Salem
1 high school and 6 elementary schools in our rankings · serves Salem
Ranks #234 of 328 Massachusetts school districts.
MCAS is the share of students meeting or exceeding expectations in 2026, grades 3–10 combined. Spending is total per-pupil expenditure in FY2024.
Salem is a city on Massachusetts's North Shore, about 15 miles north of Boston along the coast of Massem Bay. Settled in 1626, it is best known for its role in the 1692 Salem witch trials and for its maritime history as a major port during the age of sail. The city today blends its historic architecture and waterfront with a growing arts scene and the Salem State University campus. Its single-family homes carry an assessed value that places the community among the more established residential markets in the region.
How it compares
- Best of its categories: Attendance, in the bottom 39% of districts. Students attend 92.6% of school days, vs 93.7% for the average MA district.
- Area to watch: SAT scores rank in the bottom 15% of districts.
- Trend: Chronic absence has fallen from 34% in 2022 to 19.2% in 2025.
A district's overall rank is the average statewide percentile of its ranked schools, with a 10% discount for single-school districts. Category standings compare the average of each district's ranked schools and count only districts with data. How we rank
Schools in Salem
We rank high schools that report SAT results and elementary schools with grade 3 MCAS results, so some of the district's schools (middle schools, for example) aren't listed. Elementary ELA and Math are 2024–2026 averages of grade 3 results.
MCAS results
Share of students meeting or exceeding expectations, compared with the state. Statewide 10th-grade results dropped after 2024, when passing the MCAS stopped being a graduation requirement. There was no test in 2020.
High school results
Averages of the district's ranked high schools (Salem High). "MA avg" is the average of all Massachusetts districts with high school data.
Students & classrooms
47.8% female · 52% male · 0.2% nonbinary
Spending & teachers
Spending is total per-pupil expenditure from all sources. Dollar figures aren't adjusted for inflation. "MA median" is the middle district in each year; small districts can spend far more per student, so the median is a fairer yardstick than the average. Salary is the average across 358 full-time-equivalent teachers.
Attendance
12.7 days absent per student (MA avg 11) · 6.4% missed 20% or more of school days
About Salem
What could you afford here? · All towns A–Z
Town figures are FY2026 averages for single-family homes from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Assessed values usually run below recent sale prices. "MA median" is the median of the state's 351 towns.
Compare Salem with nearby districts
Side by side: test scores, spending, class size, home values and taxes. Distance is between district centers. Compare with any district