Salem, West Virginia demographics

Salem, WV demographics: median age 32.6; 13.9% 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, West Virginia · Incorporated city · GEOID 5471380. The survey estimates a population of 1,629 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Salem is 32.6 years, with a 90% margin of error of 6.3 years. There are 578 households (±136). 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	32.6 ±6.3	42.7 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 1,629
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Under 18	219 ±80	13.4% ±4.0 pp	20.0%	22.0%
18–34	633 ±198	38.9% ±8.8 pp	20.7%	22.8%
35–64	511 ±147	31.4% ±6.0 pp	38.2%	38.0%
65 and older	266 ±102	16.3% ±5.2 pp	21.0%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 1,629
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Male	927 ±230	56.9% ±7.1 pp	49.9%	49.5%
Female	702 ±183	43.1% ±6.4 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: 1,629
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
White alone	1,540 ±353	94.5% ±7.7 pp	90.3%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	48 ±27 · low precision	2.9% ±1.5 pp · low precision	3.2%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	0 ±13 · low precision	0.0% ±0.8 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.9%
Asian alone	14 ±20 · low precision	0.9% ±1.2 pp · low precision	0.8%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	0 ±13 · low precision	0.0% ±0.8 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.2%
Some other race alone	10 ±13 · low precision	0.6% ±0.8 pp · low precision	0.8%	7.1%
Two or more races	17 ±16 · low precision	1.0% ±1.0 pp · low precision	4.9%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 1,629
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	1,591 ±348	97.7% ±4.3 pp	97.9%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	38 ±33 · low precision	2.3% ±2.0 pp · low precision	2.1%	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: 578
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Married-couple family	165 ±50	28.5% ±5.5 pp	46.8%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	35 ±37 · low precision	6.1% ±6.2 pp · low precision	4.9%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	71 ±29	12.3% ±4.1 pp	10.9%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	265 ±105	45.8% ±14.6 pp	31.3%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	42 ±37 · low precision	7.3% ±6.2 pp · low precision	6.1%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 578
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Households with people under 18	120 ±37	20.8% ±4.1 pp	26.4%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	458 ±130	79.2% ±12.6 pp	73.6%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 578
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	265 ±105	45.8% ±14.6 pp	31.3%	28.7%
Two-person households	161 ±55	27.9% ±6.8 pp	36.3%	33.8%
Three-person households	67 ±41 · low precision	11.6% ±6.5 pp · low precision	15.3%	15.3%
Four-person households	51 ±30 · low precision	8.8% ±4.8 pp · low precision	10.5%	12.6%
Five-person households	15 ±18 · low precision	2.6% ±3.0 pp · low precision	4.3%	5.9%
Six-person households	19 ±26 · low precision	3.3% ±4.4 pp · low precision	1.6%	2.2%
Seven or more people	0 ±18 · low precision	0.0% ±3.2 pp · low precision	0.8%	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: 1,629
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Native	1,588 ±355	97.5% ±6.2 pp	98.2%	85.9%
Foreign born	41 ±51 · low precision	2.5% ±3.1 pp · low precision	1.8%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 1,586
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
English only	1,544 ±342	97.4% ±5.9 pp	97.5%	77.7%
Spanish	12 ±15 · low precision	0.8% ±0.9 pp · low precision	1.2%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	0 ±13 · low precision	0.0% ±0.8 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	0 ±13 · low precision	0.0% ±0.8 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	11 ±16 · low precision	0.7% ±1.0 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	7 ±14 · low precision	0.4% ±0.9 pp · low precision	0.3%	2.0%
Korean	0 ±13 · low precision	0.0% ±0.8 pp · low precision	0.0%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	0 ±13 · low precision	0.0% ±0.8 pp · low precision	0.1%	1.1%
Vietnamese	0 ±13 · low precision	0.0% ±0.8 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	0 ±13 · low precision	0.0% ±0.8 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	12 ±20 · low precision	0.8% ±1.3 pp · low precision	0.2%	1.1%
Arabic	0 ±13 · low precision	0.0% ±0.8 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	0 ±13 · low precision	0.0% ±0.8 pp · low precision	0.1%	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: 1,036
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	136 ±69 · low precision	13.1% ±5.4 pp	10.7%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	538 ±221	51.9% ±14.8 pp	39.3%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	159 ±98 · low precision	15.3% ±8.2 pp · low precision	17.5%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	59 ±27	5.7% ±2.0 pp	8.4%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	89 ±50 · low precision	8.6% ±4.1 pp	14.4%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	55 ±35 · low precision	5.3% ±2.9 pp · low precision	9.7%	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: 1,602
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	West Virginia	U.S.
Same house	1,293 ±278	80.7% ±3.6 pp	89.7%	87.7%
Moved within same county	116 ±140 · low precision	7.2% ±8.6 pp · low precision	5.1%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	73 ±61 · low precision	4.6% ±3.7 pp · low precision	2.7%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	105 ±55 · low precision	6.6% ±3.1 pp	2.4%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	15 ±26 · low precision	0.9% ±1.6 pp · low precision	0.2%	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

15.4% of Salem residents (±10.2 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 6.0% in West Virginia and 8.4% nationally. 72.0% 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	West Virginia	U.S.	Compared with West Virginia
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	15.4% ±10.2 pp · low precision	6.0%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	72.0% ±23.2 pp	86.1%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	4.4% ±1.8 pp	7.4%	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.