Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Little here grades badly. It does especially well on cost of living: a typical home costs about $179K, 2.4 years of the Pittsburgh metro’s $76K median household income. Salem Township’s overall grade is A, better than 92% of U.S. towns. That places it 166th of 1032 in Pennsylvania. Incomes are another plus: the median household earns $80K. The town has 3 places on the National Register. The biggest park or preserve is Seanor Farm Park, at 104 acres. Its midpoint age is 55 years, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 43.2 years and U.S. towns at 40.5 years.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · National Register of Historic Places · OpenStreetMap.
Where Salem Township beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Salem Township is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 6,939 in 2000, 6,083 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1900 and 4 maps from 1904 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Who provides power, water and the rest in Salem Township, 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 Township.
Salem Township’s FEMA hazard score comes in at 9 of 100. 85% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from inland flooding. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 91% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Each of its 7 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its B−, Murrysville highest at A+.
Public schools: Greensburg Salem SD. Its one school is below. Enrollment at Salem Township’s public school: 256 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metzgar El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 256 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Adults 18 to 34 are 12% of residents (22% statewide); people 65 and older are 29% of residents (20% statewide). The share of residents in Salem Township who are under 18: 17%. The Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate puts Salem Township at 6,006 residents, down 2.4% since 2020. Four-year graduates: 29% of adults 25 and older here, 35% across Pennsylvania.
| Salem Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 55 years | 43.2 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 29% | 21% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 17% | 20% | 22% |
50% women, 50% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±3.1 points. Across Pennsylvania, 50.7% of residents are women. Among residents 18 to 24, 90% are men (PA 51%).
| Salem Township | PA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 6.6% | 10.8% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 9.9% | 9.7% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 2.8% | 9% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 9% | 13% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9% | 12.6% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 12.6% | 11.9% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 21.2% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 12.6% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 16.2% | 8.1% | 7% |
| No diploma | 3.1% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 41.9% | 32.9% | 26% |
| Some college | 16% | 15.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.4% | 8.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 20.1% | 20.9% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 8.5% | 14.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
For Salem Township, the peak summer temperature is 83°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Salem Township: 16% of adults report frequent mental distress. Just over four fifths of Salem Township adults had a checkup this year.
| Salem Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 81% | 79% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 16% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 35% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 18% | 16% |
| What stands out | Salem Township | PA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 82.8% | 79.2% |
| More adults getting cholesterol checked | 87.6% | 85.3% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.7% | 8.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
For half of commuters, work is under 13 miles away. The typical journey to work in Salem Township is 20 minutes. Most people who work leave Salem Township to do it: just 8% work in town. The top destinations are Hempfield Township (8%), Murrysville (7%) and Greensburg (6%).
| Salem Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 6.5% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
There are 7.9 miles of trail across 4 parks and preserves. Salem Township’s trail density is 0.2 miles per square mile.
| Salem Township | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 9.4% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Seanor Farm Park | 0.5 mi | 104 |
| 2. Shields Farm | 0.1 mi | 64 |
| 3. Fairview Park | — | 15 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Salem Township. Close and well known come first.
Big draw36 mi MuseumFallingwater
Big draw26 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Stadium
18 mi Theme parkKennywood
26 mi LandmarkFort Duquesne
26 mi Stadium & arenaPNC Park
25 mi Stadium & arenaPPG Paints ArenaFallingwater: Carol M. Highsmith, Public domain · Acrisure Stadium: Fo2grfr, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Kennywood: Ski2007 of English Wikipedia, Public domain · Fort Duquesne: Sébastien Paquin, CC BY-SA 3.0 · PNC Park: alpineinc, CC BY 2.0 · PPG Paints Arena: Jleedev, CC BY-SA 4.0
6 within 15 miles of the center of Salem Township
About 4 of every 100 Salem Township residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
3 places in Salem Township on the National Register of Historic Places.
Township in Pennsylvania, US
Salem Township is a township in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,083 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
10 towns share a border with Salem Township.
Murrysville next door grades higher for schools (A+ to Salem Township’s B−) and lower for cost of living (C− to A).
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salem Township | #166 | A | A | — | B− | B |
| Unity Township | #253 | A | B | — | A | B |
| Hempfield Township | #104 | A+ | B+ | — | A | B+ |
| Derry Township | #467 | B+ | A− | — | B+ | C+ |
| Washington Township | #80 | A+ | B+ | A+ | A− | B |
| Delmont | #183 | A | C+ | A+ | A | A− |
| Bell Township | — | — | A+ | — | A− | B− |
| Murrysville | #41 | A+ | C− | A+ | A+ | A |
Bell Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Salem Township, Unity Township, Hempfield Township, Derry Township and Bell Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Salem Township with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. It grades B for health and B− for schools.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.
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