Community Profile

Pledge Summary

Located directly off Interstate 81, Salem is a city in southwest Virginia, nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, with a population of approximately 25,335. Salem's delightful downtown area is home to a variety of retail shops, restaurants, breweries, antique shops, a library, gardens, museums, parks, business offices, and backs up to Roanoke College, a liberal arts (Division III) private college. Mayor Renée Ferris Turk has committed to saving the monarch butterfly and other pollinators with the signing of the Mayor's Monarch Pledge and looks forward to engaging city staff and residents in building more pollinator habitats throughout the City of Salem in the future.