Auburn, Alabama

Area Profile

80,594 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Auburn, in Lee County.

71out of 100
Area Score
Top 11% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 15 sources
OpportunityTop 22% of 4,199 cities measured71
SchoolsTop 12% of 4,162 cities measured80
GrowthTop 6% of 4,224 cities measured78
Housing affordability3,175th of 4,218 cities measured53
ClimateTop 10% of 4,225 cities measured84
Physical resilienceTop 36% of 4,226 cities measured70
Access3,799th of 4,226 cities measured69
Economic stability2,827th of 4,226 cities measured48
The quick read

Auburn ranks in the top 22% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.7% and median household income of $63,668.

Public schools test above most of the state: 73% of students met the mathematics standard, placing the area in the top 12% of published profiles for schools.

1,040 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, within 8% of the prior year — steady rather than turning.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
80,594
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$63,668
Bottom 45% nationally
Density
1,280/sq mi
62.9 sq mi of land
Median age
25.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Alabama
Nearest major airport
MGM
57 mi · Montgomery Rgnl (Dannelly Fld)
Median home value
$364,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.7%, lower than in 74% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment fell 0.2% over the past year, to 39,460 employed residents.

64% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 95% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsLee County, AL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$69,17744th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftLee County, AL’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$57,15119th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,6182024 ACS 5-Year$63,668Bottom 45%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,7262024 ACS 5-Year$37,018Top 40%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year11.1%Bottom 49%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year21.3 minTop 23%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year64.1%Top 5%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year75.7%45th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202639,460Bottom 41%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+3.2%Top 12%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−0.2%Top 37%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202640,97441st percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year81.0%Top 40%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageAuburn-Opelika, AL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$52,160Bottom 3%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageAuburn-Opelika, AL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$39,070Bottom 2%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year1.0%84th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026+0.3%Bottom 26%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.7%Top 26%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year10.9%64th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/073.71.6
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.7% in July 2026. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202464k55k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $63,668 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Auburn-Opelika, AL

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Fast Food and Counter Workers2,370$24,600
Retail Salespersons2,300$29,140
Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators2,000$34,530
Cashiers1,820$27,940
Stockers and Order Fillers1,660$34,900
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive1,570$40,460

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

73% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 64% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 17.0 students for every full-time teacher across 14 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
14
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
17.0
across all schools here
Math proficiency
72.8%
Top 6% in Alabama
Reading proficiency
63.9%
Top 14% in Alabama
The 12 largest of 14 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Auburn High SchoolAuburn City2,22717.575%66%
Auburn Junior High SchoolAuburn City1,49117.874%59%
East Samford SchoolAuburn City73317.566%64%
Drake Middle SchoolAuburn City72018.568%64%
Ogletree Elementary SchoolAuburn City52318.775%66%
Auburn Early Education CenterAuburn City49217.6——
Pick Elementary SchoolAuburn City46416.668%64%
Creekside Elementary SchoolAuburn City45815.375%62%
Cary Woods Elementary SchoolAuburn City43914.6——
Richland Elementary SchoolAuburn City42616.4——
Margaret Yarbrough Elementary SchoolAuburn City39615.872%63%
Wrights Mill Road Elementary SchoolAuburn City38814.978%70%

33.5% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Alabama’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 12% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 87.6, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Auburn-Opelika, AL Metro Area is up 46% over five years, and up 1.3% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,668 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.46% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,181, some 8% above the $1,098 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,181 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $47,200 a year, about 74% of the median household income here of $63,668.

The typical renter household here spends 39% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,098 a month.

A median home at $364,800 costs 3.3 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $111,586, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
87.6

Prices here run about 12% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Auburn-Opelika, AL Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
38.9%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.3×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,181
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,098
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$364,800
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Auburn’s median household income of $63,668, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Auburn-Opelika, AL Metro Area’s figure202387.6Top 2%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Auburn-Opelika, AL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+1.3%26th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Auburn-Opelika, AL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+45.5%61st percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Auburn-Opelika, AL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+95.5%52nd percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year3.3Bottom 29%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year53.1%12th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±6842024 ACS 5-Year36,03399th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,077Top 28%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,494Top 17%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,181Top 19%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$352024 ACS 5-Year$1,098Bottom 39%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$13,0432024 ACS 5-Year$364,80079th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$652024 ACS 5-Year$1,66847th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$5,7142024 ACS 5-Year$111,586Top 19%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.02%2024 ACS 5-Year0.46%8th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year38.9%Bottom 12%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±4272024 ACS 5-Year1,77699th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year4.9%80th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year11.3%69th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±6292024 ACS 5-Year5,85999th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

78/ 100
Top 6% of 4,224 published city profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 9% since 2020, reaching 83,757 in 2024.

Permitting has turned downward after moving the other way the year before: 689 units authorized in 2025, 33% below the prior year.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 83,757 residents in 2024, up 1.6% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

Federal tax returns show Lee County, which contains Auburn, gained about 0.4% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $69,177, above the $57,151 of households that moved out.

At 12.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
1,040
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
12.9
Top 7% nationally
Year over year
+8%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
26.3%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202484k77k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+0.4%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
54%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$69,177
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$57,151
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Russell County, AL 1,144 people · 12% of arrivals
  2. Muscogee County, GA 732 people · 7.8% of arrivals
  3. Chambers County, AL 559 people · 6.0% of arrivals
  4. Montgomery County, AL 390 people · 4.2% of arrivals
  5. Tallapoosa County, AL 317 people · 3.4% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Russell County, AL 1,024 people · 12% of departures
  2. Muscogee County, GA 613 people · 6.9% of departures
  3. Chambers County, AL 424 people · 4.8% of departures
  4. Tallapoosa County, AL 301 people · 3.4% of departures
  5. Montgomery County, AL 254 people · 2.9% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Lee County, AL. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

2020202120222023202420252k549
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was lower than 2020 (−55%).

Weather & climate

8 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 89°F and January a low of 35°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 56.5 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station AUBURN NO.2, 1.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals56.5"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals0.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals35°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals89°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals81991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals34°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

70 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, heat wave and tornado, with inland flooding alone responsible for 61% of it. Every one of these is independently rated low or minimal nationally — this describes how a small risk is composed, not a large one.

LightningModerate
HurricaneModerate
EarthquakeModerate
DroughtModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, inland flooding, tornado, strong wind, wildfire, hail, ice storm, landslide, winter weather, cold wave, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
99
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
871
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

Auburn's police department reported 99 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, lower than most places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 871.

Lee County records 7.1 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, higher than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 15.8 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 6.0 per 100,000 residents in Lee County.

Homicide
7.1
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
15.8
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
6.0
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
14.7
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by Auburn’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Auburn (Lee County) rather than Auburn itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Montgomery Rgnl (Dannelly Fld) at 57 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year91.6%Top 41%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle57 miBottom 9%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle4Bottom 38%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year4.2%Top 32%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Montgomery Rgnl (Dannelly Fld)MGM57 mi9,020 ft
Dothan RgnlDHN89 mi8,500 ft
Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta IntlATL94 mi12,390 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
71
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Other cities in Auburn-Opelika, AL

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
OpelikaLee County32,82069Opelika vs Auburn

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Auburn side by side with a similar place.

Auburn vs WinderAuburn vs Lawrenceville

Moving to Auburn from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Auburn

3 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Auburn with census figures of its own, largest first.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
3683049,292$70,188$367,70072
3683230,959$42,717$263,90068
368792,826$93,029$325,90076