Welcome to Salem ...
The city of Salem is located in Washington County<1> and is the County Seat for Washington County.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Salem, you might consider that their post office opened in 1815.
When the people of Salem refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Salemite<2>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Salem has a population of 6,206 people<3> (see below for details).
Salem is 770 feet [235 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Salem lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
Note: If you travel south from Salem (for example, toward Irvington (KY)), you will leave Eastern Time and cross into the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT).
Area Codes for Salem: 812 & 930<5>
The ZIP code for Salem: 47167<6>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Salem had an population of 6,206 people. This is a decrease of 1.79% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 0.55% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Salem had a population of 6,319 people (or 22.33% of the total population of Washington County). This makes Salem the county's most populous community.
The population of Salem represents 0.1% of the total population of Indiana (which has 6,483,802 people), making it the state's 98th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 6,319 people, the population of Salem increased 2.38% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 6,172 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Salem.
Communities Also Named Salem ...
While we believe that this Salem is located in Washington County, we know of another 3 Indiana communities named Salem. Those communities are located in the following counties: Adams, Jay and Union County.
Beyond Indiana, there are 122 communities that are also named Salem - they are located in Alabama (4), Arkansas (5), Connecticut, Florida, Georgia (8), Idaho, Illinois (2), 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.
- Scottsburg
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scottsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scottsburg
- Scottsburg is located in Scott County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,703 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Scottsburg <8>
- Austin
(18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Austin
- Austin is located in Scott County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,094 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Austin <8>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Austin
- From Salem to Austin
- Brownstown
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Brownstown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<9>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brownstown
- Brownstown is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,874 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brownstown <8>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Brownstown
- From Salem to Brownstown
- Orleans
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orleans have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orleans
- Orleans is located in Orange County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,107 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orleans <8>
- Crothersville
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crothersville have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crothersville
- Crothersville is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,529 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crothersville <8>
- New Pekin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Greenville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
- Greenville is located in Floyd County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,115 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenville <8>
- Palmyra
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Palmyra have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Palmyra
- Palmyra is located in Harrison County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 958 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Palmyra <8>
- Borden
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Borden
- Borden is located in Clark County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 930 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Borden <8>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Borden
- From Salem to Borden
- Medora
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Medora
- Medora is located in Jackson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 693 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Medora
- From Salem to Medora
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 47 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.<10>
X2X - From that list, the Salem post office opened in 1815.
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 ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Salem. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Washington County: www.washingtoncountyindiana.com/
The official website for State of Indiana: https://www.in.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Indiana's counties, including Washington, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Salem. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Salem - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 812 code has been Overlayed with the 930 area code. New phone numbers in the Salem area will be assigned with one of these codes: 812 or 930. As a result, placing a call in the Salem area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number). |
| <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> | 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. |
| <8> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <9> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <10> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |