† Citizen voting-age population estimated for prior cycles; 2004 predates the ACS and is extrapolated. Source: ACS 5-year, table B05003.
——
D+60R+60
2 counties by 2024 margin · County returns · MIT Election Lab
People and households
Who lives here
Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.
Race · ethnicity · ancestry
Communities and origins
GroupSalem, OROregonUnited States
German16.5%16.3%12.5%
English12.4%14.1%9.5%
Irish8.9%11.1%9.4%
American3.6%4.3%5.3%
Norwegian2.8%3.1%—
Italian2.7%3.5%4.8%
Scottish2.7%3.0%1.3%
French1.8%2.1%1.6%
Mexican22.9%11.5%11.3%
Guatemalan0.6%0.4%0.5%
Salvadoran0.4%0.2%0.7%
Spaniard0.4%0.4%—
Puerto Rican0.3%0.4%1.8%
Spanish0.2%0.4%—
Cuban0.2%0.2%0.7%
Aztec0.2%——
Marshallese0.2%——
Chinese0.5%0.9%1.3%
Filipino0.4%0.5%0.9%
Asian Indian0.3%0.7%1.4%
Vietnamese0.2%0.7%0.6%
Korean0.2%0.4%0.4%
African American†0.7%1.2%9.9%
African0.2%—0.5%
Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.
Age and life stage
Measure
Salem, OR
Oregon
United States
Median age
37.6
40.6
39.1
Age 18–24
9.8%
8.5%
9.2%
Age 65 and older
17.1%
18.9%
17.2%
Household economy
Measure
Salem, OR
Oregon
United States
Median household income
$78,938
$83,011
$84,427
Poverty rate
12.9%
12.0%
12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)
27.1%
36.7%
35.6%
Languages at home
Measure
Salem, OR
Oregon
United States
Speaks a non-English language at home
22.8%
15.3%
22.3%
Spanish
18.3%
9.0%
13.6%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic
1.1%
0.8%
0.7%
Other Asian & Pacific Island
1.0%
1.1%
1.1%
Religious landscape
Measure
Salem, OR
Oregon
United States
Catholic
19.5%
11.3%
18.6%
Evangelical Protestant
14.3%
12.8%
16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted
58.3%
66.9%
51.5%
American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · presidential returns from MIT Election Lab through 2024 · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations.
Salem, OR
presidential history
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
Presidential margin over time
Year
Margin (D minus R)
1892
−31.9%
1896
−2.4%
1900
−12.0%
1904
−48.3%
1908
−20.1%
1912
+2.0%
1916
−12.7%
1920
−33.7%
1924
−25.8%
1928
−26.1%
1932
+17.8%
1936
+25.8%
1940
−7.7%
1944
−13.5%
1948
−16.2%
1952
−40.9%
1956
−27.3%
1960
−17.1%
1964
+25.7%
1968
−14.9%
1972
−19.8%
1976
−2.3%
1980
−11.5%
1984
−19.6%
1988
−4.6%
1992
−1.1%
1996
+1.3%
2000
−7.8%
2004
−9.8%
2008
+1.6%
2012
−3.4%
2016
−4.6%
2020
+0.5%
2024
−2.4%
DemocraticRepublican
34 presidential elections
Third column names the leading third-party or independent finisher. Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024). Swing · margin change from the prior cycle. vs U.S. · margin relative to the national result that year.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Other
Margin
Swing
vs U.S.
Total
R
47.0%Harris96,004
49.4%Trump100,857
3.6%
R+2.4
R+2.9
R+0.9
204,284
D
48.5%Biden103,789
48.0%Trump102,734
3.4%
D+0.5
D+5.1
R+4.0
213,825
R
41.9%Clinton74,208
46.5%Trump82,317
11.6%
R+4.6
R+1.1
R+6.7
177,135
R
46.7%Obama72,668
50.1%Romney78,009
3.2%
R+3.4
R+5.0
R+7.3
155,633
D
49.4%Obama79,352
47.8%McCain76,773
2.9%
D+1.6
D+11.4
R+5.7
160,770
R
44.3%Kerry73,155
54.2%Bush89,408
1.5%
R+9.8
R+2.0
R+7.4
165,108
R
43.3%Gore61,351
51.1%Bush72,431
5.6%
R+7.8
R+9.1
R+8.3
141,783
D
44.9%Clinton59,579
43.6%Dole57,893
11.5%
D+1.3
D+2.4
R+7.3
132,794
R
37.3%Clinton50,688
38.4%Bush52,227
24.3%
R+1.1
D+3.5
R+6.7
135,948
R
46.6%Dukakis50,819
51.2%Bush55,845
2.2%
R+4.6
D+15.0
D+3.1
109,113
R
40.1%Mondale45,149
59.7%Reagan67,213
0.2%
R+19.6
R+8.0
R+1.4
112,641
R
37.7%Carter39,967
49.3%Reagan52,197
13.0%
R+11.5
R+9.2
R+1.8
105,980
R
46.7%Carter41,922
49.0%Ford44,025
4.4%
R+2.3
D+17.4
R+4.4
89,861
R
37.8%McGovern29,816
57.5%Nixon45,426
4.7%
R+19.8
R+4.9
D+3.4
78,970
R
40.1%Humphrey27,288
55.0%Nixon37,414
5.0%
R+14.9
R+40.6
R+14.2
68,073
D
62.7%Johnson39,383
36.9%Goldwater23,216
0.4%
D+25.7
D+42.8
D+3.1
62,838
R
41.4%Kennedy25,369
58.5%Nixon35,833
0.1%
R+17.1
D+10.2
R+17.2
61,268
R
36.4%Stevenson20,217
63.6%Eisenhower35,394
0.0%
R+27.3
D+13.6
R+11.9
55,611
R
29.3%Stevenson15,320
70.2%Eisenhower36,737
0.5%
R+40.9
R+24.7
R+30.2
52,317
R
40.4%Truman16,634
56.6%Dewey23,325
3.0%
R+16.2
R+2.7
R+20.7
41,183
R
42.4%Roosevelt15,225
55.9%Dewey20,080
1.8%
R+13.5
R+5.8
R+21.0
35,941
R
45.8%Roosevelt18,108
53.4%Willkie21,151
0.8%
R+7.7
R+33.4
R+17.6
39,575
D
59.0%Roosevelt19,230
33.3%Landon10,841
7.7%
D+25.8
D+8.0
D+1.5
32,569
D
56.8%Roosevelt16,277
39.0%Hoover11,181
4.1%
D+17.8
D+43.9
±0.0
28,645
R
36.3%Smith8,722
62.5%Hoover14,998
1.2%
R+26.1
R+0.3
R+8.7
24,005
R
26.4%Davis5,617
52.3%Coolidge11,106
21.3%
R+25.8
D+7.8
R+0.7
21,239
R
30.7%Cox5,484
64.3%Harding11,507
5.0%
R+33.7
R+21.0
R+7.5
17,892
R
40.6%Wilson8,543
53.3%Hughes11,215
6.1%
R+12.7
R+14.7
R+15.8
21,042
O
33.4%Wilson3,789
31.5%Taft3,566
35.1%
Roosevelt +1.7
D+22.0
R+17.6
11,337
R
35.6%Bryan3,352
55.6%Taft5,244
8.8%
R+20.1
D+28.3
R+10.5
9,425
R
20.0%Parker1,605
68.3%Roosevelt5,486
11.7%
R+48.3
R+36.3
R+28.7
8,031
R
41.2%Bryan3,309
53.3%McKinley4,275
5.5%
R+12.0
R+9.6
R+4.5
8,023
R
47.6%Bryan4,753
50.0%McKinley4,997
2.4%
R+2.4
D+29.4
D+3.6
9,991
R
16.0%Cleveland1,311
47.9%Harrison3,922
36.1%
R+31.9
—
R+33.5
8,188
Congressional elections · 2 Senate races
U.S. Senate
Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), Senate. CC-BY 4.0.
Year
Won
Democratic
Republican
Total
2022
R
46.4%79,534
50.4%86,352
171,452
2020
D
49.1%102,883
47.2%98,839
209,545
voter registration
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Party registration · 2024R+1.1
vs
Presidential vote · 2024R+2.4
Registration and the presidential vote track closely here — within 1.3 points.
292,579 registered voters · 2024 · up from 284,143 in 2022
Domestic migration in Salem, OR in Salem, OR: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
−391
2012
+35
2013
+165
2014
+1,916
2015
+4,165
2016
+6,364
2017
+5,073
2018
+4,350
2019
+1,767
2021
+1,951
2022
+340
2023
−738
2024
−317
2025
+511
The Salem metro blends state-government employment with a substantial Latino population in surrounding Marion County, producing margins that consistently run closer than the Portland media market and make it a bellwether for statewide ballot measures.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 25.8 points in 1936 and a Republican high of 48.3 points in 1904. Between 2020 and 2024 the metro moved 2.9 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 2.4 points.
A population of 438,906, a 63% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $78,938 describe the metro. The metro's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA and San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA.
Akashic
Political twins — metros
The metros whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Salem, OR, Oregon. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cbsa/41420/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
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In 2024, Salem, OR, Oregon voted Republican by 2.4 points (R+2.4), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 204,284 votes cast, 96,004 went Democratic and 100,857 went Republican.
When did Salem, OR, Oregon last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Salem, OR, Oregon voted Democratic was 2020.
How many people live in Salem, OR, Oregon?
Salem, OR, Oregon has a population of 438,906 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Salem, OR, Oregon?
Median household income in Salem, OR, Oregon is $78,938 — below the national median of $80,734. The Oregon state median is $83,011.
What is the political history of Salem, OR, Oregon?
Akashic tracks 34 presidential elections in Salem, OR, Oregon from 1892 to 2024. Of those, 6 went Democratic and 27 went Republican.
