Photo: Smallbones · Public domainHousehold incomes in Salem trail those of 97% of U.S. towns
Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 1.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 43.7 in Jersey City. The poverty rate is 24.8%, next to 9.7% for New Jersey as a whole. Jobs and income earn Salem D; getting around on foot earns it A.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Salem: the figures worth knowing
Jobs in Salem have more than doubled in ten years
Jobs based in Salem went from 1,355 in 2013 to 2,781 in 2023, +105%. The jobs ↓
The jobs in Salem pay better than its residents’ jobs
83% of the jobs based in Salem pay over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year), against 53% of the jobs Salem residents hold. 94% of the jobs here are held by people who live outside Salem. The jobs ↓
No single place dominates Salem’s commute
The biggest draw, Philadelphia, PA, gets only 6% of working residents, and 64% work outside the top ten towns entirely. Salem residents fan out across the region. The commute map ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
54% of the jobs in Salem are in trade, transport and utilities, against 30% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
Why Salem gets the Jobs & income grade it does
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Salem is better than 13% of U.S. towns, #466 of 468 in New Jersey. Job access by car holds Salem’s grade up (ahead of 75% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($38,721, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Salem could be anywhere from D to C.
83% of the jobs in Salem pay over $3,333 a month
2,781 jobs are based in Salem.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Salem, 2013 → 2023: 1,355 → 2,781. 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.
6% of working residents work in Philadelphia
Where Salem clocks in
6% of workers
6% of workers
5% 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.
How a workday changes Salem
On a workday 2,082 residents head out to work, 161 work right here, and 2,620 people come in from elsewhere.
About 5,900 people are in Salem on a workday afternoon, 10% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.24 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.
About 29 minutes each way, about the NJ average
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.2 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Salem workers work from home, vs 17% across New Jersey. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,858 commuters (the 9% who work from home are left out). Across New Jersey: 75% drive alone, 10% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How many miles Salem commutes
About 20% 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.
Salem is more walkable than most U.S. towns, with limited transit
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Salem is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns, #202 of 468 in New Jersey. Both inputs place Salem near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 2,031 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 70% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.7 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 65% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 27.3% of Salem households have no vehicle (New Jersey 11.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 5% of Salem’s commuters take a bus or train.
Salem is 3,170th of 3,541 U.S. towns of 3,800 to 7,300 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Huntington Woods MI | 6,274 | $190K | 2.2% | 0.9% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Glendale MO | 6,060 | $171K | 2.0% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Ho-Ho-Kus NJ | 4,313 | $250K | 0.0% | 1.7% | 6% | A+ |
| 4 | Norwood NJ | 5,817 | $178K | 2.8% | 0.9% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 11 | Hainesport Township NJ | 6,197 | $143K | 2.1% | 0.0% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 3,168 | Sparks TX | 4,134 | $35K | 51.7% | 9.6% | 1% | D |
| 3,169 | Williamsburg KY | 5,371 | $38K | 30.9% | 3.9% | 32% | D |
| 3,170 | Salem NJ | 5,389 | $39K | 24.8% | 10.2% | 7% | D |
| 3,171 | Ridgway PA | 3,893 | $53K | 13.0% | 6.7% | 21% | D |
| 3,172 | East Eldorado Township IL | 5,182 | $51K | 19.0% | 5.1% | 23% | D |
| … | |||||||
| 3,541 | 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 New Jersey.
Salem and its neighbors
The biggest share goes to Pennsville Township (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Salem workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salem | – | D | A | 29 min | $38,721 |
| Mannington Township | under 2% | A | B+ | 23 min | $109,271 |
| Elsinboro Township | under 2% | B+ | C− | 33 min | $90,385 |
| Pennsville Township | 2% | C+ | B | 24 min | $75,097 |
| Quinton Township | 2% | B | C+ | 30 min | $86,563 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Salem’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: questions
What is the median household income in Salem?
$38,721 (±$16,001) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,556 across New Jersey and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Salem?
24.8%, against 9.7% across New Jersey and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Salem?
29 minutes each way on average, against 31 across New Jersey and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Salem work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Philadelphia (6%, 35 mi), Logan Township (6%, 17 mi), Carneys Point Township (5%, 9 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Salem walkable?
Salem is more walkable than 92% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 12.5 out of 20, and 6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Salem without a car?
5% of commuters take transit and 27% of households have no car. 70% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
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.