Salem, Virginia demographics

Salem, VA demographics: median age 40.0; 33.0% 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, Virginia · Incorporated city · GEOID 5170000. The survey estimates a population of 25,618 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Salem is 40.0 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.0 years. There are 10,256 households (±223). 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	40.0 ±1.0	39.0 ±0.1	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 25,618
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Under 18	4,989 ±394	19.5% MOE unavailable	21.7%	22.0%
18–34	6,318 ±415	24.7% MOE unavailable	22.8%	22.8%
35–64	9,295 ±527	36.3% MOE unavailable	38.8%	38.0%
65 and older	5,016 ±443	19.6% MOE unavailable	16.7%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 25,618
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Male	12,186 ±190	47.6% MOE unavailable	49.4%	49.5%
Female	13,432 ±190	52.4% MOE unavailable	50.6%	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: 25,618
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
White alone	21,128 ±200	82.5% MOE unavailable	60.2%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	2,217 ±168	8.7% MOE unavailable	18.6%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	67 ±42 · low precision	0.3% MOE unavailable	0.4%	0.9%
Asian alone	503 ±76	2.0% MOE unavailable	6.9%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	0 ±25 · low precision	0.0% MOE unavailable	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	555 ±255	2.2% MOE unavailable	4.4%	7.1%
Two or more races	1,148 ±250	4.5% MOE unavailable	9.5%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 25,618
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	24,391 MOE unavailable	95.2% MOE unavailable	89.0%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	1,227 MOE unavailable	4.8% MOE unavailable	11.0%	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: 10,256
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Married-couple family	4,430 ±369	43.2% ±3.5 pp	48.7%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	687 ±180	6.7% ±1.7 pp	4.6%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	1,211 ±281	11.8% ±2.7 pp	11.6%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	3,170 ±301	30.9% ±2.9 pp	28.5%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	758 ±237	7.4% ±2.3 pp	6.7%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 10,256
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Households with people under 18	2,734 ±251	26.7% ±2.4 pp	30.2%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	7,522 ±252	73.3% ±1.9 pp	69.8%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 10,256
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	3,170 ±301	30.9% ±2.9 pp	28.5%	28.7%
Two-person households	3,860 ±443	37.6% ±4.2 pp	34.0%	33.8%
Three-person households	1,660 ±293	16.2% ±2.8 pp	15.7%	15.3%
Four-person households	982 ±221	9.6% ±2.1 pp	12.9%	12.6%
Five-person households	334 ±133	3.3% ±1.3 pp	5.6%	5.9%
Six-person households	149 ±91 · low precision	1.5% ±0.9 pp · low precision	2.1%	2.2%
Seven or more people	101 ±80 · low precision	1.0% ±0.8 pp · low precision	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: 25,618
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Native	24,471 ±269	95.5% MOE unavailable	86.9%	85.9%
Foreign born	1,147 ±269	4.5% MOE unavailable	13.1%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 24,352
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
English only	23,176 ±342	95.2% ±1.3 pp	82.6%	77.7%
Spanish	530 ±169	2.2% ±0.7 pp	7.9%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	46 ±49 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	106 ±80 · low precision	0.4% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	20 ±26 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	132 ±79 · low precision	0.5% ±0.3 pp · low precision	2.6%	2.0%
Korean	5 ±11 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.7%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	58 ±71 · low precision	0.2% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.7%	1.1%
Vietnamese	28 ±36 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	115 ±144 · low precision	0.5% ±0.6 pp · low precision	0.6%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	21 ±33 · low precision	0.1% ±0.1 pp · low precision	1.2%	1.1%
Arabic	3 ±6 · low precision	0.0% ±0.0 pp · low precision	0.8%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	112 ±147 · low precision	0.5% ±0.6 pp · low precision	1.1%	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: 17,116
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	1,001 ±259	5.8% ±1.5 pp	8.4%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	5,056 ±498	29.5% ±2.9 pp	23.9%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	3,428 ±489	20.0% ±2.9 pp	17.7%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	1,975 ±311	11.5% ±1.8 pp	7.8%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	3,327 ±376	19.4% ±2.2 pp	23.7%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	2,329 ±348	13.6% ±2.0 pp	18.5%	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: 25,316
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Virginia	U.S.
Same house	22,367 ±494	88.4% ±1.9 pp	86.9%	87.7%
Moved within same county	747 ±291	3.0% ±1.1 pp	4.6%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	1,763 ±434	7.0% ±1.7 pp	4.7%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	376 ±134	1.5% ±0.5 pp	3.1%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	63 ±56 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.7%	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

4.3% of Salem residents (±1.1 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.9% in Virginia and 8.4% nationally. 91.1% 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	Virginia	U.S.	Compared with Virginia
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	4.3% ±1.1 pp	6.9%	8.4%	Lower
Households with a broadband subscription Households	91.1% ±2.3 pp	91.0%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	7.1% ±1.3 pp	9.4%	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.