Work & commute · Salem

Work & commute in Salem, OR

49% of Salem’s working residents work right in town. The top destinations are Portland (6%), Keizer (3%) and Woodburn (2%). Half commute less than 5 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

49%

34,505 of 70,099 working residents

Typical commute

5 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

22 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

16%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 35,594 Salem residents head out of town to work, 34,505 work right here, and 69,370 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Salem.

35,594live here, work elsewhere

34,505live and work here

69,370work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Salem goes to work

Salem (in town)right here

49%34,505

Portland46.1 mi away

6%4,428

Keizer5.3 mi away

3%1,937

Woodburn17.3 mi away

2%1,142

Hillsboro41.8 mi away

2%1,125

Hayesville4.5 mi away

2%1,103

Wilsonville29.5 mi away

1%1,045

Albany20.8 mi away

1%976

Tigard36.4 mi away

1%952

Four Corners2.5 mi away

1%945

Everywhere elseother towns and states

31%21,941

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.

59%

12%

21%

59%Under 10 mi

12%10–24 mi

21%25–50 mi

8%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Salem is balanced between jobs and homes

1.48jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.48 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Salem are

103,875 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

103,875 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)11%

Trade, transport & utilities16%

Services (health, schools, offices…)73%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month24%

Over $3,333 a month64%

Jobs Salem residents hold

70,099 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)18%

Trade, transport & utilities18%

Services (health, schools, offices…)64%

$1,250 a month or less12%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month61%

+24%

Jobs based in Salem, 2013 → 2023: 83,474 → 103,875. 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.