Groundwork

Real estate · Metro area · Oregon

Real estate businesses in the Salem, OR metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for real estate businesses in the Salem, OR metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 53 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #153 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 8 scored metro areas based in Oregon

Listings
552
29 chain locations (5%)
Official establishments
406
+11.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$2.8B
On rent and homeowner costs · $17,766 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
119
19% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
34.5
10% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
445,814
+2.7% since 2020

See the real estate businesses around any address in the Salem metro area

The site report maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Salem metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Households in the Salem metro area spend about $2.8B a year on rent and homeowner costs, or $17,766 per household, 7% above the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 19% above the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in.

There are 552 real estate businesses on map listings in the Salem metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 5% of them, against 6% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 34.5, 10% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.

In 2023, official counts showed 406 businesses with payroll in the Salem metro area classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors, up 11.0% from 2019. That is one for every 394 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Official counts list 1,420 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 5 SBA-backed loans worth $718K have gone to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Salem metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Salem metro area grew 2.7%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for real estate businesses in the Salem metro area is 53 (upper middle), #153 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 8 scored metro areas based in Oregon.

How the Salem metro area compares

The same measures for Oregon and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.

Real estate in Salem, OR metro area compared with Oregon and the U.S.
MeasureSalem metro areaOregonU.S.
Listings per 10k households34.540.438.5
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)119105100
Households per official establishment394308414
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+11.0%+13.4%+15.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.7%+0.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$17,766$18,335$16,661
Median household income$78,900$83,011$80,734
Groundwork market score5342

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
406+11.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,248
Annual payroll, 2023
$66.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
1,420Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
55229 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
656The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
5
Amount
$718K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Salem metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in the Salem metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
445,814+2.7% since 2020
Households
159,856
Median age
38.6
Homes lived in by their owners
63%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
1,922 sq. mi.
People per square mile
228
Median household income
$78,900+31.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$101,988
Median home value
$424,100
Jobs located here
191,982
Daytime population
440,002Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Salem metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Salem metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Real estate across Oregon

Every Oregon market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Oregon for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Oregon, with the Salem metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Oregon

Metro areas in Oregon ranked for real estate businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Albany, OR6214428.4138+3.0%#80 of 387
2Corvallis, OR6212131.4132+4.4%#82 of 387
3Salem, OR5355234.5119+2.7%#153 of 387
4Grants Pass, OR5011731.9119−0.4%#180 of 387
5Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA444,28442.4107+1.0%#241 of 387
6Eugene-Springfield, OR3662238.8101−0.7%#320 of 387
7Bend, OR3671067.964+7.0%#335 of 387
8Medford, OR3238842.294−0.9%#355 of 387

Other business types in the Salem metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many real estate businesses are in the Salem, OR metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 552 real estate businesses in the Salem metro area. 29 of them (5%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 406 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 11.0% from 2019. Official counts also show 1,420 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Salem, OR metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $2.8B a year, or $17,766 per household. That is 7% above the U.S. average (an index of 107, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 552 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 19% above the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 159,856 households in the Salem metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Salem, OR metro area compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?

The Salem metro area has 34.5 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 119, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the Salem metro area would have about 656, against 552 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 394 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 11.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.

How fast is the Salem, OR metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Salem metro area at 445,814 people in 2025, up 2.7% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 159,856 households. Median household income in the Salem metro area is $78,900, 2% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 31.1%, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Salem metro area scores 53 for real estate businesses (upper middle), #153 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Salem metro area. It maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for real estate businesses · All 56 business types in the Salem metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Salem metro area?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of the Salem metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.