Salem

Population & Demographics

Salem, MA

Salem is home to 44,795 people. Explore its demographics, housing, and economy — plus how its 22,895 resident workers commute each day.

MassachusettsCensus ACS 5-Year · LODES 2023
44,795
people
Population

44,795 residents

Median age 39.3 · U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year (2024).

Salem population & demographics

Who lives in Salem — population, age, housing, and income, from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Population
44,795
Median age
39.3yrs
Median household income
$85,153
Median home value
$542,800
Median gross rent
$1,836/mo
Bachelor’s degree or higher
47.8%
Poverty rate
12.1%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 2024 5-Year Estimates. Values shown as “—” are suppressed or unavailable for this place.

Race & ethnicity in Salem

How Salem breaks down by race and ethnicity — each bar is that group’s share of the population, from the U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year (2024).

White66.4%
Hispanic or Latino20.7%
Black4.6%
Two or more races3.7%
Asian3.4%
Some other race1.0%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander0.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native0.1%

Race across Salem

Each dot is a group of people, placed in their 2020 Census block and colored by race or ethnicity — the pattern shows where groups live across Salem.

Salem at a glance
Employed Residents
22,895
Fewer than the city’s total population
Median home–work distance
13.6mi
Straight-line, not road distance
Work Locally
17.3%
Share working within the area
Work from home
21.6%
Residents who work from home (ACS)
Top destination outside city
Boston
Excludes local — most work in-city

These figures are for Salem proper — the Census place within its city limits — not the surrounding metro area. Metro-wide totals you’ll see elsewhere are larger because they bundle in neighboring cities and suburbs.

How Salem commutes

Every dot is a worker moving between home and job. Trace where the area pulls people in from — and where its residents head each day.

48
Commute Score

48 / 100

How short the typical commute is here, on an absolute 0–100 scale (higher is shorter). How it’s calculated.

Salem

22,895 commutes, one dot at a time

Salem

Where 22,895 workers commute

Each dot ≈ 75 workers

Where residents work

Top destinations for people who live in Salem, by worker count.

1Boston16.6 mi4,036
2Salem0.0 mi3,950
3Beverly3.3 mi1,475
4Danvers4.3 mi1,173
5Peabody3.5 mi1,145
6Lynn4.2 mi1,117
7Cambridge14.7 mi696
8Marblehead2.2 mi533

Who commutes in

Top origin places for workers who travel into Salem.

1Salem0.0 mi3,950
2Lynn4.2 mi2,133
3Peabody3.5 mi1,249
4Beverly3.3 mi1,045
5Marblehead2.2 mi680
6Danvers4.3 mi661
7Boston16.6 mi492
8Swampscott3.0 mi441

Top industries

The sectors that employ Salem’s workforce. Each bar is scaled to that sector’s share of all local jobs — the top sectors shown don’t add up to 100%.

Bar length = each sector’s share of all local jobs (0–100%)
HCHealth Care and Social Assistance25.4%
AFAccommodation and Food Services12.6%
RTRetail Trade11.7%
EDEducational Services10.7%
COConstruction5.9%
PAPublic Administration5.7%
PTProfessional, Scientific, and Technical Services5.0%
OSOther Services (except Public Administration)4.0%
MFManufacturing3.9%
Connectivity

Internet options for Salem

The biggest home-internet providers in the area — tap any to compare local plans.

3 providers · 1 with fiber
Speed availabilityshare of homes a plan reaches
1 Gbps~all homes
2 Gbps100%
5 Gbps
8 Gbps
See all internet providers in Salem

FindBetterInternet is a CensusFlow partner site — we link out so you can compare local plans, and CensusFlow’s Census data stays independent. Provider data is from the FCC National Broadband Map (satellite + fixed wireless excluded).