Salem city, VA
An independent city, and one of the 3,222 county-level areas the Census Bureau reports for the United States.
Population25,477
Density678.0people per km² of land
Median household income$66,716
Land area38km²
Its peers
These are the 50 areas most like Salem city in population density and median household income (the middle household income). Both are measured in percentage terms and put on the same scale, so neither one counts for more. The closest eight: Jefferson County, KY, Jefferson Parish, LA, Miami-Dade County, FL, Williamsburg city, VA, Duval County, FL, Bexar County, TX, Jackson County, MO, Tulsa County, OK. The peer scores below compare this county with all 50.
Least like its peers
The measures where Salem cityis furthest from the average of its peers. The gap is shown in “sd” (standard deviations), which means typical gaps between peers: −2 sd is about two typical gaps below the peer average. A national ranking would hide these numbers behind the county’s income.
| Measure | Value | Among peers | Nationally | vs peers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private job growth | 10.7 | 100th pct by value | 97th pct by value | +4.0 sd |
| Other religion adherents | 9.91 | 98th pct by value | 95th pct by value | +2.9 sd |
| Net business formation rate | -1.29 | 0th pct by value | 17th pct by value | -2.3 sd |
| Business opening rate | 6.65 | 2nd pct by value | 11th pct by value | -2.0 sd |
| Average test score | 0.25 | 100th pct | 90th pct | +2.0 sd |
| Material security score | 0.606 | 98th pct by value | 71st pct by value | +1.9 sd |
How it has changed
This chart covers 2010–2024. A few measures were published only once — the school, moving-up-the-income-ladder (mobility) and social-ties (social capital) ones. They show as a single point that says so. Everything else is drawn over the years its publisher covers. Each value sits at the year it describes, not the year it came out.
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Every measure
Rates and medians come first, then counts. Counts have no peer score. A county’s population cannot be high or low “for its peers” when the peers were picked partly by density. Density and median household income have no peer score either, since they are what the peers were picked by.
| Adult income rank of children raised poor here | 0.405 | 86 | 38 | +1.1 | Opportunity Atlas |
| Adults under 65 without health insurance | 8.2% | 83 | 80 | -0.8 | CDC PLACES |
| Aggregate travel time to work | 209,030 min | — | — | — | Census ACS 5-year |
| All natural teeth lost, age 65 and over | 12.8% | 56 | 67 | -0.4 | CDC PLACES |
| Any disability | 30.2% | 57 | 61 | -0.3 | CDC PLACES |
| Arrivals per 100 people staying | 10.1 | 76· | 93· | +0.7 | IRS county migration flows |
| Arthritis | 25.4% | 32 | 37 | +0.6 | CDC PLACES |
| Average test score | 0.25 | 100 | 90 | +2.0 | Stanford Education Data Archive |
| Binge drinking | 16.9% | 36 | 61 | +0.3 | CDC PLACES |
| Black Protestant adherents | 0 | 4· | 45· | -1.0 | |
| Black-white residential segregation | 40.7 | 20· | 29· | -0.9 | County Health Rankings |
| Business closing rate | 7.94 | 14· | 37· | -0.9 | Census Business Dynamics Statistics |
| Business establishments | 926 | — | — | — | Census Business Dynamics Statistics |
| Business establishments closed | 74 | — | — | — | Census Business Dynamics Statistics |
| Business establishments opened | 62 | — | — | — | Census Business Dynamics Statistics |
| Business opening rate | 6.65 | 2· | 11· | -2.0 | Census Business Dynamics Statistics |
| Cancer other than skin cancer | 7.3% | 11 | 32 | +1.2 | CDC PLACES |
| Catholic adherents | 7.17 | 12· | 46· | -1.0 | |
| Child poverty rate, ages 0-17 uncertain | 12.9% | 98 | 76 | -1.7 | Census SAIPE |
| Children in single-parent households | 0.295% | 34· | 76· | -0.4 | County Health Rankings |
| Children in the mobility cohort | 1,939 | — | — | — | Opportunity Atlas |
| Cholesterol screening | 85.5% | 51 | 88 | +0.2 | CDC PLACES |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 6.1% | 68 | 68 | -0.4 | CDC PLACES |
| Cognitive disability | 15.5% | 47 | 61 | -0.0 | CDC PLACES |
| Colorectal cancer screening | 64.9% | 98 | 96 | +1.5 | CDC PLACES |
| Congregations per 10,000 people | 16.6 | 96· | 35· | +1.3 | |
| Coronary heart disease | 5.4% | 83 | 73 | -0.9 | CDC PLACES |
| Current asthma | 10.9% | 53 | 39 | +0.1 | CDC PLACES |
| Current cigarette smoking | 13.9% | 62 | 77 | -0.3 | CDC PLACES |
| Dental visit in the past year | 68.3% | 98 | 93 | +1.9 | CDC PLACES |
| Departures per 100 people staying | 9.73 | 76· | 96· | +0.6 | IRS county migration flows |
| Depression | 25.7% | 23 | 31 | +0.7 | CDC PLACES |
| Diagnosed diabetes | 10.4% | 87 | 55 | -1.1 | CDC PLACES |
| Disability-free score | 0.514 | 70· | 70· | +0.7 | |
| Drug overdose deaths uncertain | 52.5 | 28 | 14 | +0.5 | County Health Rankings |
| Economy score | 1.11 | 32· | 66· | -0.3 | |
| Education score | -0.00401 | 71· | 42· | +0.5 | |
| Effective property tax rate | 0.912 | 50· | 56· | -0.4 | Census ACS 5-year |
| Employed | 12,933 | — | — | — | BLS LAUS |
| Evangelical Protestant adherents | 38.3 | 90· | 82· | +1.2 | |
| Fair or poor self-rated health | 17.1% | 91 | 75 | -1.3 | CDC PLACES |
| Fine particulate matter | 5.9 | 96 | 84 | -1.4 | County Health Rankings |
| Firearm fatalities uncertain | 15.7 | 64 | 55 | -0.5 | County Health Rankings |
| Firearm share of suicides, standardised | 87.7 | 4· | 13· | -1.2 | CDC WONDER mortality; RAND firearm ownership database |
| Firearm suicide rate | 8.51 | 65· | 25· | +0.3 | CDC WONDER mortality; RAND firearm ownership database |
| Flu vaccination among Medicare enrollees | 0.54% | 78 | 91 | +0.7 | County Health Rankings |
| Food insecurity | 12.4% | 97 | 80 | -1.5 | CDC PLACES |
| Foreign-born population | 1,087 | — | — | — | Census ACS 5-year |
| Frequent mental distress | 18.2% | 45 | 57 | +0.2 | CDC PLACES |
| Frequent physical distress | 12.9% | 60 | 64 | -0.4 | CDC PLACES |
| Gini index of income inequality | 0.46 | 70 | 34 | -0.5 | Census ACS 5-year |
| Health score | 0.314 | 77· | 73· | +0.6 | |
| Hearing disability | 6.2% | 30 | 78 | +0.2 | CDC PLACES |
| High blood pressure | 31.9% | 85 | 58 | -0.9 | CDC PLACES |
| High cholesterol | 33.8% | 19 | 25 | +0.7 | CDC PLACES |
| High school graduation | 0.9% | 88 | 56 | +1.0 | County Health Rankings |
| Homeownership rate | 63.5% | 76· | 12· | +0.6 | Census ACS 5-year |
| Housing insecurity | 10.6% | 97 | 79 | -1.5 | CDC PLACES |
| Housing units | 11,096 | — | — | — | Census ACS 5-year |
| Incarceration of children raised poor here uncertain | 0.0209 | 96 | 64 | -1.4 | Opportunity Atlas |
| Income gap between arrivals and departures | $-665 | 72· | 35· | +0.1 | IRS county migration flows |
| Independent-living disability | 8% | 68 | 66 | -0.6 | CDC PLACES |
| Injury deaths | 123 | 18 | 18 | +1.0 | County Health Rankings |
| Jail admission rate | 4,890 | 76· | 85· | +0.8 | |
| Jail population rate | 598 | 84· | 71· | +0.8 | |
| Labour force | 13,289 | — | — | — | BLS LAUS |
| Lack of reliable transportation | 7.3% | 97 | 78 | -1.5 | CDC PLACES |
| Lacking social and emotional support | 20.2% | 100 | 93 | -1.6 | CDC PLACES |
| Learning rate | -0.071 | 7 | 4 | -1.4 | Stanford Education Data Archive |
| Life expectancy | 73.2 years | 12 | 29 | -0.9 | County Health Rankings |
| Loneliness | 34.1% | 61 | 47 | -0.6 | CDC PLACES |
| Mainline Protestant adherents | 19.3 | 96· | 91· | +1.9 | |
| Mammography in the past two years | 78.2% | 64 | 88 | +0.5 | CDC PLACES |
| Material security score | 0.606 | 98· | 71· | +1.9 | |
| Mean adjusted gross income per return | $78,270 | 38 | 72 | -0.2 | IRS Statistics of Income |
| Mean income of arriving households | $55,927 | 26· | 53· | -0.5 | IRS county migration flows |
| Mean income of departing households | $56,592 | 18· | 62· | -0.8 | IRS county migration flows |
| Mean travel time to work | 18.7 min | 94 | 86 | -1.5 | Census ACS 5-year |
| Median age | 40.3 years | 78· | 39· | +0.7 | Census ACS 5-year |
| Median gross rent | $1,046 | 22· | 77· | -0.8 | Census ACS 5-year |
| Median home value | $244,800 | 62· | 75· | -0.2 | Census ACS 5-year |
| Median household income | $66,716 | — | 59 | — | Census ACS 5-year |
| Median household income (model-based) | $63,701 | 28 | 53 | -0.6 | Census SAIPE |
| Median property tax bill | 2,232 | 40· | 72· | -0.4 | Census ACS 5-year |
| Membership organisations | 15.3 | 94 | 81 | +1.6 | County Health Rankings |
| Mobility disability | 12.3% | 72 | 61 | -0.8 | CDC PLACES |
| Mobility score | 0.033 | 94· | 59· | +1.4 | |
| Motor vehicle crash deaths uncertain | 7.84 | 90 | 94 | -1.3 | County Health Rankings |
| Net business formation rate | -1.29 | 0· | 17· | -2.3 | Census Business Dynamics Statistics |
| Net migration per 100 people staying | 0.369 | 84· | 58· | +0.6 | IRS county migration flows |
| No leisure-time physical activity | 23.2% | 94 | 76 | -1.1 | CDC PLACES |
| Obesity | 36.2% | 55 | 66 | -0.1 | CDC PLACES |
| Occupied housing units | 10,140 | — | — | — | Census ACS 5-year |
| Orthodox Christian adherents | 0 | 10· | 78· | -0.9 | |
| Other religion adherents | 9.91 | 98· | 95· | +2.9 | |
| Owner-occupied housing units | 6,441 | — | — | — | Census ACS 5-year |
| People covered by a tax return | 20,980 | — | — | — | IRS Statistics of Income |
| People per tax return | 2 | 54· | 13· | -0.0 | IRS Statistics of Income |
| People who did not move | 18,153 | — | — | — | IRS county migration flows |
| Per capita income | $38,127 | 44 | 72 | -0.2 | Census ACS 5-year |
| Population | 25,600 | — | — | — | County Health Rankings |
| Population (firearm measures) | 24,304 | — | — | — | CDC WONDER mortality; RAND firearm ownership database |
| Population aged 15 and over | 21,503 | — | — | — | Census ACS 5-year |
| Population aged 18 and over | 20,601 | — | — | — | CDC PLACES |
| Population aged 25 and over | 17,252 | — | — | — | Census ACS 5-year |
| Population aged 65 and over | 4,965 | — | — | — | Census ACS 5-year |
| Population below the poverty line | 2,500 | — | — | — | Census ACS 5-year |
| Population below the poverty line | 2,459 | — | — | — | Census SAIPE |
| Population for whom poverty status is determined | 23,022 | — | — | — | Census ACS 5-year |
| Population for whom poverty status is determined | 23,644 | — | — | — | Census SAIPE |
| Population in the same house one year ago | 22,251 | — | — | — | Census ACS 5-year |
| Population with a bachelor's degree or higher | 5,373 | — | — | — | Census ACS 5-year |
| Population, decennial census | 25,346 | — | — | — | |
| Poverty rate | 10.9% | 96 | 70 | -1.4 | Census ACS 5-year |
| Poverty rate (model-based) | 10.4% | 98 | 76 | -1.6 | Census SAIPE |
| Premature mortality | 548 | 22 | 35 | +0.7 | County Health Rankings |
| Presidential votes cast, 2000 | 10,770 | — | — | — | MIT Election Data and Science Lab |
| Presidential votes cast, 2004 | 11,484 | — | — | — | MIT Election Data and Science Lab |
| Presidential votes cast, 2008 | 12,406 | — | — | — | MIT Election Data and Science Lab |
| Presidential votes cast, 2012 | 12,318 | — | — | — | MIT Election Data and Science Lab |
| Presidential votes cast, 2016 | 12,225 | — | — | — | MIT Election Data and Science Lab |
| Presidential votes cast, 2020 | 13,051 | — | — | — | MIT Election Data and Science Lab |
| Presidential votes cast, 2024 | 13,148 | — | — | — | MIT Election Data and Science Lab |
| Pretrial share of the jail population | 43.4% | 22· | 23· | -1.0 | |
| Preventable hospital stays | 2,210 | 94 | 71 | -1.3 | County Health Rankings |
| Private job growth | 10.7 | 100· | 97· | +4.0 | BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages |
| Private jobs | 16,398 | — | — | — | BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages |
| Received food stamps | 10.3% | 3· | 31· | -1.3 | CDC PLACES |
| Religious adherents | 74.6 | 94· | 92· | +1.1 | |
| Republican share of the two-party vote, 2000 | 58.7 | 82· | 50· | +1.0 | MIT Election Data and Science Lab |
| Republican share of the two-party vote, 2004 | 62.6 | 90· | 54· | +1.3 | MIT Election Data and Science Lab |
| Republican share of the two-party vote, 2008 | 57.9 | 88· | 49· | +1.3 | MIT Election Data and Science Lab |
| Republican share of the two-party vote, 2012 | 60.5 | 92· | 46· | +1.4 | MIT Election Data and Science Lab |
| Republican share of the two-party vote, 2016 | 63.2 | 96· | 35· | +1.6 | MIT Election Data and Science Lab |
| Republican share of the two-party vote, 2020 | 59.9 | 94· | 30· | +1.6 | MIT Election Data and Science Lab |
| Republican share of the two-party vote, 2024 | 59.7 | 90· | 26· | +1.4 | MIT Election Data and Science Lab |
| Republican swing, 2000 to 2024 | 1 | 70· | 23· | +0.6 | MIT Election Data and Science Lab |
| Returns claiming charitable contributions | 5.41% | 50· | 79· | -0.1 | IRS Statistics of Income |
| Returns claiming the earned income credit | 12.4% | 4· | 30· | -1.3 | IRS Statistics of Income |
| Returns reporting capital gains | 19.2% | 86· | 71· | +0.9 | IRS Statistics of Income |
| Returns reporting unemployment compensation | 1.02% | 18· | 22· | -0.8 | IRS Statistics of Income |
| Routine checkup in the past year | 76.9% | 34· | 70· | -0.4 | CDC PLACES |
| Safety score | -0.231 | 51· | 48· | +0.2 | |
| Self-care disability | 3.2% | 91 | 72 | -1.2 | CDC PLACES |
| Share aged 65 and over | 19.5% | 90· | 48· | +0.9 | Census ACS 5-year |
| Share Asian, not Hispanic | 1.94% | 16· | 76· | -1.1 | Census ACS 5-year |
| Share Black, not Hispanic | 7.68% | 8· | 63· | -1.1 | Census ACS 5-year |
| Share divorced | 12.3% | 68· | 58· | +0.4 | Census ACS 5-year |
| Share foreign-born | 4.27% | 4· | 57· | -0.9 | Census ACS 5-year |
| Share Hispanic or Latino, any race | 4.47% | 10· | 42· | -0.8 | Census ACS 5-year |
| Share in the same house a year ago | 87.3% | 88· | 40· | +0.9 | Census ACS 5-year |
| Share never married | 35.6% | 34· | 84· | -0.4 | Census ACS 5-year |
| Share now married | 45.4% | 50· | 16· | +0.1 | Census ACS 5-year |
| Share of suicides by firearm | 48.1% | 7· | 14· | -1.0 | CDC WONDER mortality; RAND firearm ownership database |
| Share of two or more races, not Hispanic uncertain | 2.39% | 4· | 22· | -1.4 | Census ACS 5-year |
| Share separated uncertain | 1.31% | 4· | 29· | -1.6 | Census ACS 5-year |
| Share White, not Hispanic | 82.4% | 100· | 53· | +1.7 | Census ACS 5-year |
| Share widowed | 6.69% | 86· | 45· | +1.0 | Census ACS 5-year |
| Share with a bachelor's degree or higher | 31.1% | 28 | 80 | -0.6 | Census ACS 5-year |
| Sleeping less than 7 hours | 38.2% | 56 | 44 | -0.3 | CDC PLACES |
| Stroke | 2.9% | 81 | 67 | -1.0 | CDC PLACES |
| Suicide rate uncertain | 18.3 | 9 | 48 | +1.5 | County Health Rankings |
| Taking blood pressure medication | 58.5% | 21· | 54· | -0.9 | CDC PLACES |
| Tax returns filed | 11,820 | — | — | — | IRS Statistics of Income |
| Tests taken | 25,187 | — | — | — | Stanford Education Data Archive |
| Threat of utility shut-off | 7.1% | 97 | 77 | -1.6 | CDC PLACES |
| Total population | 25,477 | — | — | — | Census ACS 5-year |
| Trend in average test score uncertain | -0.016 | 12 | 23 | -0.9 | Stanford Education Data Archive |
| Unemployed | 356 | — | — | — | BLS LAUS |
| Unemployment rate | 2.7% | 92 | 79 | -1.4 | BLS LAUS |
| Vacancy rate uncertain | 8.62% | 40· | 20· | -0.4 | Census ACS 5-year |
| Vacant housing units uncertain | 956 | — | — | — | Census ACS 5-year |
| Vision disability | 4.2% | 96 | 76 | -1.4 | CDC PLACES |
| Women aged 15 to 50 | 6,012 | — | — | — | Census ACS 5-year |
| Workers aged 16 and over who commute | 11,182 | — | — | — | Census ACS 5-year |
| Years of potential life lost | 10,541 | 44 | 44 | +0.1 | County Health Rankings |
11of these values are marked uncertain. Either the published margin of error (the likely range around a survey estimate) is wide compared with the estimate, or the value was split across Connecticut’s 2022 boundary change. A split value is shared out between old and new areas, not measured directly.
A percentile is the share of the comparison group at or below this county’s value. A peer score needs at least 20 peers with published data. Where fewer report, the cell is left blank instead of being worked out from a handful.