Photo: M.O. Stevens · CC BY-SA 3.0Unemployment in Salem (5.8%) is higher than in 72% of U.S. towns
About half work in Salem itself; outside it, Portland draws the most (6%, 46 miles). For jobs and income Salem is better than 43% of U.S. towns (C+); for walkability it is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (A). Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 7.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 19.6 in Portland.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The figures behind Salem’s Jobs & income grade
Job access by car holds Salem’s grade up; unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Salem could be anywhere from C+ to B−.
A workday in Salem: who goes, who stays, who comes
On a workday 35,594 residents head out to work, 34,505 work right here, and 69,370 people come in from elsewhere.
About 216,000 people are in Salem on a workday afternoon, 19% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.48 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.
The towns that employ Salem’s residents
Where Salem clocks in
3% 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.
Inside Salem’s 103,875 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Salem, 2013 → 2023: 83,474 → 103,875. 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.
The daily trip from Salem: about 22 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Salem workers work from home, vs 19% across Oregon. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 68,735 commuters (the 16% who work from home are left out). Across Oregon: 80% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How far Salem goes to work
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.
In Salem, walking beats the bus
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 81,657 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 89% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 32% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 7.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 90% 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). 7.7% of Salem households have no vehicle (Oregon 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Salem’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
How Salem ranks: 106th of 162 U.S. towns of 127,000 to 245,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pearland TX | 129,930 | $119K | 4.1% | 3.3% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | North Hempstead NY | 238,982 | $158K | 4.5% | 4.1% | 20% | A |
| 3 | Frisco TX | 236,955 | $150K | 3.6% | 4.6% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 104 | Des Moines IA | 212,086 | $66K | 15.0% | 5.6% | 41% | C+ |
| 105 | Hampton VA | 137,315 | $70K | 12.7% | 6.3% | 25% | C+ |
| 106 | Salem OR | 181,779 | $75K | 14.4% | 5.8% | 49% | C+ |
| 107 | Norfolk VA | 231,013 | $66K | 16.5% | 5.7% | 36% | C+ |
| 108 | Spokane WA | 230,783 | $70K | 13.8% | 5.7% | 52% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 136 | Eugene OR | 178,618 | $67K | 19.0% | 7.6% | 56% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 162 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | 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 Oregon.
How Salem compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Keizer (3%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Salem workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salem | – | C+ | A | 22 min | $75,487 |
| Hayesville | 2% | C | A | 28 min | $58,624 |
| Four Corners | 1% | B− | A | 24 min | $69,669 |
| Keizer | 3% | B+ | A− | 25 min | $84,813 |
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?
$75,487 (±$2,354) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,011 across Oregon and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Salem?
14.4%, against 11.9% across Oregon and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Salem?
22 minutes each way on average, against 23 across Oregon and 26 nationally. 16% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Salem work?
49% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Portland (6%, 46 mi), Keizer (3%, 5 mi), Woodburn (2%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Salem walkable?
Salem is more walkable than 94% of U.S. towns (Walkability A): an EPA walkability index of 13.6 out of 20, and 7% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Salem without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. 32% 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.