Best PlacesSouth Salem, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Salem, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
South Salem ranks 26,742nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in South 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.
South Salem's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Salem ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 94% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 88% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 85% of towns
- QuietBetter than 85% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 82% of towns
Where South Salem ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 10% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 11% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 11% of towns
- Household income$52,218 median, better than only 15% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 17% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in South Salem
A household needs to earn about $50,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Salem home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $52,218, 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 South Salem's effective rate of 0.89%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in South Salem
South Salem runs older than the country, 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 South Salem.
Who works in South Salem, and how
Work in South Salem centers on construction and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 0%
Life in South Salem
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across South Salem.
What the weather is like in South Salem, month by month
South Salem sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 31° | 22° |
| April | 66° | 53° | 41° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 70° | 57° | 45° |
Flying in and out of South Salem
The nearest airport, Rickenbacker International, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is John Glenn Columbus International, about 50 miles away.
The best schools in and around South Salem
Schools across South Salem average a B+, better than 73% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Miami Trace Elementary SchoolA · 66% proficient
- Greenfield Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Adena Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Miami Trace Middle SchoolA+ · 70% proficient
- Greenfield Middle SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- Adena Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- Miami Trace High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
- Mcclain High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Adena High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Salem school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South 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 South Salem against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in South Salem
Is South Salem a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Salem ranks 26,742nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, low crime, and low disaster risk, and lowest on the weather and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Salem expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $187,205. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $52,218 median income, cost of living beats 18% of towns.
Is South Salem safe?
Yes, South Salem is safer than 88% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $170 per resident a year.
Compare South Salem with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Salem. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South 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.
South Salem detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Salem: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Salem: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Salem: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Salem: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South 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.