Corvallis composite
44.8 /100
Grade C · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Corvallis vs Salem
Corvallis, OR and Salem, OR side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 44.8
- Corvallis Life Score
- C
- Corvallis grade
- 47.3
- Salem Life Score
- C+
- Salem grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Corvallis scores higher on 2 (safety, childcare) and Salem on 5 (cost of living, wages, rent, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Corvallis Salem ◗
cost of living
9
10
wages
76
85
rent
25
28
safety
50
49
schools
76
78
childcare
25
24
environment
65
66
Corvallis and Salem differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Corvallis has a cost-of-living index of 104.0 vs Salem's 103.6 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $70,316 in Corvallis and $73,178 in Salem. A 2-bedroom averages $1,622/mo vs $1,560/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Corvallis vs Salem Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Corvallis and Salem works out to $744 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in Corvallis carries the same local purchasing power as $99,646 in Salem - the more honest read than the salary headline above, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 334.6 per 100,000 residents in OR vs 334.6 in OR, with property-crime rates of 2409.8 and 2409.8 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: OR lists 1,277 public schools at a 17.2:1 student-teacher ratio, while OR lists 1,277 schools at 17.2:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $12,639/yr in the Corvallis area versus $12,639/yr in Salem - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Corvallis and Salem are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Salem composite
47.3 /100
Grade C+ · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
1 pts
Salem cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
1 pts
Corvallis safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Corvallis
Corvallis composite (Grade C)
Salem
Salem composite (Grade C+)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Corvallis | Salem |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 104.0 | 103.6 |
| Goods | 105.3 | 105.3 |
| Services | 108.6 | 104.7 |
| Rents | 114.4 | 110.3 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Salem gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Corvallis?
$
Equivalent in Salem:
$99,646
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Corvallis: 104.0, Salem: 103.6, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Corvallis | Salem |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,200/mo | $1,181/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,290/mo | $1,201/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,622/mo | $1,560/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $2,256/mo | $2,159/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $2,545/mo | $2,338/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Corvallis | Salem |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $70,316 | $73,178 |
| Total Employment | 29,730 | 179,820 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Corvallis (OR) | Salem (OR) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 334.6 | 334.6 |
| Property Crime | 2409.8 | 2409.8 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | OR | OR |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 1,277 | 1,277 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 17.2:1 | 17.2:1 |
| Charter Schools | 9.8% | 9.8% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | OR | OR |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $12,639/yr | $12,639/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $11,605/yr | $11,605/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $9,385/yr | $9,385/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | OR | OR |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 335 | 335 |
| Water Systems | 943 | 943 |
| Superfund Sites | 21 | 21 |
| Water Violations | 2,683 | 2,683 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Corvallis | Salem |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 32.0 | 35.0 |
| Good Air Days | 76.9% | 80.0% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | N/A | 0 days |
Corvallis air quality shown at state level. Salem has metro-level data.
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | OR | OR |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 2/100 | 2/100 |
| Total Violations | 206,659 | 206,659 |
| Health-Based Violations | 20,339 | 20,339 |
| Systems with Violations | 98.5% | 98.5% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | OR | OR |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 75/100 | 75/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 25.4% | 25.4% |
| HPSA Designations | 412 | 412 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | OR | OR |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 45/100 | 45/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 63.4 | 63.4 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 63.5 | 63.5 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Corvallis more expensive than Salem? ▼
Corvallis has a cost of living index of 104.0 compared to Salem's 103.6 (national average = 100). Corvallis is 0.4 points above Salem on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Corvallis and Salem? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,622/mo in Corvallis vs $1,560/mo in Salem, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,200/mo to $1,181/mo.
How do salaries compare between Corvallis and Salem? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $70,316 in Corvallis and $73,178 in Salem, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Corvallis has the same purchasing power as $99,646 in Salem.
Is Corvallis or Salem safer? ▼
At the state level, OR has a violent crime rate of 334.6 per 100,000 residents compared to OR's 334.6 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 2409.8 vs 2409.8 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Corvallis and Salem? ▼
OR has 1,277 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 17.2:1, while OR has 1,277 schools at 17.2:1. Charter schools make up 9.8% of OR schools vs 9.8% in OR. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare