Best PlacesSalem, TN 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. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Salem ranks 2,481st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
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
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 96% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 94% of towns
- Household income$121,382 median, better than 93% of towns
Where Salem ranks low
- Short commute36.2 minutes each way, better than only 11% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 17% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 41% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 43% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Salem
A household needs to earn about $72,000 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 $121,382, 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 0.59%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Salem
Salem's age mix sits close to the national median.
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 construction and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
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 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 38° | 30° |
| April | 72° | 59° | 49° |
| July | 89° | 79° | 71° |
| October | 73° | 60° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Salem
Nashville International sits about 42 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.6 million passengers in 2025, with 158 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Salem
Schools across Salem average a B+, better than 78% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- East Montgomery ElementaryA+ · 72% proficient
- Cumberland Heights ElementaryA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Richview MiddleA− · 56% proficient
- Montgomery Central MiddleB · 46% 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 2,481st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on what local pay buys, state finances, and few empty homes, and lowest on long commutes and the weather. 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 $283,071. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $121,382 median income, cost of living beats 96% of towns.
Is Salem safe?
Yes, Salem is safer than 82% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $275 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.