Mass. Ranked Fifth Richest State, How Does Salem Compare?
Which states have the highest and lowest median household incomes? Find out.
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Massachusetts' median household income ranked the fifth richest throughout the United States in 2011, according to a recent study presented on DailyFinance.
The Commonwealth, with a median household income of $62,859, trailed only Connecticut, New Jersey, Alaska, and Maryland.
But, how does the city of Salem compare to the state's averages?
The median household income in Salem between 2006-2010, according to the US Census Bureau, was $56,979, which is roughly $6,000 less than the state's average during these years.
During the same time, the state's poverty level was at 10.5 percent, while Salem's poverty figure was slightly higher at 10.8 percent.
Are you curious how the rest of the North Shore stacks up by the same comparisons?
Patch on the North Shore
| Median income | Population | Unemployment | Below poverty line | |
| Peabody | $65,515 | 51,653 | 6.3% | 6.1% |
| Salem | $56,979 | 41,654 | 6.6% | 10.8% |
| Beverly | $66,671 | 39,796 | 6.2% | 9% |
| Danvers | $75,310 | 26,493 | 5.9% | 5.7% |
| Hamilton | $98,525 | 7,758 | 5.6% | 5.3%* |
| Wenham | $130,350 | 4,875 | 6.7% | 3.3%* |
| Marblehead | $97,097 | 19,808 | 5.1% | 4.8% |
| Swampscott | $90,763 | 13,787 | 5.6% | 5.1% |
| State | $62,589 | 6,587,536 | 7.4% | 11.6% |
* Figures on percentage below poverty line for both Hamilton and Wenham are from 2009 data published by City-data.com.
In 2011, Massachusetts had the lowest percentage of the population without health insurance, at just 4.3 percent. DailyFinance attributed this to the near-universal health care law signed into office in 2006 by Mitt Romney.
The states with the lowest median household incomes were Alabama, Kentucky, Arkansas, West Virginia, and Mississipi.
Jared Robinson
12:50 pm on Tuesday, October 9, 2012
yay?
windpower
4:08 pm on Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Let's add poor schools too
Frank Kulik
10:09 am on Wednesday, October 10, 2012
In Salem, low income is probably more an outcome of design than coincidence. If you examine all the construction projects either underway or on the drawing board, the majority of them contain plans for low income/no income residential units and the "Gateway" city status assures that there will be many more in Salem's future. All of these projects were thrust upon or are being thrust upon Salem rate payers with no consideration given to absence of a viable public sector economic support system to sustain these new residents. If passed, the CPA initiative will encourage even more low income residential units. So with 10.8% below the poverty line now, the type of growth being advanced by our mayor will most likely raise this percentage even higher as these new units become occupied. Many educators have linked poor peformance in school to average family income. So this miight be an interesting statistic to track as well and if this linkage is valid, will no doubt stress the school system even more. I suspect, not the direction most residents were hoping this city would be taking.
windpower
12:12 pm on Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Everything is for sale ! Just how much is the question .
More unemployed in Wenham than Salem ?
Leese
11:19 am on Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Speaking of low-income, Salem's current percentage of affordable housing is over 12% - more than the 10% mandated by Chapter 40B, and Salem leads the North Shore HOME Coalition's 30 towns with its high affordable housing percentage. Of the Coalition's 30 towns, only 3 meet or exceed Chapter 40B's 10% affordable housing requirement, and a third provide under or less than 5% - half of the required 10%. And Salem indeed intends to continue adding more affordable housing, based on Salem's FY2013 Action Plan (http://www.salem.com/pages/salemma_dpcd/studiesreports/fy13actionplan.pdf). The Bridge Street Neck Revitalization project, for example (http://www.mass.gov/hed/docs/dhcd/cd/gateway/salem.pdf) suggests redeveloping the Brake & Clutch site into a 60-unit multi-family residential complex, explaining that "for this type of development to be feasible, it would need to include a certain number of affordable units. In today’s market, all the units would need to be affordable." With its Gateway city status, the area's highest current percentage of afforable housing, desire to add more, and push to see the CPA passed, Salem apparently aspires to be the area's low-income mecca. Very disappointing.
Jared Robinson
11:22 am on Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Pretty sure Brake and Clutch isn't for sale