Cost of Living in Salem, OR, United States

Updated On July 26, 2023

How Much Does It Cost to Live In Salem, OR?

Salem, the capital of Oregon, is located in the Willamette Valley, right between Portland and Eugene.

It’s the largest small town in the Pacific Northwest and though many consider it a boring, slow, sleepy, and conservative city, it truly has its plus sides.

Salem is one hour from the beach, one hour from the mountains, one hour from Portland (so you can visit without having to drive the Portland rush hour every day), and one hour from Eugene.

It’s surrounded by wine country, has tons of trees and parks, and great neighborhoods, and the downtown beer, wine, and restaurant scenes are getting dramatically better year over year.

Cost of Living Index:
74.2
* Based on Research & User Data
Restaurants

RESTAURANTS

There’s some good eating in downtown Salem besides your regular chain restaurants and fast-food places and the residents report that the food scene is getting increasingly better each year.

It is also much less expensive, with a decent meal in an inexpensive restaurant costing only around 14.5$.

Markets

MARKETS

Salem has a Costco out by the freeway, and besides the normal Safeways, Roths, and Grocery Outlets, there’s a Natural Grocers and a Trader Joe’s.

During the summer, a street is closed off twice a week in Downtown Salem for a Wednesday Farmer’s market and a Saturday street market where you can get fresh produce for less money than in most supermarkets.

Transportation

TRANSPORTATION

The Cherriots bus system is operating through the city, taking you from the suburbs to downtown and into Keizer, Oregon.

The fares are 1.60$ for a one-way ride, 3.25$ for a day pass, and 45$ for a 30-day pass.

Though the residents claim that the transit system is also slowly improving, it is still pretty expensive for the service it offers.

Utilities

UTILITIES (MONTHLY)

Utilities are generally reasonable in Oregon and that applies to Salem, too.

Of course, depending on the size of your apartment and the amount of electricity you spend, your bills could be higher or lower, but all in all – for an apartment of around 85m2, all basic utilities including electricity, gas, water, heating, cooling and garbage services, will cost you around 230$.

Sports and leisure

SPORTS & LEISURE

The parks system is beautiful in Salem.

There are many parks, from neighborhood playgrounds to large parks such as Riverfront and Bush.

The great thing is that all the major parks are connected by walkways throughout the city, so Salem is, in other words, perfect for outdoor exercising.

Membership in a gym or a fitness club will cost you around 25$.

Cinema tickets are much cheaper, however, costing only about 12.25$ each.

Clothing and shoes

CLOTHING & SHOES

There’s a regular two-level mall in the center, surrounded by little shops and stores.

Over in Lancaster, there’s a single-level mall as well as lots of department stores.

South on Commercial street headed out of downtown, there are more shopping centers and stores where you can go shopping.

Prices are reasonable with jeans costing around 50$ and sneakers a bit over 80$.

Rent per month

RENT PER MONTH

Rent prices are starting to go down slightly due to all the new apartments everywhere but, on average, they were reasonable even before that.

If you want an apartment in the city center, you’ll spend around 1500$ a month in rent for it while an apartment outside of the city center will be closer to 1200$.

Cost of Living Averages Table for Salem, OR

*Note: All prices are indicated in USD.
Average Restaurant Prices
Meal (Inexpensive Restaurant)$14.50
Domestic Beer (0.5 Liter)$7.50
Water (0.33 Liter)$1.60
Average Market Prices
Milk (1 Liter)$0.95
Loaf Bread (500g)$2.49
Eggs (12)$4.56
Average Transport Prices
One Way Ticket$1.60
Monthly Pass$45.00
Gasoline$1.08
Average Utilities Prices
Basic (Water, Electricity, Garbage, Heating, Cooling)$229.2
1 min. of Prepaid Mobile Tariff Local$0.10
Internet (Unlimited Data, Cable/ADSL)$73.78
Average Leisure Prices
Fitness Club, Monthly Fee for 1 Adult$25
Tennis Court Rent (1 Hour)$27.50
Cinema, 1 Seat, International Release$12.25
Average Clothing Prices
1 Pair of Jeans (Levis 501 Or Comparable)$47.16
1 Summer Dress in a Chain Store (Zara, etc...)$46.6
1 Pair of Adidas Walking Shoes (Mid-Range)$79.29
Average Rent Prices
Apartment (1 bedroom) in City Center$1533.33
Apartment (1 bedroom) Outside of Center$1214.50
Apartment (3 bedrooms) in City Center$3000.0

How Does the Average Person Spend Their Money in Salem, OR?

Food is definitely how the average person in Salem spends the biggest part of their salary, and this is usually the situation in most cities around the world.

An average person living in Salem and having to feed his/her family spends the biggest amount of their money in supermarkets and grocery stores.

The next thing that draws the biggest bulk of money from the people of Salem is definitely rent and the fact that rent is behind food, usually, for an average American city, means that it’s reasonably priced.

Restaurants and transportation are also significant expenses for an average person living in Salem.

Average Costs Breakdown

12.8%
30%
7.9%
9.4%
4.1%
1.8%
34.1%

Salem, OR: Average Salary, Minimum Wage & Mortgages

The problem, when it comes to jobs in Salem, is that there are very few jobs available unless you want to work for the State.

Salem is a bureaucrat’s paradise and there’s a general lack of jobs in private sectors which means unemployment is common.

The minimum wage in Salem is around 2000$ which is definitely high enough to be able to cover all of your costs.

The average monthly net salary is around 3700$ which allows residents of Salem to live without having to worry about their existence.

Average Salary$3746.50
Minimum Wage$2080.00
Mortgage Interest Rate6.72%

Salem Safety Overview

READ THE FULL REPORT: Salem Safety Review

Safety Index:
81
Salem
  • OVERALL RISK: LOW
  • TRANSPORT & TAXIS RISK: LOW
  • PICKPOCKETS RISK: MEDIUM
  • NATURAL DISASTERS RISK: MEDIUM
  • MUGGING RISK: LOW
  • TERRORISM RISK: LOW
  • SCAMS RISK: LOW
  • WOMEN TRAVELERS RISK: LOW

Cost of Living by City in Salem, OR

CityCost of Living Index
Albany, NY72.4
Albuquerque, NM72.4
Anchorage, AK72.4
Ann Arbor, MI72.4
Arlington, TX72.4
Asheville, NC72.4
Atlanta, GA72.4
Austin, TX72.4
Bakersfield, CA72.4
Baltimore, MD72.4
Bellevue, WA72.4
Bellingham, WA72.4
Berkeley, CA72.4
Birmingham, AL72.4
Boise, ID72.4
Boston, MA72.4
Boulder, CO72.4
Brooklyn, NY72.4
Buffalo, NY72.4
Burlington, VT72.4
Charleston, SC72.4
Charlotte, NC73.33
Chattanooga, TN72.4
Chicago, IL72.4
Cincinnati, OH72.4
Cleveland, OH72.4
Columbia, SC72.4
Columbus, OH72.4
Dallas, TX72.4
Dayton, OH72.4
Denver, CO72.4
Des Moines, IA72.4
Detroit, MI72.4
El Paso, TX72.4
Eugene, OR72.4
Everett, WA72.4
Fayetteville, AR72.4
Fort Myers, FL72.4
Fort Wayne, IN72.4
Fort Worth, TX72.4
Fresno, CA74.2
Gainesville, FL74.2
Grand Rapids, MI74.2
Greensboro, NC74.2
Hartford, CT74.2
Honolulu, HI74.2
Houston, TX74.2
Huntsville, AL74.2
Indianapolis, IN74.2
Irvine, CA74.2
Jacksonville, FL74.2
Jersey City, NJ74.2
Kansas City, MO74.2
Knoxville, TN74.2
Las Vegas, NV74.2
Lexington, KY74.2
Little Rock, AR74.2
Long Beach, CA74.2
Los Angeles, CA74.2
Louisville, KY74.2
Lubbock, TX74.2
Madison, WI74.2
Memphis, TN74.2
Miami, FL74.2
Milwaukee, WI74.2
Minneapolis, MN74.2
Nashville, TN74.2
New Orleans, LA74.2
New York, NY74.2
Oakland, CA74.2
Oklahoma City, OK74.2
Olympia, WA74.2
Orlando, FL74.2
Peoria, IL72.4
Philadelphia, PA72.4
Phoenix, AZ72.4
Pittsburgh, PA72.4
Portland, ME72.4
Portland, OR72.4
Raleigh, NC72.4
Reno, NV72.4
Richmond, VA74.2
Rochester, NY74.2
Sacramento, CA74.2
Saint Louis, MO74.2
Saint Paul, MN74.2
Saint Petersburg, FL74.2
Salt Lake City, UT74.2
San Antonio, TX74.2
San Diego, CA74.2
San Francisco, CA74.2
San Jose, CA74.2
Santa Barbara, CA74.2
Santa Rosa, CA74.2
Seattle, WA74.2
Spokane, WA74.2
Springfield, MO74.2
Syracuse, NY74.2
Tacoma, WA74.2
Tallahassee, FL74.2
Tampa, FL74.2
Toledo, OH74.2
Tucson, AZ74.2
Tulsa, OK74.2
Vancouver, WA74.2
Virginia Beach, VA74.2
Washington, DC74.2
West Palm Beach, FL74.2
Wichita, KS74.2

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