The borough is named after its main settlement, Salford, but covers a larger area which includes the towns of Eccles, Swinton, Walkden and Pendlebury.

Although the metropolitan borough of the City of Salford was a 20th-century creation, the area has a long history of human activity, extending back to the Stone Age.

[7] The northerly section of Watling Street, a Roman road from Manchester (Mamucium) via Bury to Ribchester (Bremetennacum), passes through the city;[8] a hoard of over 550 bronze Roman coins dating between 259 AD and 278 AD was discovered in Boothstown;[9] and a Romano-British bog body, Worsley Man, was discovered in the Chat Moss peat bog.

[19] The six-foot-tall Oglala Sioux tribesman, "Surrounded By the Enemy", died here from a bronchial infection at age twenty-two in 1887 during a tour of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and was buried at Brompton Cemetery.

[28] Prior to the metropolitan borough's creation, the name Salford for the new local government district courted controversy.

[31] A councillor for the then City and County Borough of Salford objected to this suggestion, stating this label was nothing but "a dirty stinking river".

Turning west, it meets the Mersey south of Irlam, where the route of the river was altered in the late 19th century to form part of the course of the Manchester Ship Canal.

[44] Salford City Council was assessed by the Audit Commission and judged to be "improving well" in providing services for local people.

Overall the council was awarded "three star" status meaning it was "performing well" and "consistently above minimum requirements", similar to 46% of all local authorities.

The city is entirely unparished and absorbed the municipal boroughs of Eccles and Swinton and Pendlebury and the urban districts of Irlam and Worsley.

The coat of arms of Salford City Council depicts a weaving shuttle surrounded by five bees with a three masted ship above, on a shield flanked by two lions.

[91] The blue background with a gold chief is taken from the arms of the city council of the County Borough of Salford, who in turn took it from the colours of the Earl of Chester.

[91] The lions are taken from the crest of the Borough of Swinton and Pendlebury; they are wearing iron steel chain representing engineering.

[91] Beneath the shield is a scroll reading salus populi suprema lex, Latin for "the welfare of the people is the highest law".

[92] A Comprehensive Area Assessment by the Audit Commission in 2009 found that Salford's key priorities are improving health, reducing crime, helping young people achieve A-level qualifications, social services, including the views of minority groups, improving skills and "making Salford a cleaner and more attractive place to live".

[118] During the 1970s, the docks fell into decline as they proved too small for new, larger ships,[118] and when they were abandoned in 1982 over 3,000 people lost their jobs.

4.7% of these people were students with jobs, 4.1% looking after home or family, 6.9% permanently sick or disabled and 2.9% economically inactive for other reasons.

The City of Salford has a high rate of people who are permanently sick and disabled, 70% higher than the national average of 4.0%.

[121] In 2011, of 106,904 residents of the City of Salford in employment, the industry of employment was: 17.8% retail and wholesale; 7.6% manufacturing;13.7% health and social work; 8.7% education; 7.2% construction; 5.2% transport and storage; 6.6% accommodation and food service; 6.2% administrative and support services; 6.0% professional, scientific and technical; 5.1% public administration and defence; 4.4% financial and insurance; 3.4% information and communication; 1.6% real estate; 0.9% water supply and waste management; 0.6% energy supply; 0.1% agriculture, forestry and fishing; 0.1% mining and quarrying; and 4.7% other.

The Salford collection includes works by artists such as Christian Ludwig Bokelmann, Charles Landseer and Thomas Henry Illidge, and ceramics from Pilkington's Lancastrian Pottery & Tiles.

The museum also contains an indoor re-creation of a typical Victorian street, Lark Hill Place, which was built in 1957 using shop fronts that had been saved from demolition.

[133][134] Collier has proposed that they have a "dramatic influence on the region's weather patterns", and may contribute to the 8 °C (14 °F) temperature difference between Salford and its surrounding countryside.

[135] Also scheduled is Hanging Bridge on the border with Manchester, dating to the 14th century,[136] and an underground section of the Bridgewater Canal in Swinton built in 1759.

They also won the National League 1 Grand Final in 2008, beating Celtic Crusaders after extra time in Warrington.

Now named the AJ Bell stadium it is home to Salford Red Devils and Sale Sharks rugby union team.

[153] Overall, Salford was ranked 75th out of all the Local Education Authorities (LEAs) – and seventh in Greater Manchester – in National Curriculum assessment performance in 2007.

[155] In 2007, the Salford LEA was ranked 127th out of 149 in the country – and ninth in Greater Manchester – based on the percentage of pupils attaining at least 5 A*–C grades at General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) including maths and English (37.8% compared with the national average of 46.7%).

[159] The university is undergoing £150M of redevelopment through investment in new facilities, including a £10M law school and a £22M building for health and social care which were opened in 2006.

A station at Pendleton was closed in 1998 after suffering fire damage and a loss of patronage in favour of nearby Salford Crescent, opened a few years earlier.

Buses run to destinations throughout the city, across Greater Manchester and further afield: Pendleton is served by a route to Preston,[164] Eccles Interchange is next to the Metrolink stop.