According to the first census performed by the new Lithuanian government in 1923 there were 1,677 residents in Salant, 670 were Jews (40%).

During this period Salant Jews made their living, as was quite usual, in commerce and crafts.

The 1931 government survey showed that there were 42 businesses in Salant at that time, 38 of the businesses were owned by Jews (90%). Distribution according to type of business is given in the table below:

According to the same survey there were 2 flourmills and a leather factory owned by Jews in Salant. There was also a Jewish venture in production of wax candles named "Electra".

From Irwin Sagenkahn's diary on his trip to Salant in June 1996:

"Our next stop was to try to locate the old Salant synagogue (see photo hereinbelow), now a cultural museum. When we got there, the main room was used as a temporary exhibit as a zoo. Again, we took pictures of the inside and outside of the old synagogue. This apparently was also the location of the old town square".

In 1937 Jews were engaged in 18 different trades in town: 6 butchers, 4 stitchers, 2 shoemakers, 2 barbers, 1 tailor, 1 baker, 1 tinsmith, 1 watchmaker. There was also one Jewish doctor and a Jewish dentist who was a woman.

The Jewish "Folksbank", which had 126 members in 1927, contributed significantly to the economic life of the town. Two weekly market days were very important in the lives of Salant Jews.

As mentioned above, Salant was a county center . However, only one Jewish delegate represented the community at the county council in 1935.

Since the middle of the thirties the numbers of Salant Jews became fewer. The economic crisis in Lithuania as well as the open propaganda of the Lithuanian merchants association "Verslas" against Jewish shops were the reasons Jews began to search for a future somewhere else. The great fire of 1926 destroyed almost half of the town and resulted in many of Salant Jews immigrating to South-Africa, America and Eretz-Yisrael. This fire destroyed the Beth-Midrash, 2 Kloises, the Folksbank and the school. 151 families were left homeless and poverty-stricken. In Kovno an assistance committee to help the victims of the fire was organized.

In 1939 there were 24 telephone lines in town, 9 of them belonged to Jews.

Salant Jewish children studied at the Hebrew elementary school of the "Tarbuth" chain, and in the afternoons religious subjects were taught at the "Talmud-Torah" . There was also the private Salant Hebrew Kindergarten.

The old Jewish library became an official institution by then and was named after the writer Y.L.Peretz. It had about 1,600 books in Hebrew and Yiddish. The school had a special library for children.

Many of Salant Jews belonged to the Zionist movement, and all the Zionist parties in town had their followers . All these years fundraising activities were organized for the National Funds.

In the table below we can see how Salant Zionists voted for the different parties at five Zionist Congresses:

There was also a presence of religious organizations, such as "Tifereth Bakhurim" for boys and "Beth Ya'akov" for girls. Sports were practiced at the "Maccabi" branch, where on average 58 members participated.

Until the great fire of 1926, the old synagogue, the Beth Midrash and the two "Kloises", served as the center of religious life in Salant. These buildings were used not only as prayer houses but were actually centers for different groups interested in studying the "Torah".

Among its welfare institutions the town had "Hakhnasath Kalah", "Linath HaTsedek", and a women’s society for helping the needy. The Rabbi took care of medical treatment for the poor. He would endorse the visits to the local doctor and would buy medication using the "Korobka" funds (money raised through slaughtering tax).

For a list of Salant Jews who donated money for Jewish welfare institutions see Appendix 1 at Appendices 1-2-5-6

For the list of Rabbis who were appointed in Salant see Appendix 2