2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Boulder, CO vs Salem, OR

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Highlights
- Household income in Salem, is 17% less than it is in Boulder and is 11% below the National Average.
- Boulder unemployment rate is 5.1%.
- Salem unemployment rate is 6.2%.
 Boulder, COSalem, ORUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock6.2%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock-0.1%1.6%
 Future Job Growth44.4%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes8.8%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock9.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$52,057  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$62,185$69,021
 Family Median Income$134,583  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Boulder, COSalem, ORUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock9.9%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K3.7%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock8.0%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K5.6%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock8.5%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K5.8%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock11.0%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K9.5%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock16.6%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K9.6%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock5.2%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Boulder, COSalem, ORUnited States
 Management, business, finance18.6%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock5.5%6.5%
 Community, social services1.5%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock1.4%1.2%
 Education, library10.1%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock1.7%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology4.7%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock4.9%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement1.3%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock6.1%5.4%
 Building maintenance1.1%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock2.8%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support17.5%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock2.0%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair2.1%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock12.1%13.1%
Reviews for Boulder    55 Reviews

Outside of the university, Boulder had a very distinctive "wealthy hippy" feel. A lot of alternative medicine and a matching ethos. This is changing some among my  More

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We moved here from Texas about 4 years ago and love it here! The amazing sense of community and high regard for the environment are two of the main reasons we love  More

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Over 5 years ago

Most people do much worse than Boulder. I'm the most critical person I've ever met who is never happy or satisfied -- so that's a pretty huge compliment.   More

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Reviews for Salem    37 Reviews

After reading the reviews here, I had to come write my own. The problem I had with most of the reviews is that most were very opinion-based and seemed to assume everyone  More

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Moved here approx. 4 years ago from SW Michigan, but I've lived in 9 other cities & 5 other states. Salem is a very manageable sized city, with tons of parks, diverse  More

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Over 5 years ago

I'm a native 5th generation Oregonian, so bear in mind that I was born with webs between my toes! Anyway, I used to think it rained too much when I was young. Then I  More

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