Oregon · 123rd largest metro area

Buying a home in Salem, Oregon

In Salem, the median value of owner-occupied homes is $416,900, Marion County's effective property tax rate is 0.84%, a purchase mortgage carried a median $9,059 in total loan costs in 2025, and median gross rent is $1,400 a month.

Data as of : Census ACS 2020-2024, Census Vintage 2024, HMDA 2025, HUD FY 2027. Sources

Salem home costs, fact by fact

About Salem

In Marion County, Salem is a city of 180,406 residents within the Salem, OR metro area, ranked 123rd in the country. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom in Marion County is $1,692.

Reading the Salem figures

Start with the state picture: Oregon's median home value is $507,900, and Salem comes in under it, with owners putting their homes at $416,900. Within the covered Oregon cities the spread is wide. Bend is the high example, at $718,400, and Portland reaches $581,500. Hillsboro, Eugene and Gresham also sit above Salem, with owners valuing homes at $521,100, $460,400 and $458,700 respectively.

Renters see a tighter picture. Salem's median is $1,400 a month, a few dollars under Eugene's $1,402. Portland's $1,655 is higher, and Hillsboro's $1,978 higher still. HUD's benchmark for a smaller home in the Salem metro area is $1,692, which is a different kind of number from a census median, so read it as a test figure and not as the going rent. Ownership covers 55.9% of households, a little above Gresham's 55.8%, more than Portland's 52%, and more than Hillsboro's 50.2%.

On the cost of owning, Marion County's effective rate of 0.84% works out to $3,490 a year, in a county where the median home is valued at $416,400. Lenders handled 2,525 loans there in 2025. The median cost was $9,059, and the middle range of borrowers paid from $5,339 to $13,529, a wide band worth raising with any lender before you compare offers.

Calculate for Oregon

If you buy

Oregon state transfer tax

Oregon has no real estate transfer tax. Change the price: the amount is recalculated instantly.

Price$507,900
State transfer tax$0
Share of the price—

Default price: the Oregon median value of owner-occupied homes, $507,900 (Census ACS 2025). Rule: No tax is calculated on the price. Recording fees do not rise with the price. Who pays: No transfer tax to assign. Who pays the recording fees is a term of the purchase agreement. Not included: county and city transfer taxes, recording fees, title insurance and lender charges. Oregon transfer tax guide · all 50 states.

If you sell

Capital gain and the federal tax on it

Same federal rule in every state: Section 121 of the Internal Revenue Code excludes up to $250,000 of gain on a main home ($500,000 for a married couple filing jointly).

Capital gain$350,000
Section 121 exclusion$250,000 (limit $250,000)
Taxable gain$100,000
Type of gainLong-term (owned over 1 year), 15% chosen
Federal tax on the gain$15,000

Section 121 excludes $250,000; the rest is taxable.

Gain = sale price minus your adjusted basis (purchase price, buying costs and improvements); selling expenses reduce it (IRS Publication 523). Long-term rates for sales in 2026, by taxable income including the gain (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 4.03): 0% up to $49,450 single or $98,900 married filing jointly, 15% up to $545,500 single or $613,700 jointly, 20% above. Not included: Oregon state income tax on the gain (not computed), the net investment income tax, depreciation recapture on a rental or home office, and the reduced exclusion for an early sale. Agent commissions are negotiated and never set by law. Capital gains on a home sale.

Questions about buying a home in Salem

How much is property tax in Salem?

Homeowners in Marion County pay a median $3,490 a year in property tax, 0.84% of the county median home value of $416,400 (Census ACS 2020-2024). Your bill depends on your assessed value and local rates.

What are closing costs on a mortgage in Salem?

Home-purchase mortgages in Marion County carried median total loan costs of $9,059 in 2025; half of the 2,525 loans fell between $5,339 and $13,529 (HMDA). Total loan costs are the lender and settlement-service charges of the Closing Disclosure; transfer taxes and prepaid items come on top.

Is there a transfer tax when you buy a home in Salem?

Oregon has no state transfer tax. Article IX, Section 15 of the Oregon Constitution bars the state, cities and counties from taxing the transfer of real property or measuring a tax by its price, except taxes in effect on December 31, 2009. In Multnomah County a deed costs $86 to record for the first page and $5 per extra page.

Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Salem?

It depends on your mortgage rate, down payment and how long you stay. As a benchmark, the median value of owner-occupied homes in Salem ($416,900) equals 24.8 years of the median gross rent ($1,400 a month), both from Census ACS 2020-2024.

What natural hazards affect home insurance in Salem?

Across Oregon, the main hazards for home insurance are earthquake, tsunami, wildfire, flood and landslide, and the insurer of last resort is Oregon FAIR Plan Association. The Oregon Department of Emergency Management gives about a 37% chance of a 7.1+ Cascadia megathrust earthquake in the next 50 years, and the Oregon FAIR Plan requires two turn-downs from standard insurers with a $600,000 dwelling limit.

Run your own numbers: rent vs buy calculator · closing costs calculator.

Oregon rules that apply in Salem

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Sources

Oregon · All states · Federal guides