Salem is a very small city located in the state of West Virginia. With a population of 1,496 people and three associated neighborhoods, Salem is the 125th largest community in West Virginia. Salem has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic cities.Unlike some cities where white-collar or blue-collar occupations dominate the local economy, Salem is neither predominantly one nor the other. Instead, it has a mixed workforce of both white- and blue-collar jobs. Overall, Salem is a city of service providers, sales and office workers, and professionals. There are especially a lot of people living in Salem who work in sales jobs (16.02%), maintenance occupations (15.42%), and office and administrative support (11.08%).In addition, Salem is a college town. There are a lot of students in Salem attending college, and as a result Salem provides a number of services, amenities and opportunities geared to the needs and activities of students. As is often the case in a small city, Salem doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.The population of Salem overall has a level of education that is slightly above the US average for all US cities and towns of 21.84%. Of adults 25 and older in Salem, 21.59% have at least a bachelor's degree. The per capita income in Salem in 2022 was $20,236, which is lower middle income relative to West Virginia, and low income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $80,944 for a family of four. However, Salem contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. The people who call Salem home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Salem residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Salem include German, English, Irish, Scots-Irish, and Polish. The most common language spoken in Salem is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and Spanish.
