Living in Salem, Illinois: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 12.6% below the U.S. average in the parts of Illinois outside metro areas.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 1.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhood22 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 3.2 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 18.8 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
Schools in town4 public schools: 2 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school.
A hospital close bySalem Township Hospital is in town and has an emergency room.
Within reach of a big citySt. Louis is about 69 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: $106,100U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 26%Marion County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $774 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $59,728U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 65%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $2,253 a yearIllinois: $5,298
Homes built before 1940: 16%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 1%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 87.4U.S. average = 100 (the parts of Illinois outside metro areas)

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 26% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the parts of Illinois outside metro areas, 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: 7,0352020: 7,275
Median age: 39.1 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 21%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 25%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 16%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 3%U.S.: 6%

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 (29%); manufacturing (20%); retail (14%)
Unemployment rate: 2%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 14 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 4%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 16%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Salem Township Hospital, Salem, IL, in town. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Nearest general hospital: SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital -Centralia, Centralia, IL, about 11 miles away. Medicare gives it 3 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

4 public schools in Salem, run by Salem SD 111 and Salem CHSD 600.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Illinois'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: 73%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription: 85%U.S.: 91%

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: 88°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 32 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 102 a year
Rain and melted snow: 45.9 inches a year
Snow: 10 inches a year
Elevation: 543 feet

Weather station: Salem (1 mile 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

St. Louis, MOMetro of 2.8 million69

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: St. Louis.

Marion County is outside any metro area, with 5,000 to 20,000 people in its towns, not next to a metro area (USDA rural-urban code 7, 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.

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

Sandoval, IL1,100 people, 9 miles
Central City, IL1,100 people, 11 miles
Centralia, IL11,900 people, 11 miles
Mount Vernon, IL14,200 people, 22 miles
Carlyle, IL3,200 people, 22 miles
Vandalia, IL7,100 people, 25 miles

Smaller places

Odin, IL903 people, 5 miles
Alma, IL302 people, 7 miles
Iuka, IL491 people, 9 miles
Junction City, IL517 people, 10 miles
Kell, IL169 people, 10 miles
Patoka, IL507 people, 11 miles
Kinmundy, IL702 people, 12 miles
Dix, IL456 people, 13 miles

Sources

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.