Culiser was never rebuilt and Salonta began to have a more important role in the region after 1606, when the prince of Transylvania, Stephan Bocskai settled 300 soldiers here and appropriated land for them.

However, Ottoman Turks captured the town in 1660 and as Salanta, it became the sanjak center of Varat vilayet until 1692.

The 19th century Hungarian poet János Arany was born and lived in Salonta for most of his life.

The city officially became part of the territory ceded to the Kingdom of Romania in June 1920 under the terms of the Treaty of Trianon.

In August 1940, under the auspices of Nazi Germany, which imposed the Second Vienna Award, Hungary retook the territory of Northern Transylvania (which included Salonta) from Romania.

Towards the end of World War II, however, the city was taken back from Hungarian and German troops by Romanian and Soviet forces in October 1944, during the initial stages of the Battle of Debrecen.

The territory of Northern Transylvania remained under Soviet military administration until 9 March 1945, after which it became again part of Romania.

During the 2000s however, there has been a considerable foreign direct investment in small factories and assembly plants – particularly in the clothing industry.