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Place dossier plate
SheetNY-SALEM-NY · Salem, NY 914 pop · income 58th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Salem
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Salem on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Woodville · lowest
31,827
Woodville · lowest
31,827 median HH income
12.7% of the leader · rank #1
Bellwood · near
76,990
Bellwood · near
76,990 median HH income
30.8% of the leader · rank #2
Salem · this city
76,993
Salem · this city
76,993 median HH income
30.8% of the leader · rank #3
Kappa · near
77,000
Kappa · near
77,000 median HH income
30.8% of the leader · rank #4
St. Helena · near
77,000
St. Helena · near
77,000 median HH income
30.8% of the leader · rank #5
Fillmore · near
77,000
Fillmore · near
77,000 median HH income
30.8% of the leader · rank #6
Woodsburgh · highest
250,001
Woodsburgh · highest
250,001 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Salem on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 914.
Nationally, Salem sits in the 58th percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
58th
percentile, household income
30th
percentile, home value
78th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Salem, NY
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 914 residents in Salem, a small town within New York. Households in Salem report a median income of $76,993 per year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 4.0%. Salem's housing stock carries a median value of $160,900, and the median resident age is 43.5 years. Educational attainment runs 24.2% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 64.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The city is served by 2 public schools according to NCES Common Core of Data.
New York carries a cost-of-living premium: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, New York scores 107.9 (Above Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $1,579 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in New York run around $285, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 69.4 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Salem's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from schools and households to comparison shortlist to work and mobility to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Salem, city-specific coverage includes matched public-school count, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for annual population history, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
What does the education layer cover for Salem?
The NCES join finds 2 public schools within the city match. 24.2% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The matched institution count is small, so district boundaries and schools outside the city line may matter more than the municipal count suggests. Use the number as a coverage cue, then verify attendance zones with the district before making a household decision.
Which cities make useful reference points for Salem?
Within New York, the closest population matches are Portville (915 residents, $59,917 income); Walworth (908 residents, $89,844 income); Belmont (903 residents, $62,266 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Lake Michigan Beach, MI (914 residents); Woodville, MS (914 residents); Garland, NC (914 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. The profile is strongly car-oriented, so a relocation comparison should put trip distance, vehicle access, and household fuel costs ahead of a citywide commute average. The same-state peer links offer a more relevant benchmark than a national label.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 87.4%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
How far does income reach against housing in Salem?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 4.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
Above median income · poverty 4.0% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
107.9 (US=100)
High cost · BEA RPP 2024, New York average
D
City profile score · Salem, NY
47/100
4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Poverty rate B
4.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income C
$76,993
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share D
24.2%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Cost of living F
107.9 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Salem profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 72/100 (B) · 4.0%
Household income: 56/100 (C) · $76,993
Bachelor's+ share: 47/100 (D) · 24.2%
Cost of living: 12/100 (F) · 107.9 index
How does Salem compare to other US cities?
Where Salem sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income58% higher than other cities
Home value30% pricier than other cities
Median rent78% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Salem against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to New York only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
New York-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Salem near the bottom of New York's cities
Among the 1,256 New York cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Salem ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Salem only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#672 of 1,205
44th percentile in New York
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,256
0th percentile in New York
Median Home Value
#822 of 1,202
32nd percentile in New York
Poverty Rate
#664 of 1,246
46th percentile in New York
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#874 of 1,254
30th percentile in New York
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within New York only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
58th percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Salem's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$160,900Among the most affordablemore affordable than 70% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Salem's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#1,961 of 15,516
More affordable than 87% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#1,859 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.1×, Salem sits in the affordable band:
national rank #1,961 of 15,516 and #1,859 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$76,993Salem, NY median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Salem, NY median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Salem, NY.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)24.2%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)4.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)64.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
914
Median Income
$76,993
Median Home Value
$160,900
Median Age
43.5
Poverty Rate
4.0%
Labor force participation
64.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
24.2%
Schools
Total Schools
2
Public schools in this city
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
87.4%
Carpool
0.6%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.0%
Work from Home
11.1%
Other
0.9%
Based on 485 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
New York statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $285
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across New York at $285 (electricity about $130 , water and sewer about $65 ).
These are New York statewide averages, not a meter reading for Salem. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
New York's BEA cost-of-living index is 107.9 (Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Salem is $1,579/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to New York statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 69.4 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a New York statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Salem sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Salem compares to similar-size New York cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, NCES CCD, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.