Best PlacesSalem, SD Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Salem, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Salem ranks 4,019th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low taxes by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Salem
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Salem's strengths and weaknesses
Where Salem ranks high
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 98% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 97% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 95% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 90% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 90% of towns
Where Salem ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 11% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 11% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 27% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 42% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 43% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Salem
A household needs to earn about $55,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Salem home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $80,866, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Salem's effective rate of 0.84%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Salem
Salem's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Salem.
Who works in Salem, and how
Work in Salem centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Salem
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Salem.
What the weather is like in Salem, month by month
Salem sees roughly 137 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 25, with lows near 9. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 25° | 16° | 9° |
| April | 55° | 43° | 34° |
| July | 82° | 71° | 62° |
| October | 58° | 47° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Salem
The nearest airport, Joe Foss Field, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 184 miles away.
The best schools in and around Salem
Schools across Salem average a C+, better than 50% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Shannon Colony Elementary - 08A+ · 75% proficient
- Bridgewater-emery Elementary - 02B− · 40% proficient
- Canistota Elementary - 02B− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Canistota Middle School - 03B− · 40% proficient
- Bridgewater-emery Middle School - 04B− · 40% proficient
- Mccook Central Middle School - 03C− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Montrose High School - 01A+ · 90% proficient
- Canistota High School - 01A · 75% proficient
- Bridgewater-emery High School - 01A− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Salem school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Salem measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Salem against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Salem
Is Salem a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Salem ranks 4,019th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low taxes, low crime, and walkability, and lowest on distance from a big city and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Salem expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $209,618. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $80,866 median income, cost of living beats 78% of towns.
Is Salem safe?
Yes, Salem is safer than 97% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $179 per resident a year.
Compare Salem with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Salem. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Salem represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Salem detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Salem: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Salem: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Salem: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Salem: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Salem detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.