Salem, OR (population: 157,890) has two biomedical engineering schools within its city limits. Willamette University, the highest ranked school in the city with a biomedical engineering program, has a total student population of 2,838. It is the 146th highest ranked school in the USA and the 3rd highest in the state of Oregon (#1 is Reed College).
Biomedical Engineering students from Salem schools who go on to become biomedical engineers, bioengineers, biophysicists, molecular biologists, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 14,760 people working as biomedical engineers alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $82,550. Also, Medical scientists make on average $84,760 per year and there are about 101,760 of them employed in the US today.
Salem lies in Marion county, which is one of the 16 counties in Oregon. Overall, the Salem area has 146,360 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 1.3% unemployment rate, $18.82/hr average worker wage, and a $39,140 average annual salary.
Of the 2 biomedical engineering schools in Salem, only 1 has a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Willamette University comes out as the most expensive ($26,512/yr) for biomedical engineering students, with Chemeketa Community College as the lowest, reported at only $5,817/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Salem |
| McMinnville | OR | - | 3 | 33.009 | 71 | 21.9 miles |
| Corvallis | OR | 51,582 | 1 | 28.8426 | 8 | 27.4 miles |
| Oregon City | OR | - | 1 | 13.6089 | 75 | 36.3 miles |
| Beaverton | OR | 94,639 | 1 | 27.5128 | 6 | 39.9 miles |
| Aloha | OR | 48,328 | 1 | 25.9507 | 7 | 40.1 miles |
| Portland | OR | 573,530 | 34 | 24.0839 | 782 | 46.3 miles |
| Gresham | OR | 104,562 | 1 | 12.9715 | 88 | 49.1 miles |
| Vancouver | WA | 169,603 | 5 | 29.2795 | 91 | 52.5 miles |
| Eugene | OR | 152,842 | 4 | 30.4393 | 257 | 60.3 miles |
| Astoria | OR | - | 2 | 18.4622 | 36 | 96.1 miles |