same as a year ago, 59% below the New Jersey typical home. 35% of Salem households own their home.
| Salem | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 35% | 77% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,075 a month | $1,780 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 97% of New Jersey towns, with expected losses of about $902 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1978, 18 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Salem.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
0.0 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. The biggest park or preserve is Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, at 159 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Refuge | — | 159 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Salem has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 86°, January nights drop to 27° and about 20 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here grew from 1,355 in 2013 to 2,781.
Most working residents leave Salem for work: only 7% work in town. The median household income in Salem is $39,000. Jobs based in Salem grew to 2,781 in 2023, 1,426 more than in 2013.
| Salem | New Jersey towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $39,000 | $113,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
3 within 15 miles of the center of Salem
About 4 of every 100 Salem residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across New Jersey.
Coastal flooding makes up 51% of the storm damage FEMA expects here.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA · OpenStreetMap
3 places in Salem on the National Register of Historic Places.
29 notable people were born in Salem.
City in Salem County, New Jersey, US
Salem is a city in and the county seat of Salem County, the most rural county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The name Salem, for both the city and county, is derived from the Hebrew word shalom, meaning peace. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 5,296, an increase of 150 (+2.9%) from the 2010 census count of 5,146, which in turn reflected a decrease of 711 (−12.1%) from the 5,857 counted in the 2000 census. Salem is part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The town and colony of Salem was laid out in 1675 by John Fenwick and the community was given permission to choose officers in October 1693. It was incorporated on February 21, 1798, as part of the initial …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Salem.
| Town | NJ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salem | #452 | D− | B | D− | D | D− |
| Mannington Township | — | — | C+ | — | A− | C+ |
| Elsinboro Township | — | — | C+ | — | B | C− |
| Pennsville Township | #427 | D | C | C | C− | B− |
| Quinton Township | #402 | C− | B− | — | C− | C− |
Mannington Township and Elsinboro Township have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. Mannington Township, Elsinboro Township and Quinton Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Salem with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Salem grades D− overall, better than 2% of U.S. towns and #452 of 466 in New Jersey. It grades D− for health, D− for safety and D for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
That is 2.6 years of the area's median household income ($91,289 across the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area).
29 notable people were born here, including Johnny Gaudreau and Orlando Jordan.
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