How hard is the water in Salem, MA?

Tap water hardness
67mg/L
3.9gpg
Moderately hard

Reported by Salem Water Department · July 2025

MA typical
38 mg/L
EPA health violations since 2016
0
Softener for 3 people
24k grain
Data
Utility report

Salem water measures 67 mg/L (3.9 gpg) of hardness, moderately hard by USGS standards. The number comes from Salem Water Department, dated July 2025.

Salem on the hardness scale, with nearby cities
060120180240300360+MA typical 38Saugus: 10 mg/LSaugus 10Marblehead: 16 mg/LMarblehead 16Swampscott: 38 mg/LSwampscott 38Wakefield: 51 mg/LWakefield 51Lynn: 67 mg/LLynn 67Beverly: 70 mg/LBeverly 70Lynnfield: 72 mg/LLynnfield 72Revere: 87 mg/LRevere 87Peabody: 128 mg/LPeabody 128Danvers: 130 mg/LDanvers 130Salem 67mg/L as calcium carbonate060120180240300360+MA 38Marblehead: 16 mg/LMarblehead 16Swampscott: 38 mg/LSwampscott 38Lynn: 67 mg/LLynn 67Beverly: 70 mg/LBeverly 70Peabody: 128 mg/LPeabody 128Danvers: 130 mg/LDanvers 13067 mg/Lmg/L as calcium carbonate
Soft 0–60 mg/LModerately hard 61–120 mg/LHard 121–180 mg/LVery hard 181+ mg/L

Salem sits 29 mg/L above the typical Massachusetts figure of 38. Of the 10 nearest cities we track, 4 have softer water and 5 have harder. The range nearby runs from 10 mg/L in Saugus to 130 in Danvers.

What 67 mg/L means at home

You may see faint white spots on glasses and shower doors after the water dries.

Scale builds up slowly. A kettle or coffee maker needs descaling now and then, maybe every few months.

Hardness is not a health problem, and EPA sets no limit for it. It is a matter of scale and soap.

What to do about it

Optional. Plenty of households at this level live with it and descale the kettle now and then.

Water softener

Worth a look if spots on glass bother you, or if your tankless water heater manual asks for softer water.

Carbon filter

Improves taste and removes chlorine. It leaves calcium and magnesium in place.

Softener size for Salem

3 people × 75 gallons a day × 3.9 gpg = 880 grains a day. A 24,000-grain unit regenerates about every 27 days.

Size it for your household

EPA record for Salem's water system

Salem Water Department · PWSID MA3258000

No health-based violations since 2016

Serves about 44,480 people from surface water.

Health-based
0
Monitoring or reporting
0
Open now
0

Health-based means a contaminant above its legal limit or a missed treatment step. Monitoring and reporting violations are late or missing tests and notices. Source: EPA ECHO, 2026Q3 export, violations with periods starting 2016 or later. Full EPA record.

Questions

Is Salem water hard?

Somewhat. It measures about 67 mg/L (3.9 grains per gallon), which the USGS classes as moderately hard.

What is the water hardness in Salem in grains per gallon?

About 3.9 gpg. One grain per gallon equals 17.1 mg/L, so 67 mg/L divided by 17.1 gives 3.9.

What size water softener do I need in Salem?

For 3 people using 75 gallons each per day, 3.9 gpg works out to about 880 grains a day. A 24,000-grain softener covers that with a regeneration about every 27 days.

Has the Salem water system had EPA violations?

EPA records show no health-based violations for Salem Water Department since 2016.

Nearby cities

All 104 cities in Massachusetts

Hardness data: TapWaterData US Water Hardness (utility report, July 21, 2025), CC BY 4.0. Population: US Census Bureau. Violations: EPA ECHO. How we use them.