Salem is a Republican stronghold. About 24% of voters here vote Democratic and 76% Republican.
About 68% of adults in Salem typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Salem, ~16% vote Democratic, ~52% Republican, and ~32% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Salem compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Salem leans more Republican than 21 of 84 neighbors.
Salem runs about 34 points more Republican than Indiana as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Salem. The southwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+63) and the north side is the least Republican-leaning (R+42), a spread of about 21 points.
Why Salem leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per city to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Salem, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with a high white share and below-average college attainment vote Republican. In Salem, about 96% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 24 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 15% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 7 points below the Indiana average of 22%. Dense places usually vote Democratic, but Salem runs against that pattern.
Park access and Republican lean
Places with low park coverage tend to lean Republican; Salem, IN sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure. Park access does not change how people vote; it tends to track denser, higher-income areas.
Why turnout in Salem looks the way it does
Turnout in Salem sits close to the national pattern. Routine healthcare access, homeownership, education, and food security all land near their national averages here. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- McCol Place, IN R+59
- Canton, IN R+62
- Hitchcock, IN R+63
- South Boston, IN R+62
- Kossuth, IN R+64
- Smedley, IN R+64
- Pumpkin Center, IN R+63
- Little York, IN R+61
- New Pekin, IN R+58
- New Philadelphia, IN R+64
Cities with Similar Populations
- Tyngsboro, MA Even
- Jefferson Hills, PA R+20
- Atchison, KS R+26
- Atco, NJ R+8
- Gladewater, TX R+56
- Lakewood Park, FL R+25
- Larkspur, CA D+58
- Newport, MI R+30
- Soquel, CA D+44
- Montgomery, OH D+11
All Local Stats
Home Services
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Indiana Secretary of State, Elections, distributed by the Voting and Election Science Team. Demographic inputs come from the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-year estimates and the 2020 Decennial Census). Health and environmental inputs come from the CDC (PLACES and the Environmental Justice Index). Land cover comes from the USGS and EPA. Election-day and lead-up weather come from PRISM 4km daily grids and the NOAA Global Historical Climatology Network. Mail-voting and election-administration patterns come from the MIT Election Lab's Survey of the Performance of American Elections. Block-group crime detail comes from CrimeGrade. Internet data and modeling support provided by ISPreports.org.
Modeling and analysis by the BestNeighborhood data science team. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.