Small Town Guide
Menu

Towns / Connecticut

Salem, Connecticut

Salem is a small town of about 4,300 people in Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut. It has grown about 4% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.3 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Hartford, is about 29 miles away as the crow flies.

Population
4,324
up 3.5% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$403,600
Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region prices up 29% since 2022
Household income
$123,245
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Norwich area
100.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
10 miles
Norwich, CT
To Hartford
29 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 0.4% above the U.S. average in the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 3.3 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Salem itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town2 public schools. No public high school in town: the nearest is Montville High School, about 5 miles away.
  • A hospital close byWilliam W Backus Hospital in Norwich, about 10 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityHartford is about 29 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Salem meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$403,600U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 29%Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,440 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$123,245U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
87%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$6,668 a yearConnecticut: $6,643
Homes built before 1940
6%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
12%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
100.4U.S. average = 100 (the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 29% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Norwich-New London-Willimantic metro area, not Salem alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
4,3242020: 4,177
Median age
40.9 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
51%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
3%U.S.: 6%
College students
6%share of all residents

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (24%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (12%); manufacturing (11%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
32 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
18%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
6%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: William W Backus Hospital, Norwich, CT, about 10 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

2 public schools in Salem, run by Salem School District and Montville School District. The nearest public high school is Montville High School, about 5 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Connecticut's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
87%U.S.: 76%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
21°F
July average high
84°F
Days 90°F or hotter
14 a year
Nights at or below freezing
124 a year
Rain and melted snow
52.2 inches a year
Snow
28 inches a year
Elevation
348 feet

Weather station: Norwich Public Utility Plt (10 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: William W Backus Hospital, Meriden, Hartford.

Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region is in a metro area of 250,000 to 1 million people (USDA rural-urban code 2, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Salem Historic District.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Springfield Armory National Historic Site46 miles
  • New England National Scenic Trail46 miles
  • Roger Williams National Memorial50 miles
  • Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park50 miles
  • Fire Island National Seashore55 miles

Read about Salem's history on Wikipedia.

Know Salem?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.