Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other Salary — Salem, Oregon

The average Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other in Salem, Oregon earns $39,960 a year.

$39,960 / year, mean
↓ 6.4% below national average 80th percentile in Oregon

Salem pays well above most of Oregon for this role, landing in the top third statewide. That's close to the national average for motor vehicle operators, all other — a fairly typical rate for this role. Cost of living here is close to the national average — not a major factor either way. This is a high-confidence estimate, based on a large sample of reported wages.

Percentile within Oregon

0th 50th 100th
Employment (this metro)
70
Estimate confidence
RSE 2.5%
Cost of living 104 #29 most expensive of 188 cities in this dataset 100 = U.S. average · Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
Crime index 2419 #180 safest of 188 cities in this dataset Per 100k residents · Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Median home value $454,689 #32 priciest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: zillow_real
Median household income $76,010 #65 highest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: Census Bureau ACS 5-year

Combining these four figures gives a fuller picture than salary alone: Salem ranks #29 for cost of living and #32 for home prices among the 188 cities in this pilot dataset, which matters as much as the headline salary number when comparing where to live.

Atlantic City $69,100 Vallejo $65,800 Salinas $62,820 Seattle $60,820 San Francisco $60,150 Stockton $59,980 Chicago $59,660 Chambersburg $58,170 Crestview $57,060 New York $55,130 San Jose $53,340 Bakersfield $53,070 Watertown $52,120 San Diego $51,970 Los Angeles $50,700 Santa Rosa $47,310 Sacramento $47,190 Ann Arbor $46,880 Riverside $46,590 Fresno $45,630 York $45,210 Visalia $45,040 Philadelphia $44,830 Kiryas Joel $44,700 Virginia Beach $44,430 Killeen $44,100 San Antonio $43,850 Oxnard $43,470 Gainesville $42,800 Trenton $42,580 Utica $41,970 Brownsville $41,880 Palm Bay $41,300 Austin $41,120 Portland $41,020 El Paso $40,330 Dallas $40,240 Baltimore $40,200 Salem $39,960 Lakeland $39,860 Louisville $39,800 Syracuse $39,640 McAllen $39,580 Ocala $39,560 Tampa $39,510 Orlando $39,200 Richmond $39,060 Dover $38,960 Jacksonville $38,930 Miami $38,870 Rochester $38,850 Buffalo $38,600 Lubbock $38,500 Pittsburgh $38,390 Houston $38,300 Deltona $38,270 Peoria $38,000 Fort Myers $37,980 Medford $37,910 Scranton $37,640 Bend $37,620 Fort Wayne $37,560 Albany $37,400 Sarasota $36,910 Corpus Christi $36,830 Tallahassee $36,390 Saginaw $36,350 Port St. Lucie $35,880 Detroit $35,470 Binghamton $35,340 Eugene $35,320 Evansville $35,110 Harrisburg $34,620 Pensacola $34,190 Allentown $33,610 Lexington $32,850 Grand Rapids $32,510 Lansing $32,200 Flint $31,610 Indianapolis $31,010 Lancaster $30,780 Bay City $29,340 Paducah $21,990
CityMean salaryvs. Salem
Albany, New York$37,400-6.4%
Allentown, Pennsylvania$33,610-15.9%
Ann Arbor, Michigan$46,880+17.3%
Atlantic City, New Jersey$69,100+72.9%
Austin, Texas$41,120+2.9%
Bakersfield, California$53,070+32.8%
Baltimore, Maryland$40,200+0.6%
Bay City, Michigan$29,340-26.6%
Bend, Oregon$37,620-5.9%
Binghamton, New York$35,340-11.6%
Brownsville, Texas$41,880+4.8%
Buffalo, New York$38,600-3.4%
Fort Myers, Florida$37,980-5.0%
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania$58,170+45.6%
Chicago, Illinois$59,660+49.3%
Corpus Christi, Texas$36,830-7.8%
Crestview, Florida$57,060+42.8%
Dallas, Texas$40,240+0.7%
Deltona, Florida$38,270-4.2%
Detroit, Michigan$35,470-11.2%
Dover, Delaware$38,960-2.5%
El Paso, Texas$40,330+0.9%
Eugene, Oregon$35,320-11.6%
Evansville, Indiana$35,110-12.1%
Flint, Michigan$31,610-20.9%
Fort Wayne, Indiana$37,560-6.0%
Fresno, California$45,630+14.2%
Gainesville, Florida$42,800+7.1%
Grand Rapids, Michigan$32,510-18.6%
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania$34,620-13.4%
Houston, Texas$38,300-4.2%
Indianapolis, Indiana$31,010-22.4%
Jacksonville, Florida$38,930-2.6%
Killeen, Texas$44,100+10.4%
Kiryas Joel, New York$44,700+11.9%
Lakeland, Florida$39,860-0.3%
Lancaster, Pennsylvania$30,780-23.0%
Lansing, Michigan$32,200-19.4%
Lexington, Kentucky$32,850-17.8%
Los Angeles, California$50,700+26.9%
Louisville, Kentucky$39,800-0.4%
Lubbock, Texas$38,500-3.7%
McAllen, Texas$39,580-1.0%
Medford, Oregon$37,910-5.1%
Miami, Florida$38,870-2.7%
New York, New York$55,130+38.0%
Sarasota, Florida$36,910-7.6%
Ocala, Florida$39,560-1.0%
Orlando, Florida$39,200-1.9%
Oxnard, California$43,470+8.8%
Paducah, Kentucky$21,990-45.0%
Palm Bay, Florida$41,300+3.4%
Pensacola, Florida$34,190-14.4%
Peoria, Illinois$38,000-4.9%
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania$44,830+12.2%
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania$38,390-3.9%
Portland, Oregon$41,020+2.7%
Port St. Lucie, Florida$35,880-10.2%
Richmond, Virginia$39,060-2.3%
Riverside, California$46,590+16.6%
Rochester, New York$38,850-2.8%
Sacramento, California$47,190+18.1%
Saginaw, Michigan$36,350-9.0%
Salinas, California$62,820+57.2%
San Antonio, Texas$43,850+9.7%
San Diego, California$51,970+30.1%
San Francisco, California$60,150+50.5%
San Jose, California$53,340+33.5%
Santa Rosa, California$47,310+18.4%
Scranton, Pennsylvania$37,640-5.8%
Seattle, Washington$60,820+52.2%
Stockton, California$59,980+50.1%
Syracuse, New York$39,640-0.8%
Tallahassee, Florida$36,390-8.9%
Tampa, Florida$39,510-1.1%
Trenton, New Jersey$42,580+6.6%
Utica, New York$41,970+5.0%
Vallejo, California$65,800+64.7%
Virginia Beach, Virginia$44,430+11.2%
Visalia, California$45,040+12.7%
Watertown, New York$52,120+30.4%
York, Pennsylvania$45,210+13.1%
Gross salary
39,960/yr
Estimated take-home
31,578/yr
Est. total withheld
21.0%

Single filer, federal + Oregon state tax + FICA, 2025 rates. Does not include state-specific payroll withholdings beyond income tax (see Data transparency). Not tax advice — verify with a professional for your specific situation.

View cost of living in this state All Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other salaries in Oregon → All Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other salaries →
Community reality check

Community reality check for Salem

These notes add local color around Salem, Oregon: comfort ranges, budget constraints and location trade-offs reported in public discussions.

Relocation gap2.0× calculator gap
City comparison anecdotal

Discussion highlights that calculators may imply roughly 2x gross income for comparable standard of living, while some employers offer only about 10% location premiums. Tech total compensation can be an exception, so the page should distinguish salary from total compensation.

2.0×calculator multiplier10%HCOL premium cited$200KAtlanta TC example$450KBay Area TC example

Anecdotal public-discussion signals, not official salary data, rent data or financial advice. Read this alongside the official figures on the page.

Data transparency

Sources used for this page

Official occupation and area metadata behind the visible salary, cost, housing and safety signals.

Occupation 53-3099 SOC code
Official area Salem, OR BLS metro/geographic area
Area code 41420 Stable geographic key
Reference year 2025 BLS OEWS
Cost: bea_realHousing: zillow_realCrime: latest availableNet-pay source: or_dor_verificado 2025
No additional caveats are attached to this row.
Methodology

How this page is built

The salary figure is the mean annual wage reported by the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program for this occupation and metro area. Percentile and national-average comparisons are calculated directly from the 188 cities currently in this dataset, not from a fixed external benchmark. Cost of living, crime and housing figures come from BEA, FBI and Zillow respectively — see "Data transparency" above for the exact sources and reference years used on this specific page.

Confidence: the RSE (relative standard error) shown under Overview indicates how reliable the salary estimate is for this metro — a lower RSE means a larger underlying sample.

On this page

Where this is

AK HI

Highlighted: Oregon

Population (metro area)
435,085