Salem is a somewhat small coastal city (i.e. on the ocean, a bay, or inlet) located in the state of New Jersey. With a population of 5,324 people and five associated neighborhoods, Salem is the 305th largest community in New Jersey. Much of the housing stock in Salem was built prior to World War II, making it one of the older and more historic cities in the country.

A relatively large number of people in Salem telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 11.74% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

Salem is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.

Despite the fact that it is a small city, Salem has quite a few people who take public transportation – mostly the bus - for their daily commute to work. This helps to fill a real need in the city for affordable transportation.

The rate of college-level education in Salem is quite a bit lower than the national average among all cities of 21.84%: just 11.29% of people here over 25 have a bachelor's degree or an advanced degree.

The per capita income in Salem in 2022 was $21,330, which is low income relative to New Jersey and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $85,320 for a family of four. However, Salem contains both very wealthy and poor people as well. Salem also has one of the higher rates of people living in poverty in the nation, with 31.63% of its population below the federal poverty line.

Salem is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Salem home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Salem residents report their race to be Black or African-American, followed by White. Salem also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 10.26% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in Salem include Italian, Irish, German, English, and Polish.

The most common language spoken in Salem is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and Italian.