Salem is a very small city located in the state of West Virginia. With a population of 1,482 people and three associated neighborhoods, Salem is the 125th largest community in West Virginia. 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.Unlike some cities, Salem isn’t mainly white- or blue-collar. Instead, the most prevalent occupations for people in Salem are a mix of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Salem is a city of service providers, sales and office workers, and professionals. There are especially a lot of people living in Salem who work in maintenance occupations (16.32%), sales jobs (12.86%), and office and administrative support (10.26%).In addition, Salem is a college town. There are a lot of students in Salem attending college, and as a result Salem provides a number of services, amenities and opportunities geared to the needs and activities of students. In terms of college education, Salem is nearly on par with the US average for all cities of 21.84%: 18.24% of adults 25 and older in Salem have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree. The per capita income in Salem in 2022 was $20,352, which is low income relative to West Virginia and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $81,408 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, English, Irish, Italian, and Scots-Irish. The most common language spoken in Salem is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and West Germanic languages.
