The 10 Best Salem Suburbs To Live In For 2022


We analyzed over 26 places around Salem to identify the most kickass place to live.

Editor’s Note: Data has been updated for 2022. This is our ninth time ranking the best Salem suburbs.

Big city living isn't for everyone--but at the same time, urban areas certainly have their perks.

There's the culture, the food, the arts, the food, the energy, and you know, the food. But there are drawbacks. There's traffic, expensive parking, expensive housing--pretty much, expensive everything, depending on which big city you're looking at.

But that's where the suburbs come in--they have all of the benefits of being near big cities, without actually having to be big cities.

Of course, not all suburbs of Salem are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. So without further ado...

Here are the 10 best suburbs to live around Salem for 2022:

  1. Sublimity
  2. Millersburg
  3. Turner
  4. Dundee
  5. Wilsonville
  6. Newberg
  7. Canby
  8. Molalla
  9. Lafayette
  10. Silverton

What's the best suburb of Salem? Sublimity ranks as the best suburb of Salem for 2022 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Sublimity, you're probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.

We'll tell you what makes each of these 10 Salem 'burbs better than the rest--but first, a bit about our methodology.

Note: This result may differ from our state wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a larger selection of suburbs.

Feel free to check out some more reading about Oregon:

The 10 Best Salem Suburbs To Live For 2022

Sublimity is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Salem area. We'll tell you the good about "Awesome Sublimity."

Everyone here is rich; families average $80,272 a year, which is the 4th highest in the Salem region. And only 1.46% are out of work. Homes average more than $339,500 each.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 2,794
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $80,272
Unemployment Rate: 1.5%
Poverty Rate: 4.3%
More on Sublimity: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Sublimity, OR

Millersburg is the second best 'burb we looked at near Salem for 2022.

It ranks 1st for incomes in the area and only 3.65% of residents lack insurance, good for 5th best.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 2,234
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $101,458
Unemployment Rate: 4.6%
Poverty Rate: 4.2%
More on Millersburg: Real Estate | Data

Here in Turner, it's really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you'll see in the Salem metro area.

The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.

But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Turner.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 2,034
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 2)
Median Income: $84,130
Unemployment Rate: 2.5%
Poverty Rate: 4.4%
More on Turner: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Turner, OR

Source: Public domain

Dundee ranks as the 4th best suburb of Salem for 2022.

You won't find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Dundee and the schools are some of the best around.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 3,296
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 1)
Median Income: $81,866
Unemployment Rate: 4.4%
Poverty Rate: 3.9%
More on Dundee: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Dundee, OR

Coming in as the fifth best is Wilsonville.

Wilsonville gets kudos for having the most expensive homes in the Salem area, where houses sell for an average of $441,800. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 24,413
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 1)
Median Income: $72,541
Unemployment Rate: 4.7%
Poverty Rate: 9.1%
More on Wilsonville: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Wilsonville, OR

Newberg is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here's why.

Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 2.97% which is 5th best in the area.

According to online reports, Newberg is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Salem area, meaning you need to get in soon.

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 23,676
Rank Last Year: 14 (Up 8)
Median Income: $75,225
Unemployment Rate: 3.0%
Poverty Rate: 9.5%
More on Newberg: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Newberg, OR

The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Canby.

Canby schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.

And, it's only 28.7 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 17,860
Rank Last Year: 6 (Down 1)
Median Income: $74,825
Unemployment Rate: 2.5%
Poverty Rate: 9.4%
More on Canby: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Canby, OR

Source: Public domain

Molalla is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.

A solid 4.73% of people lack insurance, good for 9th in the area.

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 9,224
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 3)
Median Income: $68,590
Unemployment Rate: 5.8%
Poverty Rate: 10.9%
More on Molalla: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Molalla, OR

Is 'Everything Better In Lafayette?'

Almost.

It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it's really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 4,222
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 1)
Median Income: $77,662
Unemployment Rate: 1.1%
Poverty Rate: 11.6%
More on Lafayette: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Lafayette, OR

And rounding out the top ten for 2022 is Silverton.

This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It's far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 10,426
Rank Last Year: 10 (No Change)
Median Income: $68,350
Unemployment Rate: 6.0%
Poverty Rate: 8.7%
More on Silverton: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Silverton, OR

Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Salem for 2022

Figuring out the best suburbs around Salem was pretty simple; we just needed to list several things that people like, and then find out which cities have the most of those things.

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible:

  • Low unemployment rate
  • High Median household incomes
  • Population density (lots of things to do)
  • High home values
  • A lot of college educated people
  • Low poverty
  • High rate of insured families

Then we used the newest American Community Survey data for 2016-2020 to research each suburb.

FYI: We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Salem.

Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 29 suburbs to evaluate around Salem.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 29 in each category, where 1 was the "best.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality of life index.

And finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index the "Best Suburb near Salem." We're lookin' at you, Sublimity. You can download the data here.

Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the best of the best. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.

Summary: Welcome to the Best Salem 'Burbs of 2022

We said it once and we'll say it again--life in the big city isn't for everyone. At least not all the time.

So if you're hankering for some of the amenities of a larger city like Salem, but don't want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might just be for you.

For more Oregon reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Salem Suburbs

Rank City Population Median Income
1 Sublimity, OR 2,794 $80,272
2 Millersburg, OR 2,234 $101,458
3 Turner, OR 2,034 $84,130
4 Dundee, OR 3,296 $81,866
5 Wilsonville, OR 24,413 $72,541
6 Newberg, OR 23,676 $75,225
7 Canby, OR 17,860 $74,825
8 Molalla, OR 9,224 $68,590
9 Lafayette, OR 4,222 $77,662
10 Silverton, OR 10,426 $68,350
11 Keizer, OR 39,408 $64,671
12 Carlton, OR 2,135 $77,917
13 Hubbard, OR 3,527 $77,656
14 Corvallis, OR 58,612 $55,390
15 Dallas, OR 16,612 $58,398
16 Aumsville, OR 4,145 $64,009
17 Dayton, OR 2,726 $65,784
18 Stayton, OR 8,199 $64,631
19 Gervais, OR 2,726 $72,411
20 Monmouth, OR 10,411 $47,585
21 Independence, OR 10,178 $54,617
22 Mcminnville, OR 34,466 $53,628
23 Albany, OR 54,442 $62,172
24 Mount Angel, OR 3,575 $63,634
25 Jefferson, OR 3,348 $66,208
26 Woodburn, OR 26,008 $52,251
27 Sheridan, OR 6,122 $53,929
28 Lebanon, OR 17,144 $45,215
29 Willamina, OR 2,425 $49,050

How Is Your Town In ?

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.