Salem is a very small city located in the state of West Virginia. With a population of 2,003 people and two constituent neighborhoods, Salem is the 104th largest community in West Virginia. Salem has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities in the country.

Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Salem is neither predominently one or the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Salem is a city of service providers, professionals, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Salem who work in teaching (13.15%), food service (10.14%), and sales jobs (10.14%).

Salem is a place where college students are a big part of the character and culture of the town. Small towns have often struggled with declining populations over the past few decades, but the presence of such a large college student population has helped Salem to fight this trend. Not only does the college population add spending and jobs to local economy, but it also contributes a very tangible, youthful energy to the town.

Compared to the rest of the country, citizens of Salem spend much less time in their cars: on average, their commute to work is only 17.37 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.

Salem is a small city, and as such doesn't have a public transit system that people use to get to and from their jobs every day.

Salem Information and Demographics

The education level of Salem citizens is a little higher than the average for US cities and towns: 18.33% of adults in Salem have at least a bachelor's degree.

The per capita income in Salem in 2000 was $11,188, which is low income relative to West Virginia and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $44,752 for a family of four.

Salem is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Salem home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in Salem is White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Salem include German, Irish, English, Scotch-Irish, and Italian.

The most common language spoken in Salem is English. Other important languages spoken here include Japanese and Spanish.