It includes the municipalities of Gildeskål, Bodø, Beiarn, Saltdal, Fauske, Sørfold, Steigen, and Hamarøy.

Salten covers an area of about 9,354 square kilometres (3,612 sq mi) and has a population (2016) of about 73,375 people.

[1] The district borders Helgeland in the south (see Saltfjellet), Ofoten in the north, Sweden in the east, and Vestfjorden (and Lofoten) in the west.

For instance, a local would say "æ tænkt å kjøp ei flask fløt og en pos me pære vess æ rækk butikkan" while in the formal Norwegian language one would say "jeg tenkte å kjøpe en flaske fløte og en pose med pærer om jeg rekker butikkene".

The words in this list (tenkte, kjøpe, flaske, fløte, pose, pærer) are pronounced with two syllables in formal Norwegian, but with just one in some Salten dialects.