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 14.43 minutes. This also means that noise and pollution levels in the city are less than they would otherwise be.
In terms of college education, the citizens of Salem rank slightly lower than the national average. 14.47% of adults 25 and older in Salem have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree, while 21.84% of adults have a 4-year degree or higher in the average American community.
The per capita income in Salem in 2018 was $29,768, which is lower middle income relative to Illinois, and middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $119,072 for a family of four. However, Salem contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.
The people who call Salem home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Salem residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Salem include German, Irish, English, European, and Polish.
The most common language spoken in Salem is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and Spanish.
