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Housing in Salem

A typical Salem home is worth roughly $98,000

Typical home value
$98K
IL $298K
Estimate
2-bedroom rent
$1,010
a month, utilities in · HUD
Median tax bill
$2,439
IL $5,298

What kind of housing town is Salem?

Read from the numbers below. The page puts what stands out first.

★ What stands out · Affordability

A typical home costs 1.4 years of income

Less than across Illinois (3.6 years). Try your own numbers below.

You could afford about
$226,000
Typical Salem home $98K

That covers a typical Salem home, with $128K to spare.

The typical home, each month
$720
Loan $490Tax $200Insurance $30

A two-bedroom rents for about $1,010 a month here, $290 more than owning.

Where your budget reaches nearby

An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Salem’s typical property tax (2.49% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.

The homes

80% of Salem households own their home

Half of Salem’s homes were built before 1955.

Owners and renters
Own 80%Rent 20%

Illinois: 67% own.

1955
typical home built · IL 1971
$2,439
median property tax bill · IL $5,298
2.49%
of a home’s value, a year in tax · IL 2.01%

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 · figures for a place this size carry wide margins of error.

Renting

A two-bedroom rents for about $1,010

Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included

Studio$770
1 bedroom$780
2 bedrooms$1,010
3 bedrooms$1,350
4 bedrooms$1,370
20%
of households rent · IL 33%
55
renter households

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Knox County, IL): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.

Next door

Salem vs. its neighbors

Salem is the least expensive of 4 neighboring towns. Tap one to see its housing page.

Compare more
TownTypical value1-yr change2-bed rentMedian income
Salem$98K*—$1,010$71,250
Farmington$130K+5.8%$980$69,375
Elmwood$190K+5.4%$930$90,649
Maquon$145K+19.2%$960$66,447

Typical value: Zillow Home Value Index; * Census median home value where Zillow has none. † FHFA price index change where Zillow has none. Rent: HUD Fair Market Rent. New homes: Census building permits.

Neighbors talk housing

What Salem buyers, sellers and renters are saying.

Town Square →
Weigh in
Is Salem still affordable for young families?

Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.

Start the conversation

Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Listings link to their publishers. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer.

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