Community cohesiveness is higher in Salmon River. Callahan, with fewer people than Salmon River, has lower quality housing and is generally more impoverished. Fourteen percent of all households lack complete plumbing facilities. Unemployment is 12 percent, and the poverty rate, at 27 percent, is a third higher than the next closest aggregation in the subregion. Thirty percent of children under 15 years of age live in homes receiving public assistance income.
Residents have diverse skills, many with strong outdoor skills.
Sixteen percent of the population over 25 years of age has a four-year college degree or more education, the third highest in the subregion. Thirty-three percent of the workers are government employees, the highest level in the subregion. There is a cadre of residents who work well together, particularly on issues related to water rights, fish, and ecosystem health. Native Americans make up 13 percent of the aggregation population. The community has good infrastructure, including an airport and college, and residents have been aggressive in efforts to plan, finance and implement infrastructure development.