Salem, NH vs. Salem, Mass.

Salem, NH vs Salem, MA: they are two different places in two different states, about 34 miles apart by road. Salem, New Hampshire, is a town of about 30,000 on the Massachusetts line at I-93 Exits 1 and 2, known for tax-free shopping, Canobie Lake Park and Tuscan Village. Salem, Massachusetts, is a harbor city of about 44,000, roughly 15 miles northeast of Boston, known around the world for the witch trials of 1692. This magazine covers the New Hampshire one.

Salem NH vs Salem MA at a glance

Between the two, it is about 34 miles and 50 minutes by car without traffic.

Salem, New Hampshire: shopping, rides and the old racetrack

As early as 1736, the land that became Salem, NH, was the North Parish of Methuen, Mass. When the boundary between Massachusetts and New Hampshire was fixed in 1741, the parish landed in New Hampshire and took the name Salem, borrowed from the nearby Massachusetts city. Colonial Gov. Benning Wentworth incorporated the town in 1750.

Today Salem, NH, is a town of about 26 square miles with three villages, Salem, North Salem and Millville. It sits where I-93 meets state Routes 28, 38, 97 and 111, and its population was 30,089 in the 2020 census. The Mall at Rockingham Park, opened in August 1991, is the largest mall in New Hampshire. People come for:

• Tax-free shopping at the Mall at Rockingham Park and Tuscan Village, both at Exit 1. New Hampshire has no general sales tax on goods.
• Canobie Lake Park, an amusement park that opened in 1902 as a trolley company’s lakeside resort.
• Tuscan Village, built on the site of Rockingham Park, the racetrack that ran from 1906 to 2016.
• America’s Stonehenge in North Salem, a site of stone chambers and walls whose operators date its oldest work to about 4,000 years ago, a claim archaeologists dispute.

The town’s oldest landmarks sit on Main Street. Salem Common was laid out around 1741 and is now part of a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. The Old Town Hall beside it was built in 1738 as the Salem Meeting House, and today the Salem Historical Society uses it as the town museum, with Canobie Lake Park memorabilia among the exhibits.

Salem, NH, has its own October tradition, too, and it has nothing to do with witches. Since 2008, Canobie Lake Park has turned into Screeemfest on fall weekends, with haunted houses, live shows and the rides after dark. And the town’s next big chapter is already under construction: the Rockingham Grand, a Churchill Downs gaming and entertainment venue at the Mall at Rockingham Park, is scheduled to open in mid-2027.

For more, see things to do in Salem, NH and Salem’s history.

Salem, Massachusetts: the Witch City

Salem, Mass., in Essex County, was settled by English colonists in 1626 and became a city in 1836. It is best known for the witch trials of 1692, and its nicknames include “the Witch City.” It also has a long maritime history from the China Trade era, the Peabody Essex Museum and the House of the Seven Gables. In October, its Haunted Happenings festival brings large crowds. It has a stop on the MBTA’s Newburyport/Rockport commuter rail line and, in season, a ferry to Boston.

None of that history happened in Salem, NH. The New Hampshire town did not take the name Salem until 1741, nearly 50 years after the trials.

Why people mix up Salem, NH and Salem, MA

• The name is borrowed. Salem, NH, was named for Salem, Mass., so the two share a name on purpose.
• Both are north of Boston. They are less than an hour apart by car.
• Both get busy in October. Salem, Mass., has Haunted Happenings. Salem, NH, has Canobie Lake Park’s Screeemfest, which runs Friday through Sunday until Oct. 31, 2026; see our Screeemfest guide.
• Searches guess. Type “Salem” alone into a map or booking app and you may get either one.
• Listings slip. At least one booking site we checked listed a Salem, NH motel as being in Massachusetts.

How to make sure your GPS goes to Salem, NH

1. Always add the state and ZIP code. Type “Salem, NH 03079.”
2. Use a full street address. Tuscan Village is 9 Via Toscana. The Mall at Rockingham Park is 99 Rockingham Park Blvd. Canobie Lake Park says not every GPS takes you to its gates and asks drivers to enter “85 North Policy Street”; its FAQ page has more.
3. Check the route before you go. From Boston, the trip to Salem, NH, runs north on I-93 to the New Hampshire line. If your route heads toward the coast northeast of Boston instead, you have the Massachusetts city.
4. Check hotel confirmations. Look for “NH” and 03079. Our list of hotels in Salem, NH has the addresses.
5. Sending mail? Salem, NH’s ZIP code is 03079.

For driving, bus and train directions, read Boston to Salem, NH. Thinking about living here? See moving to Salem, NH.