Photo: Ben P L · CC BY-SA 2.0Most of Salem commutes out: there are 0.4 jobs for every working resident
For jobs and income Salem is better than 76% of U.S. towns (A−); for walkability it is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (B−). There are 2,166 jobs in Salem; 5,058 of its residents have a job. Household incomes here are higher than in 84% of U.S. towns.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Salem
Salem has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Salem went from 1,185 in 2013 to 2,166 in 2023, +83%. The jobs ↓
A young workforce
30% of Salem’s working residents are 29 or younger. The jobs ↓
Many jobs in Salem pay little
26% of the jobs based in Salem pay $1,250 a month or less, under $15,000 a year. Young workers hold many of them: 33% of all the jobs here go to people 29 or younger. 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.
How Salem earns its Jobs & income grade
The poverty rate holds Salem’s grade up (4.2%, U.S. 12.5%); unemployment pulls it down (4.7%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Salem could be anywhere from B to A.
The kinds of work in Salem
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Salem, 2013 → 2023: 1,185 → 2,166. 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 commute in and out of Salem
On a workday 4,732 residents head out to work, 326 work right here, and 1,840 people come in from elsewhere.
About 9,300 people are in Salem on a workday afternoon, 24% fewer than live here.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
13% of working residents work in Spanish Fork
Where Salem clocks in
13% of workers
13% of workers
7% 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.
Salem’s commute takes about 24 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.6 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Salem workers work from home, vs 18% across Utah. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,140 commuters (the 14% who work from home are left out). Across Utah: 82% drive alone, 2% 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.
Driving is how Salem gets around
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 5.0% across Utah.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,830 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 38% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 67% 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). 1.0% of Salem households have no vehicle (Utah 4.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Salem’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Salem is 850th among 2,354 U.S. towns of 9,000 to 17,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 92 | West Point UT | 13,058 | $121K | 1.6% | 1.2% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 123 | Centerville UT | 16,480 | $123K | 3.1% | 2.3% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 144 | Plain City UT | 9,256 | $133K | 2.6% | 1.1% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 848 | Goshen Township OH | 16,783 | $78K | 8.0% | 2.2% | 5% | A− |
| 849 | Lake Norman of Catawba NC | 9,906 | $113K | 4.2% | 3.8% | 5% | A− |
| 850 | Salem UT | 12,234 | $111K | 4.2% | 4.7% | 6% | A− |
| 851 | Englewood OH | 13,343 | $80K | 6.4% | 3.4% | 6% | A− |
| 852 | DuPont WA | 9,778 | $121K | 4.6% | 6.2% | 5% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 2,354 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Utah.
Work next door: 20% of Salem’s workers
The biggest share goes to Spanish Fork (13%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Salem workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salem | – | A− | B− | 24 min | $111,117 |
| Woodland Hills | under 3% | A− | C− | 29 min | $151,964 |
| Payson | 7% | B | B+ | 23 min | $89,905 |
| Spanish Fork | 13% | A− | B+ | 20 min | $104,844 |
| Elk Ridge | under 3% | A− | C− | 26 min | $143,167 |
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?
$111,117 (±$5,739) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,166 across Utah and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Salem?
4.2%, against 8.5% across Utah and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Salem?
24 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Utah and 26 nationally. 14% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Salem work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Spanish Fork (13%, 4 mi), Provo (13%, 13 mi), Orem (7%, 17 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Salem walkable?
Salem is more walkable than 52% of U.S. towns (Walkability B−): an EPA walkability index of 9.3 out of 20, and 1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Salem without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% 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.