Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety73#4,182/15,637
Economy53#7,326/15,631
Housing46#8,050/14,977
Health33#10,417/15,609
Healthcare97#455/15,650
Environment79#3,309/15,453
Education97#503/15,649
Infrastructure78#3,422/15,650
Community73#4,301/15,651
Leisure & amenities88#1,853/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Salem, Virginia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Salem city value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Traffic deaths · low0.8 /100k
100/100Virginia 10.7 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataSalem city value
Dentists · high137 /100k
99/100Virginia 76 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSalem city value
Primary care physicians · high153 /100k
99/100Virginia 76 /100kUnited States 76 /100k2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSalem city value
Mental health providers · high919 /100k
99/100Virginia 284 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSalem city value
Reading scores · high3.47
97/100Virginia 3.16United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSalem city value
Math scores · high3.45
94/100Virginia 3.27United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSalem city value

Weaknesses

Drought exposure · high98%
3/100Virginia 70%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAASalem city value
Injury deaths · high125 /100k
12/100Virginia 78 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSalem city value
Life expectancy · low73.4 yrs
14/100Virginia 77.8 yrsUnited States 77.6 yrs2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSalem city value
Distance to an airport · high82 mi
16/100Virginia 32 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauSalem city value
Dental care shortage · high16.0
18/100Virginia 6.1United States 5.7Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationSalem city value
Income inequality (Gini index) · high0.463
24/100Virginia 0.472United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Broadband subscriptionsImproving
79.3% (2015-2019) → 91.1% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
41.1% (2015-2019) → 50.8% (2020-2024)
+9.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
27.9% (2015-2019) → 33.0% (2020-2024)
+5.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
High school diploma or higherImproving
89.2% (2015-2019) → 94.2% (2020-2024)
+5 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 88.0% → 89.6%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.2× (2015-2019) → 3.9× (2020-2024)
+22%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
26.1% (2015-2019) → 30.3% (2020-2024)
+4.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Salem, Virginia improved on 4 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 8 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved4

Uninsured−2.4 points7.7% → 5.3%
Broadband+12 points79.3% → 91.1%
Bachelor's++5.1 points27.9% → 33.0%
Household income+17%$57,165 → $66,725

Declined2

Rent / income+4.2 points26.1% → 30.3%
Price / income+0.7×3.2× → 3.9×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Salem, Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.6 min2015-2019	19.0 min2020-2024	−1.6 min	Within the margin of error	67%
Bachelor's degree or higher	27.9%2015-2019	33.0%2020-2024	+5.1 points	Improved	69%
Broadband subscriptions	79.3%2015-2019	91.1%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	68%
Child poverty rate	12.9%2015-2019	16.2%2020-2024	+3.3 points	Within the margin of error	25%
Effective property tax rate	0.96%2015-2019	0.82%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	44%
High school diploma or higher	89.2%2015-2019	94.2%2020-2024	+5 points	Within the margin of error	82%
Home price to income ratio	3.2×2015-2019	3.9×2020-2024	+0.7×	Declined	36%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4512015-2019	0.4632020-2024	+0.012	Within the margin of error	40%
Median household income	$57,1652015-2019	$66,7252020-2024	+17%	Improved	27%
Poverty rate	9.1%2015-2019	10.2%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Rent as share of income	26.1%2015-2019	30.3%2020-2024	+4.2 points	Declined	26%
Rent-burdened households	41.1%2015-2019	50.8%2020-2024	+9.7 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Unemployment rate	4.4%2015-2019	3.6%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.7%2015-2019	5.3%2020-2024	−2.4 points	Improved	72%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Salem, Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Salem, Virginia in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Salem, Virginia itself moved −3 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

25,618 residents

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

10,256 households (±223)

Salem, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k14%1,404
$25k–50k22%2,284
$50k–75k19%1,955

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

10,256 households (±223)

Salem, Virginia
Virginia share

Own63%6,441
Rent37%3,815

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

12,162 workers (±486)

Salem, Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone77%9,326
Carpool6.9%843
Public transit0.1%†16

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Roanoke, VA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Salem city, the county holding most of Salem's residents.

Salem city has 994 employer establishments, 389 for every 10,000 residents (1.57× the US rate of 248; 1.61× Virginia's), with 19,148 paid employees at an average annual pay of $60,126. The Census Bureau also counts 1,770 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 994; 1,770 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 389; US 248 · Virginia 241
Paid employees: 19,148
Average annual pay: $60,126; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Salem city by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	106	41.4	1.99×More than typical	1,375	$92,945	80
Restaurants and other eating places	71	27.8	1.51×More than typical	1,456	$21,225	7
Specialty trade contractors	51	19.9	1.29×More than typical	718	$57,996	89
Offices of physicians	49	19.2	2.96×More than typical	772	$121,461	17
Automotive repair and maintenance	42	16.4	3.26×More than typical	210	$39,824	22
Lessors of real estate	40	15.6	1.27×More than typical	96	$43,760	267
Limited-service restaurants	39	15.2	1.90×More than typical	842	$18,634	3
Religious organizations	28	10.9	1.97×More than typical	307	$20,726	—
Full-service restaurants	27	10.6	1.37×More than typical	539	$25,353	4
Offices of other health practitioners	26	10.2	1.67×More than typical	131	$46,870	39
Personal care services	26	10.2	2.13×More than typical	77	$30,377	74
Insurance agencies and brokerages	25	9.8	2.23×More than typical	102	$70,167	34

Rank places for an industry Open Salem city

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 25,575 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $106.6M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Salem, Virginia: $4,160 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $106.6M; +375% vs FY2025
Per resident: $4,160; US $1,994
Sole-source: 2.9%; US 30%
Single offer: 5.8%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of Veterans Affairs$104.1M98%
Departmental Offices$1.9M1.8%
Department of the Army$429.8K0.4%
U.S. Coast Guard$143.1K0.1%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$58.7K0.1%
Department of State$12.8K0.0%

Top recipients

FOX-ESA JV LLC$36.9M35%
SAWTOOTH CONSTRUCTION JV II LLC$21.3M20%
PHILLIPS C&C LLC$12.5M12%
CONTEGO ENVIRONMENTAL LLC$7.6M7.1%
VALOR HEALTHCARE INC$7.6M7.1%

Spending by fiscal year

21.1MFY2017
15.8MFY2018
41.3MFY2019
29.3MFY2020
24.9MFY2021
33.8MFY2022
40MFY2023
26.1M

Top industries (NAICS)

Nonresidential building construction · 2362$64.8M61%
Building equipment contractors · 2382$15.7M15%
Outpatient care centers · 6214$9M8.4%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$4M3.8%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415$3.1M2.9%

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Salem, Virginia

EHRM INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES AT THE SALEM VETERANS ADMINISTRATION MEDICAL CENTER IN SALEM, VA$37M
FOX-ESA JV LLC· Salem city, VA· Construction & real property· May 14, 2026 – Jun 23, 2026· 36C77626C0015
GENERAL CONSTRUCTION OF AN ICU AND THE CONSOLIDATION OF THAT SPACE IN A VAMC.$21.3M
SAWTOOTH CONSTRUCTION JV II LLC· Salem city, VA· Construction & real property· Sep 22, 2026 – Sep 22, 2026· 36C77626C0197
D/B FULL FACILITY RESTORATION F OR PFC CLOYSE E. HALL US ARMY RESERVE CENTER SALEM, VIRGINIA$20M
JOHN C. GRIMBERG CO., INC.· Salem city, VA· Construction & real property· Sep 29, 2022 – May 12, 2026· W912QR22C0041

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Salem, Virginia, so they do not add up across cities.

Salem, Virginia's figures are part of those of Salem city, VA ($106.8M in FY2026), never added to them: 99.8% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Salem is mostly in Salem city.

See federal money in Salem city

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Salem, Virginia is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Ben ClineR-VA-6 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 1.0%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Salem city87100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Roanoke, VA73

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/5170000

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends