Camden / Salem
Salem has 5,322 residents (give or take 38) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B01003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B01003?g=160XX00US3465490, checked 2026-10-19), about 2,270 people per square mile.
Salem is about 32 miles from the Census center point for Camden in a straight line and covers 2.344 square miles of land (Census 2024 Gazetteer internal points and land area, https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2024_Gazetteer/, checked 2026-10-19).
Median household income in Salem is $38,721 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B19013, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B19013?g=160XX00US3465490, checked 2026-10-19); many state and utility heat pump rebate programs set higher incentive tiers for income-qualifying households, so the household income on the application, not the town median, decides which level applies.
36% of Salem homes are single-family detached, 27% are in two- to four-unit buildings and 14% are in buildings of five or more units (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=160XX00US3465490, checked 2026-10-19).
65% of Salem homes are rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US3465490, checked 2026-10-19), so beside the 36% detached houses there is a real share of jobs where the landlord, not the resident, signs the quote.
Salem has 38 points fewer detached houses than Salem County overall (74%) (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25024, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25024?g=050XX00US34033, checked 2026-10-19).
With 65% of Salem homes rented (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25003?g=160XX00US3465490, checked 2026-10-19), most heat pump quotes here are landlord-driven: the landlord signs the contract and picks the equipment, and the tenant sees the lower bill.
Of the 2,386 occupied homes in Salem, 54% heat with natural gas, 21% with heating oil, 22% with electricity and 1% with propane (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=160XX00US3465490, checked 2026-10-19).
Gas leads in Salem at 54%, but 23% of homes still burn delivered oil or propane, and those 549 or so homes are where a heat pump pays back fastest.
Salem has 5 points less oil heat than Salem County as a whole, where 26% of homes burn oil, and 5 points more electric heat than the county's 17% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25040, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25040?g=050XX00US34033, checked 2026-10-19).
No electric utility is on file for Salem on this door yet, so this page does not name one; the name on the bill decides which rebate path applies.
Salem has 3,073 housing units, 46% built before 1940 and 90% before 1980, with 6% built in 2000 or later (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US3465490, checked 2026-10-19).
Salem has 24 points more pre-1940 homes than Salem County as a whole (22%) and 4 points fewer homes built after 2000 than the county's 10% (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=050XX00US34033, checked 2026-10-19). An older stock means more insulation upgrades before the heat pump goes in.
The median Salem home was built in 1942 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25035, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25035?g=160XX00US3465490, checked 2026-10-19) and the median home has 5.2 rooms (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25018, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25018?g=160XX00US3465490, checked 2026-10-19).
46% of Salem homes were built before 1940 and 90% before 1980 (ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25034, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2024.B25034?g=160XX00US3465490, checked 2026-10-19), so insulation is the first sizing question: an older home leaks more heat per square foot, and the installer runs a room-by-room heat-loss calculation to size the system for what the walls and windows actually hold in, not just the floor plan.
Heating design temperature: 11F. Source: ENERGY STAR Design Temperature Limit Reference Guide (2019 Edition), Salem County row, 99% heating, PDF pages 81 to 82 of 141 (Revised 11/11/2020), https://www.energystar.gov/sites/default/files/Design%20Temperature%20Limit%20Reference%20Guide%20(2019%20Ed)%20-%20ENERGY%20STAR%20Single-Family%20New%20Homes_Rev11.pdf, fetched 2026-10-19, 99%.
That 11F figure is the Salem County cold-day number a Salem heat pump is sized against, so ask the installer to show the system's heating output at 11F, not at the milder rating-label temperature.
Ask whether the quote is whole-home or partial-home, because with 54% of Salem on gas and 22% already electric the two paths carry different rebate figures and different sizing.
Ask for the heat-loss calculation room by room; a Salem house from before 1940 (46% of the 3,073 units) rarely matches a square-footage rule of thumb.
The form on this page is the follow-up for Salem. The public number is the number the contractor quotes from.
No local contractor is named on this door for Salem yet. A request from this page goes to the first licensed shop that takes the door.