Salem is an unincorporated community in Cherokee County, located in the U.S. state of Texas. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 20 in 2000. It is located within the Tyler-Jacksonville combined statistical area.

The area in what is known as Salem today may have been settled sometime after the American Civil War. A local church acted as the community center. The church, a cemetery, and several scattered houses were located here in the mid-1930s. Most residents left after World War II, but Salem still had a cemetery and a few scattered houses in the 1990s. Joseph T. Cook is buried in the community's cemetery. It had 20 residents in 2000.

Salem is located on Farm to Market Road 241, 3 mi (4.8 km) south of Rusk, in south-central Cherokee County.

Salem had its own school in 1897 and had 31 students enrolled. It was still operational in the mid-1930s. Today, the community is served by the Rusk Independent School District.