Salem is a home rule-class city in Livingston County, Kentucky, in the United States. Salem is part of the Paducah, KY-IL metropolitan statistical area. The population was 752 during the 2010 census, down from 769 in 2000. It the second-largest community and largest village in Livingston County, but the census-designated place of Ledbetter has more than two times the population of Salem.