Salem General Information

LOCATION: Salem, the capital city of Oregon and the seat of Marion County is located on the 45th parallel just 47 miles south of Portland on Interstate 5. It is in the heart of the fertile Willamette Valley, 57 miles west to the spectacular Oregon Coast and 92 miles east to the Cascade mountain summit following the Santiam Pass.

TIME ZONE: The time zone is the Pacific.

ELEVATION: The elevation is 171 feet at the State Capitol in downtown Salem. Some residential areas have an elevation ranging up to 800 feet.

SIZE: Salem contains 46.57 square miles within its corporate limits as of 1998. Marion County covers an area of 1,194 square miles and Polk County contains 745 square miles.

POPULATION: Salem, the second largest city in Oregon, has a population estimated at 145,000. Marion County has a population estimated at 284,834 and Polk County’s is 62,380.

FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Salem has a charter government, appointed manager and eight council members with an elected mayor presiding.

TAXES: The State of Oregon does not have a sales tax. It has state income taxes.

CLIMATE: The climate is mild; however, annual seasons of fall, winter, and summer are discernible. On the average, 70% of the total rainfall occurs from November through March. Only 6% occur during June, July and August.

*Yearly average temperature: maximum 63.2, minimum 41.0
*Average annual rainfall: 39.1
*Average annual snow, ice, hail: 32.8
*Average annual clear days: 76.7
*Average annual rainless days: 219.3
*Annual growing season is 204 days
*Average annual wind velocity 7.0 mph from a prevailing southerly direction.

YEARLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURE (FAHRENHEIT) BY MONTH