Salem is a medium-sized coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 44,744 people and nine associated neighborhoods, Salem is the 31st largest community in Massachusetts. Much of the housing stock in Salem was built prior to World War II, making it one of the older and more historic cities in the country.

Housing costs in Salem are among some of the highest in the nation, although real estate prices here don't compare to real estate prices in the most expensive communities in Massachusetts.

Also of interest is that Salem has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 19.43% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Salem, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the city.

Salem is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Such areas are often places that visitors and locals go for waterfront activities or taking in the scenery.

Although the majority of commuting trips in the city are by private automobile, Salem is somewhat unusual for a city of its size for having a substantial number of people who use public transportation. For a lot of people, the train helps to get to and from their jobs every morning, which benefits everyone in the Salem area by reducing both traffic and air pollution.

Salem is one of the most well-educated cities in the nation. 49.61% of adults in Salem have at least a bachelor's degree. Compare that to the average community in America, which has just 21.84% with a bachelor's degree or higher.

The per capita income in Salem in 2022 was $49,734, which is lower middle income relative to Massachusetts, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $198,936 for a family of four. However, Salem contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Salem is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. 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. Salem also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 19.43% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Salem include Irish, Italian, English, German, and French.

In addition, Salem has a lot of people living here who were born outside of the US (15.45%).

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