One of the benefits of Salem is that there is very little traffic. The average commute to work is 18.76 minutes, which is substantially less than the national average. Not only does this mean that the drive to work is less aggravating, but noise and pollution levels are lower as a result.
Being a small city, Salem does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.
In terms of college education, the citizens of Salem rank slightly lower than the national average. 14.87% 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 $24,565, which is middle income relative to Missouri, and lower middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $98,260 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, Dutch, and Russian.
The most common language spoken in Salem is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and Italian.
