WhereDoIMove · Relocation report
West · Oregon · pop 176.7K
Salem, OR
Fair match
at the reference profile: one person earning $6,700/mo gross, default weights.
Personalize this score →After estimated taxes in OR, your $6,700/mo income nets about $4,872 — covering estimated essentials here (about $1,347 rent plus everyday costs incl. local sales tax) with roughly $847 left over.
Expect summer highs near 82°F, winter lows around 35°F, and about 0 sunny days a year.
Reported crime rates sit below most similar-sized cities in this dataset.
Tradeoff: this is a quieter market with fewer restaurants and entertainment options per resident.
The Salem fit print
Est. monthly cost
$4,025/mo
Typical rent
$1,585/mo
Home value ÷ income
5.3×
Score breakdown
The data behind the score
Money (Census ACS · HUD)
- Median gross rent
- $1,585/mo
- Median home value
- $382,400
- Median household income
- $71,900
- Population
- 176,666
Work (BLS)
- Unemployment rate
- 0.0%
- Job growth (1yr)
- 0.0%
Safety (FBI CDE, per 100k)
- Violent crime rate
- 0
- Property crime rate
- 0
Climate (NOAA normals)
- Avg. summer high
- 82°F
- Avg. winter low
- 35°F
- Sunny days / year
- 0
- Days ≥100°F by 2050 (air temp)
- ≈5/yr
- Dangerous humid days by 2050 (feels-like)
- ≈0/yr
- Unhealthy air days
- ≈10/yr
- Annual rain
- 40"
- Annual snow
- 6"
Community & access (approx.)
- 2024 county margin
- R+2
- Bachelor's degree or higher
- ≈31%
- Major airport
- ≈15 mi
- Time zone
- PT
- Walkability
- 40/100
- Transit
- 30/100
- Disaster risk
- 35/100
- Top natural hazard
- Landslide
Data vintage: acs2023-5yr+zori-2026-06-30. Sources & methodology
Natural-hazard risk
Wildfire
low risk
Hurricanes
low risk
Tornadoes
low risk
Flooding
moderate risk
Earthquakes
high risk
Severe winter
moderate risk
Per-hazard risk-index scores from FEMA's National Risk Index for this city's county, with any hazard FEMA doesn't score filled in by our model. Screen by hazard from search.
Track Salem affordability
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Go deeper
Buy vs. rent the median home
Owning the median Salem home would run about $2,680/mo (mortgage, tax, insurance, upkeep) versus $1,585/mo to rent — about $1,095/mo more to buy at today's 6.60% rate.
- Mortgage (P&I)
- $1,954
- Property tax
- $296
- Insurance (state avg)
- $112
- Maintenance
- $319
Buying costs about $1,095/mo more.
Median home $382,400 · $76,480 down
Estimate only: 30-year fixed, state-average property tax and homeowners insurance, ~1%/yr maintenance. Part of the mortgage payment builds equity, which a pure outlay comparison ignores; and the median home is typically larger than the median rental, which biases the gap toward renting. Ignores closing costs, HOA dues, PMI on low down payments, and the opportunity cost of the down payment. Not a lending quote.
What will the move cost?
Moving to Salem
About 2,463 mi from New York, NY.
DIY — rental truck
$3,050–$4,400
One-way truck, mileage, and fuel. Your labor.
Full-service movers
$7,500–$10,750
Pros load, drive, and unload. Packing usually extra.
Rough estimates from distance and household size — real quotes vary with season, access, exact inventory, and fuel. Get a few binding quotes before you book.
Find jobs in Salem
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