Work & commute · Salem

Work & commute in Salem, CT

Most working residents leave Salem for work: only 6% work in town. The top destinations are Groton (16%), Norwich (8%) and Waterford (5%). Half commute less than 14 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

114 of 1,851 working residents

Typical commute

14 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

32 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

18%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 1,737 Salem residents head out of town to work, 114 work right here, and 513 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Salem.

1,737live here, work elsewhere

114live and work here

513work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Salem goes to work

Groton15.3 mi away

16%294

Norwich9.6 mi away

8%142

Salem (in town)right here

6%114

Waterford11.1 mi away

5%97

New London13.7 mi away

5%92

Montville5.6 mi away

4%74

Colchester6.5 mi away

4%74

East Lyme9.2 mi away

3%58

Hartford29 mi away

3%51

Glastonbury20.6 mi away

2%40

Everywhere elseother towns and states

44%815

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Salem commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

24%

49%

21%

24%Under 10 mi

49%10–24 mi

21%25–50 mi

6%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Salem is a commuter town

0.34jobs per working resident

A commuter town

0.34 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Salem are

627 jobs are based in Salem. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Salem’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Salem

627 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)63%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month22%

Over $3,333 a month63%

Jobs Salem residents hold

1,851 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)24%

Trade, transport & utilities17%

Services (health, schools, offices…)59%

$1,250 a month or less10%

$1,251–$3,333 a month17%

Over $3,333 a month72%

−15%

Jobs based in Salem, 2013 → 2023: 734 → 627. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.