Welcome to Salem ...
The city of Salem is located in Marion County<1> and is the County Seat for Marion County.
The pronunciation of Salem: SAL-em<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Salem, you might consider that their post office opened in 1825.
When the people of Salem refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Salemite<3>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Salem has a population of 7,011 people<4> (see below for details).
Salem is 540 feet [165 m] above sea level.<5>.
Time Zone: Salem lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Salem is within the boundaries of the (618) area code.
The ZIP code for Salem: 62881<6>
Websites for Salem ...
Official Website: www.salemil.us/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Salem had an population of 7,011 people. This is a decrease of 6.33% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 11.35% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Salem had a population of 7,485 people (or 18.98% of the total population of Marion County). This makes Salem the county's 2nd most populous community.
The population of Salem represents 0.06% of the population of Illinois (which has 12,830,632 people), making it the state's 267th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 7,485 people, the population of Salem decreased 5.36% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 7,909 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Salem.
Communities Also Named Salem ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are two Illinois communities named Salem: This one is located in Marion County and the other is located in Stephenson County.
Beyond Illinois, there are 122 communities that are also named Salem - they are located in Alabama (4), Arkansas (5), Connecticut, Florida, Georgia (8), Idaho, Indiana (4), Iowa, Kansas (7), Kentucky (4), Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan (2), Mississippi (6), Missouri (4), Montana, Nebraska, New Brunswick (2), New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina (8), Nova Scotia, Ohio (7), Oklahoma (3), Ontario (6), Oregon, Pennsylvania (4), South Carolina (4), South Dakota, Tennessee (7), Texas (8), Utah, Virginia (5), West Virginia (3), Wisconsin (2) and Wyoming.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Salem.
Communities near Salem ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Salem.
- Centralia
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centralia
- Centralia is located in Clinton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,142 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Centralia <7>
- Sandoval
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandoval have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandoval
- Sandoval is located in Marion County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,205 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sandoval <7>
- Wamac
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wamac
- Wamac is located in Washington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,117 people
- Central City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Central City have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central City
- Central City is located in Marion County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,107 people
- Kinmundy
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kinmundy
- Kinmundy is located in Marion County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 752 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kinmundy <7>
- Irvington
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Irvington have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irvington
- Irvington is located in Washington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 609 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Irvington <7>
- Patoka
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patoka
- Patoka is located in Marion County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 544 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Patoka <7>
- Farina
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farina have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farina
- Farina is located in Fayette County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 495 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Farina <7>
- Hoffman
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hoffman have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hoffman
- Hoffman is located in Clinton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 478 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hoffman <7>
- Junction City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Junction City have been provided by the GNIS.<8> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction City
- Junction City is located in Marion County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 468 people
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Salem. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Salem.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Salem. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Salem.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Salem. Our list includes 19 papers. See our Newspapers Page for Salem.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Salem ...
Looking for more information about Salem? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Salem, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Salem.
Adding Salem to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Salem in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Salem was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>
From that list, the Salem post office opened in 1825.
We also found Salem in the book titled U.S. Post Offices (Oct. 1846).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Salem.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Salem: www.salemil.us/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Illinois' counties, including Marion, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The pronunciation we've provided is our attempt to give a phonetic pronunciation for Salem. While it might not be exactly right, hopefully it will be close. If we have it wrong or there's a better way to pronounce the name, please contact us through our Feedback Page. |
| <3> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Salem refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Salem may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <4> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Salem. |
| <5> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Salem - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <6> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Salem). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Salem or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <7> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <8> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <9> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |