[3] Salem is located near the center of Fulton County at the intersection of US Route 62 and 412 with Arkansas Highways 9 and 395.

[3] Salem has a humid subtropical climate with mild winters and hot summers.

[5] Salem City Park has a walking trail, volleyball court, picnic pavilions, children's play area, and a lake that is stocked with fish.

Preacher Roe Park is located on Highway 9 and offers a baseball/softball field and basketball court for aspiring athletes of all ages.

Mammoth Spring State Park is roughly 16 miles (26 km) northeast of Salem.

Lake Norfork is a short drive away, and it offers water skiing, swimming, fishing, and boating opportunities.

The lake is also good for largemouth, smallmouth and Kentucky bass fishing, and the bays and ponds are loaded with fast-biting bream and other panfish.

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,566 people, 818 households, and 451 families residing in the city.

The consulting staff consists of 18 physicians in the specialties of Diagnostic Radiology, Caridology, ENT and Pathology.

Smallmouth bass fishing and canoeing exist in the nearby South Fork of the Spring River.

The landscape is especially beautiful during the fall, and the focal overlooking hill, the Salem Knob (historically a public park, now privately owned) and surrounding area offers many photographic opportunities.

The area has a culture rich in originating the bluegrass music tradition, and each year boasts the Fulton County Homecoming event that allows local and visiting artists to gather and perform on the town square.

[10] Mammoth Spring State Park hosts an annual Old Soldiers Reunion, which originated as a way to celebrate the reunification of the Confederacy with the Union following the Civil War.

[11] During the annual Fulton County Fair, there is a public area behind the Salem City Park which hosts rodeos, tractor pulls, livestock shows, concerts, rides and games.