Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every Virginia ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Schools

B+SalemBetter than 65% of districts in the state ACave SpringBetter than 92% of districts in the state

Health

BSalemHealthier than 60% of U.S. towns A−Cave SpringHealthier than 81% of U.S. towns

7Salem

14Cave Spring

Lists won, of 21 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Rent easiest to affordCost of living · 95 towns #58#11 Most conserved landOutdoors · 243 towns #108#194 Fastest growingGrowth · 240 towns #191#112 Highest graduation rateSchools · 249 towns #133#58 Best schoolsSchools · 219 towns #71#15 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 255 towns #95#34 Most remote workersWork · 248 towns #179#121 Most educatedPeople · 255 towns #161#107

Left end = #1 in Virginia. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Salem’s rankings →

Where they are

Salem and Cave Spring share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

SalemCave Spring

Salem ↔ Cave Spring4.8 miles apart · They share a border

Who commutes between them

1,412 Cave Spring residents work in Salem (11.5% of its workers)

551 Salem residents work in Cave Spring (5.3% of its workers)

Work & commute in Cave Spring →

Monthly cost

A typical home costs about the same each month

A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Salem$1,860/mo

Typical home $310K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.90% · or rent about $1,133/mo · Housing →

Cave Spring$1,930/mo

Typical home $326K (Census) · tax rate 0.81% · or rent about $1,285/mo · Housing →

The difference: $70 a month, about $800 a year, between Cave Spring and Salem.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

SalemCave Spring

Snow a year18″18″

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)43rd 13th

Outdoors & history

SalemCave Spring

Trails5 mi 3 mi

Conserved land5.6%1.4%

Settled1802 —

National Register places20 1

Archive photos24 —

Famous people born here12 —

Community

SalemCave Spring

Library hours a week54 hrs 54 hrs

Colleges in town2 —

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined1 1

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs Virginia average

SalemCave Spring

People

Population 25,618Lowest 25,742Highest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +2.2%Lowest VA: +7.9% +7.4%Highest VA: +7.9%

Median age 40±1Lowest about the VA average 42.4±1.7Highest 9% above VA

Cave Spring and Salem are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 19.5%±1.5 VA: 21.7% 19.5%±1.9 VA: 21.7%

Age 65+ 19.6%±1.7Highest VA: 16.7% 18.8%±1.7Lowest VA: 16.7%

Salem and Cave Spring are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 33%Lowest VA: 42.2% 48.8%Highest VA: 42.2%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 10%±1Highest VA: 6.9% 5.5%±1.2Lowest VA: 6.9%

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $66,725±$6kLowest 28% below VA $87,539±$6kHighest 6% below VA

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $258,600±$12kLowest 33% below VA $325,800±$12kHighest 15% below VA

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,133±$59Lowest 28% below VA $1,285±$67Highest 19% below VA

Property taxmedian, yearly $2,316Lowest 17% below VA $2,646Highest 5% below VA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 50.8%±7.9Highest VA: 48.5% 38.6%±7.3Lowest VA: 48.5%

Salem and Cave Spring are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 10.2%Highest VA: 9.9% 5.9%Lowest VA: 9.9%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 62.8%Lowest VA: 67.3% 69.5%Highest VA: 67.3%

Typical home builtmedian year 1971Lowest 13 yrs older than VA 1977Highest 7 yrs older than VA

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 19 minLowest 30% below VA 20 minHighest 27% below VA

Work from home 10.8%±2.5Lowest VA: 18.3% 17.8%±3.8Highest VA: 18.3%

Work in townworking residents 26.1%Highest 10.4%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 5.8 mi 5.8 mi

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.96Highest 0.85Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Roanoke (27%)Roanoke (36%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others 5% work in Cave Spring11% work in Salem

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 5.6%Highest 1.4%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 4.8 miHighest 3.1 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.3 mi 0.3 mi

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 5Highest 1Lowest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 71.7Highest 64.5Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #71 of 219 in VA #15 of 219 in VA

School district Roanoke County Public Schools · Salem City Public SchoolsRoanoke County Public Schools

High school in town Salem HighCave Spring High

Students per teacherat that high school 9.1Lowest 15.6Highest

Virginia average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Salem neighborsTown Square →

1 neighbor in Salem can answer.

Cave Spring neighborsTown Square →

1 neighbor in Cave Spring can answer.

Add a town

Set another town beside Salem and Cave Spring

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Salem

+ Compare

Roanoke98,355 people · $191K homes

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Glenvar829 people · $264K homes

Towns like Salem

+ Compare

Staunton25,948 people · $259K homes

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Waynesboro22,841 people · $246K homes

+ Compare

Colonial Heights18,352 people · $247K homes

+ Compare

Christiansburg22,720 people · $253K homes

Not sure which town to add? Find your place ranks Virginia towns on what matters to you.Find your place →

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Salem vs Cave Spring

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

Cave Spring places higher on 14 of 21 VA lists

Salem and Cave Spring share a border

A typical home costs about the same each month

What daily life feels like in each

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Salem and Cave Spring

Bordering Salem

Towns like Salem

Post to Salem

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