West Salem & Polk County

The western side of the metro across the Willamette River in Polk County. West Salem is a Salem neighborhood with newer construction and river views, connected to downtown by the Marion and Center Street bridges. Further west, Dallas (pop ~18,400) is the Polk County seat with a small-town downtown and surrounding farmland. Independence (pop ~10,300) and Monmouth (pop ~11,700, home to Western Oregon University) form a twin-city pair along the river south of Salem.