CITY PROFILE

Salem, OR

Cheap and pleasant, but your career options fit in a shoebox.

By the numbers

Typical home value$455K · Zillow, May 2026 (ZHVI)
Typical rent$1,628/mo · Zillow, May 2026 (ZORI)
Average temperature10.7°C · warmest 18.6°C · coolest 4.2°C · NASA POWER
Annual precipitation1371 mm · NASA POWER
Sunshine (solar energy)3.88 kWh/m²/day · NASA POWER (annual mean)
Metro size rank (US)#126 · Zillow SizeRank

Match scores

  • Affordable to buy80
  • Affordable to rent77
  • Climate comfort59
  • Plenty of sunshine40
  • Big-city amenities18

Scores are 0–100, normalised across the metros we cover, derived from the sourced figures above (higher = better on that factor). A research aid, not a recommendation to move. Job market, safety, and healthcare access need key-gated feeds (BLS, FBI, Census) not yet wired — see the methodology.