Salem is a medium-sized city located in the state of Virginia. With a population of 25,523 people and nine associated neighborhoods, Salem is the 39th largest community in Virginia.

Also of interest is that Salem has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 8.51% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

The overall education level of Salem citizens is substantially higher than the typical US community, as 32.52% of adults in Salem have at least a bachelor's degree, and the average American community has 21.84%.

The per capita income in Salem in 2022 was $37,991, which is upper middle income relative to Virginia and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $151,964 for a family of four. However, Salem contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Salem is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. 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 English, German, Irish, Italian, and Scots-Irish.

The most common language spoken in Salem is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Langs. of India.