Salem, Oregon demographics

Salem, OR demographics: median age 36.0; 31.5% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Salem city, Oregon · Incorporated city · GEOID 4164900. The survey estimates a population of 178,865 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Salem is 36.0 years, with a 90% margin of error of 0.6 years. There are 67,629 households (±997). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	36.0 ±0.6	40.4 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 178,865
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Oregon	U.S.
Under 18	40,808 ±1,607	22.8% ±0.9 pp	19.9%	22.0%
18–34	46,199 ±1,577	25.8% ±0.9 pp	22.5%	22.8%
35–64	63,677 ±1,840	35.6% ±1.0 pp	38.5%	38.0%
65 and older	28,181 ±1,287	15.8% ±0.7 pp	19.1%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 178,865
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Oregon	U.S.
Male	89,922 ±1,251	50.3% ±0.7 pp	49.9%	49.5%
Female	88,943 ±1,252	49.7% ±0.7 pp	50.1%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 178,865
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Oregon	U.S.
White alone	118,619 ±2,236	66.3% ±1.2 pp	74.6%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	2,980 ±532	1.7% ±0.3 pp	1.9%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	2,130 ±567	1.2% ±0.3 pp	1.1%	0.9%
Asian alone	6,435 ±785	3.6% ±0.4 pp	4.5%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	2,807 ±623	1.6% ±0.3 pp	0.4%	0.2%
Some other race alone	15,627 ±1,780	8.7% ±1.0 pp	5.2%	7.1%
Two or more races	30,267 ±2,007	16.9% ±1.1 pp	12.3%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 178,865
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Oregon	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	133,425 ±1,943	74.6% ±1.1 pp	85.3%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	45,440 ±1,945	25.4% ±1.1 pp	14.7%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 67,629
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Oregon	U.S.
Married-couple family	29,201 ±1,003	43.2% ±1.3 pp	46.7%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	3,595 ±462	5.3% ±0.7 pp	4.9%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	8,868 ±824	13.1% ±1.2 pp	10.1%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	19,882 ±963	29.4% ±1.4 pp	28.4%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	6,083 ±653	9.0% ±1.0 pp	9.9%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 67,629
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Oregon	U.S.
Households with people under 18	21,528 ±884	31.8% ±1.2 pp	27.2%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	46,101 ±1,333	68.2% ±1.7 pp	72.8%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 67,629
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Oregon	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	19,882 ±963	29.4% ±1.4 pp	28.4%	28.7%
Two-person households	22,161 ±1,164	32.8% ±1.7 pp	36.7%	33.8%
Three-person households	10,713 ±788	15.8% ±1.1 pp	15.0%	15.3%
Four-person households	7,794 ±615	11.5% ±0.9 pp	11.8%	12.6%
Five-person households	4,071 ±549	6.0% ±0.8 pp	5.0%	5.9%
Six-person households	1,954 ±421	2.9% ±0.6 pp	1.9%	2.2%
Seven or more people	1,054 ±268	1.6% ±0.4 pp	1.2%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 178,865
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Oregon	U.S.
Native	155,929 ±1,329	87.2% ±0.7 pp	90.2%	85.9%
Foreign born	22,936 ±1,330	12.8% ±0.7 pp	9.8%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 168,499
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Oregon	U.S.
English only	128,842 ±2,138	76.5% ±1.2 pp	84.8%	77.7%
Spanish	29,134 ±2,084	17.3% ±1.2 pp	9.0%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	348 ±185 · low precision	0.2% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	452 ±203	0.3% ±0.1 pp	0.4%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	1,927 ±830	1.1% ±0.5 pp	0.8%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	1,020 ±333	0.6% ±0.2 pp	1.0%	2.0%
Korean	423 ±209	0.3% ±0.1 pp	0.3%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	969 ±377	0.6% ±0.2 pp	0.8%	1.1%
Vietnamese	554 ±218	0.3% ±0.1 pp	0.6%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	971 ±503 · low precision	0.6% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	2,835 ±665	1.7% ±0.4 pp	1.1%	1.1%
Arabic	125 ±116 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	899 ±417	0.5% ±0.2 pp	0.5%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 120,496
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Oregon	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	14,138 ±1,257	11.7% ±1.0 pp	8.2%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	27,782 ±1,445	23.1% ±1.2 pp	22.4%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	29,569 ±1,461	24.5% ±1.2 pp	23.5%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	11,083 ±840	9.2% ±0.7 pp	9.1%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	22,819 ±1,226	18.9% ±1.0 pp	22.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	15,105 ±1,106	12.5% ±0.9 pp	14.1%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 176,914
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Oregon	U.S.
Same house	150,387 ±2,032	85.0% ±1.1 pp	86.0%	87.7%
Moved within same county	12,455 ±1,384	7.0% ±0.8 pp	7.0%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	8,975 ±1,105	5.1% ±0.6 pp	3.4%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	4,257 ±743	2.4% ±0.4 pp	3.0%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	840 ±409	0.5% ±0.2 pp	0.5%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

7.4% of Salem residents (±0.7 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 5.9% in Oregon and 8.4% nationally. 92.3% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Salem	Oregon	U.S.	Compared with Oregon
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	7.4% ±0.7 pp	5.9%	8.4%	Higher
Households with a broadband subscription Households	92.3% ±0.6 pp	92.4%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	6.4% ±0.5 pp	7.2%	6.2%	Lower

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Salem . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Salem housing and cost context or return to the city profile.