Best PlacesSoutheast Mill Creek, Salem, OR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Southeast Mill Creek, Salem, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Southeast Mill Creek, Salem ranks 3,964th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Southeast Mill Creek, 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.
Southeast Mill Creek, Salem's strengths and weaknesses
Where Southeast Mill Creek, Salem ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 85% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than 85% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 83% of neighborhoods
Where Southeast Mill Creek, Salem ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than only 21% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 21% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Southeast Mill Creek, Salem
A household needs to earn about $121,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Southeast Mill Creek, Salem home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $67,371, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Southeast Mill Creek, Salem's effective rate of 0.73%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Southeast Mill Creek, Salem
Southeast Mill Creek, Salem runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Southeast Mill Creek, Salem.
Who works in Southeast Mill Creek, Salem, and how
Work in Southeast Mill Creek, Salem centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in Southeast Mill Creek, Salem
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Southeast Mill Creek, Salem.
What the weather is like in Southeast Mill Creek, Salem, month by month
Southeast Mill Creek, Salem sees roughly 106 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 35. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 42° | 35° |
| April | 65° | 52° | 40° |
| July | 88° | 71° | 55° |
| October | 68° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Southeast Mill Creek, Salem
The nearest airport, McNary Field, is about 2 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Portland International, about 51 miles away.
The best schools in and around Southeast Mill Creek, Salem
Schools across Southeast Mill Creek, Salem average a C+, better than 62% of neighborhoods.
Top high schools
- Cascade Senior High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Southeast Mill Creek, Salem school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Southeast Mill Creek, 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 Southeast Mill Creek, Salem against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Southeast Mill Creek, Salem
Is Southeast Mill Creek, Salem a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Southeast Mill Creek, Salem ranks 3,964th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on a stable housing market, state infrastructure, and clean air, and lowest on walkability and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Southeast Mill Creek, Salem expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $465,941. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $67,371 median income, cost of living beats 29% of neighborhoods.
Is Southeast Mill Creek, Salem safe?
Yes, Southeast Mill Creek, Salem is safer than 78% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $424 per resident a year.
Compare Southeast Mill Creek, Salem with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Southeast Mill Creek, Salem. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Southeast Mill Creek, 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.
Southeast Mill Creek, Salem detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Southeast Mill Creek, Salem: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Southeast Mill Creek, Salem: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Southeast Mill Creek, Salem: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Southeast Mill Creek, Salem: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Southeast Mill Creek, 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.