Work & commute · Salem

Work & commute in Salem, VA

About one in 4 of Salem’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Roanoke (27%), Cave Spring (5%) and Hollins (4%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

26%

2,741 of 10,489 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

19 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

11%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 7,748 Salem residents head out of town to work, 2,741 work right here, and 17,846 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Salem.

7,748live here, work elsewhere

2,741live and work here

17,846work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Salem goes to work

Roanoke5.4 mi away

27%2,813

Salem (in town)right here

26%2,741

Cave Spring4.8 mi away

5%551

Hollins7 mi away

4%424

Glenvar4 mi away

2%174

Blacksburg20.8 mi away

1%146

Daleville11.8 mi away

1%142

Lynchburg47.9 mi away

1%108

Richmond142.6 mi away

1%104

Rocky Mount21.6 mi away

1%90

Everywhere elseother towns and states

30%3,196

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.

71%

17%

71%Under 10 mi

8%10–24 mi

4%25–50 mi

17%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Salem is a job hub

1.96jobs per working resident

A job hub

2.0 jobs for every working resident, so more people commute in than out.

The jobs

What the jobs in Salem are

20,587 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

20,587 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)20%

Trade, transport & utilities22%

Services (health, schools, offices…)58%

$1,250 a month or less13%

$1,251–$3,333 a month27%

Over $3,333 a month61%

Jobs Salem residents hold

10,489 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)15%

Trade, transport & utilities20%

Services (health, schools, offices…)65%

$1,250 a month or less15%

$1,251–$3,333 a month29%

Over $3,333 a month56%

−11%

Jobs based in Salem, 2013 → 2023: 23,241 → 20,587. 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.