Be a part of our growing community   

By any measure, downtown Salem has many attractions as a place to live and work. While housing values were dropping in most parts of the country, Salem continued to grow - the result of its northwest quality of life, and the expansion of its private sector combine to keep home values appreciating and investment within the City strong.  Learn more about our people.

Salem's solid and expanding jobs base, plus Salem's reputation as an excellent location in which to retire, create some telling statistics: the per capita income of Salem's three fastest growing communities exceeds that of even Oregon's best-known resort communities, like Bend.    

If these conditions bode well for Salem, the future is even brighter.  A $250 million expansion of the Salem Hospital campus , including a new medical office building and new patient tower, leads a host of projects near the downtown corridor. 

FAST FACTS - SALEM

Incorporated: 1860

Elevation: 135'

Area: 48 square miles

Population: 154,510 (2008)  137,785 (2000)

Popuation Growth from 2000 to 2008: 16,725  or 12.8% increase

Salem MSA (Marion & Polk Counties): 383,100 (2008) from 347,214 (2000)  10.35% increase

Median Age: 35

Median Household Income: $58,200 (2008)

Large Private Employers -(Chamber of Commerce) Salem MSA  (2008) :

Gender:

• 49.7% male
• 50.3% female

Ethnicity:

• 90.39% Caucasian
• 1.4% American Indian/Alaska Native
• 3.7% Asian
• 2.0% African Amercian
• 2.51% Other

Age:

• 6.3% under 5
• 79.8% 18+  
• 13.9% 65+

Education:

• 24.1% college/graduate degree
• 81.5% high school/some college

Housing Cost: $243,657

Salem MSA (Marion, Polk, Yamhill counties) Job Rate and Employment: June 2009 (Worksource)
The seasonally adjusted jobless rate decreased slightly in June to 11.7 percent from May’s rate of 12.1 percent. 

Quick Links:

• Salem Conference Center
• Salem Area Chamber of Commerce
• Travel Salem
• SEDCOR and SEDCOR Fast Facts and Demographics 
• City Data