Capital Region
Salem, New York
Salem is a town in Washington County, in New York's Capital Region region, home to about 2,600 people as of the 2020 census.
Whether you're moving in or you've been here for years, the checks that matter most are the school district, the assessment and STAR, and — outside the cities — the well, the septic, and the flood map.
- Type
- Town
- County
- Washington
- Region
- Capital Region
- Population (2020)
- 2,612
Local Almanac
Notes in and around Salem
Short, sourced notes tied to this place, its county, or nearby communities.
This place · History & Culture
Salem's Old Courthouse Became a County-Seat Memory
Salem centers part of its local memory on the old Washington County courthouse, chosen after county-seat lobbying and later preserved for community use.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Cambridge Keeps an Opera House in Farm Country
Cambridge mixes Washington County farmland, historic storefronts, a Victorian train hotel, and Hubbard Hall's 1878 opera-house arts campus.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
White Creek keeps Quaker, farm, and Taconic-edge history visible
White Creek's town site ties Cambridge Patent history, Quaker settlement, farms, creeks, and Taconic foothills into one local picture.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Greenwich Follows the Batten Kill, Mills, and Hamlets
Greenwich town identity comes through Batten Kill waterpower, mill hamlets, patents, farms, and old travel routes.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Jackson is farm country with water tucked into the map
Jackson's local feel comes from Washington County farm country, small lakes, family operations, and the Batten Kill watershed nearby.
Read this note ->Nearby · Money & Taxes
Greenwich STAR and assessment questions start with the assessor
Greenwich owners should pair the town assessor page with the state STAR page before assuming a tax benefit or value is correct.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Argyle reads as a town-and-village civic center
Argyle's town site shows a compact Washington County civic center where town, village, court, school, library, fire, EMS, and county links sit together.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Cambridge Carries an Older County Map
Cambridge's town story reaches from an old patent to Albany County, Washington County, and later town splits.
Read this note ->Nearby · History & Culture
Hebron's Hills Still Read Like Farm Country
Hebron's own welcome page frames the town through preserved heritage, rolling farmland, wooded terrain, potatoes, dairy, and newer niche farms.
Read this note ->Property tax snapshot
Roughly $22–$25 per $1,000
Combined full-value rate — county + town/city + school district, per $1,000 of market value (FY2025). On a $300,000 home that's about $6,653–$7,399 a year before the STAR break.
A planning estimate, not a bill. Your exact rate depends on your school district and any village. Confirm with the assessor.
Statewide links
Statewide starting points.
Good to know
- • Your assessed value usually isn't your market value — ask for the equalization rate.
- • Register for STAR; new applicants generally receive a credit instead of an automatic exemption on the bill.
- • Outside the cities, check the well, the septic, and the FEMA flood map before you buy.
Nearby
Nearby places
Tax rates: NYS Dept of Taxation & Finance (ORPTS), Real Property Tax Rates and Levy Data by Municipality, data.ny.gov dataset iq85-sdzs. (FY2025). Population: U.S. Census 2020. Reviewed June 2026. Source data ->
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