2025 Compare Cities Economy:
Salem, OR vs Olympia, WA

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Highlights
- Household income in Olympia, is 9% more than it is in Salem and is 2% below the National Average.
- Salem unemployment rate is 6.2%.
- Olympia unemployment rate is 5.6%.
 Salem, OROlympia, WAUnited States
 Unemployment Rate  Unlock5.6%6.0%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock1.4%1.6%
 Future Job Growth40.2%  Unlock33.5%
 Sales Taxes0.0%  Unlock6.2%
 Income Taxes  Unlock0.0%4.6%
 Income per Cap.$31,610  Unlock$37,638
 Household Income  Unlock$67,975$69,021
 Family Median Income$75,291  Unlock$85,028
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 Est. Households By Income
 Salem, OROlympia, WAUnited States
 Income Less Than 15K  Unlock10.5%9.4%
 Income between 15K and 20K4.3%  Unlock3.8%
 Income between 20K and 30K  Unlock8.4%8.1%
 Income between 30K and 40K9.1%  Unlock8.0%
 Income between 40K and 50K  Unlock8.6%7.6%
 Income between 50K and 60K8.4%  Unlock7.2%
 Income between 60K and 75K  Unlock8.9%9.6%
 Income between 75K and 100K13.0%  Unlock12.8%
 Income between 100K and 150K  Unlock17.8%16.3%
 Income between 150K and 200K6.1%  Unlock7.8%
 Income greater than 200K  Unlock6.6%9.5%
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 Population By Occupation
 Salem, OROlympia, WAUnited States
 Management, business, finance14.0%  Unlock16.4%
 Engineering, computers, science  Unlock10.7%6.5%
 Community, social services2.9%  Unlock1.8%
 Legal  Unlock2.4%1.2%
 Education, library5.4%  Unlock6.2%
 Arts, design, media, sports, entertainment  Unlock2.1%2.0%
 Healthcare practitioners and technology5.6%  Unlock6.2%
 Healthcare support  Unlock3.1%3.3%
 Firefighters, law enforcement2.5%  Unlock2.1%
 Food preparation, serving  Unlock6.4%5.4%
 Building maintenance3.8%  Unlock3.6%
 Personal care  Unlock3.2%2.6%
 Sales, office, administrative support21.9%  Unlock20.9%
 Farming, fishing, forestry  Unlock0.7%0.6%
 Construction, extraction, maintenance/repair7.4%  Unlock8.1%
 Production, transportation, material moving  Unlock9.4%13.1%
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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Reviews for Olympia    39 Reviews

We moved here from Kitsap Bremerton/Silverdale WA area and this beats it all the way in all material ways. The only reason not to give it 5 stars is the cost of  More

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Over 4 years ago

The city is horrible. The business have been chased out by homeless. The city government makes it for difficult for businesses to thrive. If you like what Seattle is  More

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Having lived all over the world we decided to retire in Olympia and live on the Puget Sound. Yes it rains but the weather can change dramatically in a day with sun and  More

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