AreaProfile

36879Auburn, Alabama

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 36879.

77
Area Score
Top 4% of 5,298 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 9% of 6,210 published ZIP areas79
GrowthTop 6% of 5,428 published ZIP areas78
Housing affordabilityTop 22% of 6,685 published ZIP areas94
ClimateTop 20% of 6,789 published ZIP areas78
Physical resilienceTop 47% of 6,709 published ZIP areas61
Access6086th of 6,791 published ZIP areas68
Economic stabilityTop 7% of 6,742 published ZIP areas83
The quick read

36879 ranks in the top 9% of published ZIP profiles for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.7% and median household income of $93,029.

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

Rent takes 10% of median household income here, below the 30% threshold conventionally called cost-burdened, and the median home is 3.5 times that income.

At a glance

Population
2,826
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$93,029
Top 24% nationally
Density
32/sq mi
87.1 sq mi of land
Median age
46.8
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Auburn
Alabama
Metro area
Auburn-Opelika, AL
Nearest major airport
MGM
58 mi · Montgomery Rgnl (Dannelly Fld)
Median home value
$325,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.7% is lower than 78% of the 6,544 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment grew 0.1% over the past year, to 39,564 employed residents.

41% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 80% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$24,481$93,029Top 24%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$8,156$44,041Top 29%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate1.7%Bottom 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute23.0 minBottom 24%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher41.1%Top 20%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment39,564Bottom 39%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)3.9%Top 9%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)0.1%Top 29%June 2026
Labor force41,105Bottom 39%June 2026
Labor force participation65.1%Top 32%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$52,160Bottom 2%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$39,070Bottom 1%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)1.0%Top 5%June 2026
Unemployment rate3.7%Bottom 22%June 2026
Median household income, successive ACS releases
2021202220232024119k93k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $93,029 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

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.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Auburn, AL, the city containing this ZIP code.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $764 takes 10% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 3.5 times median household income here, above the historic benchmark of about three times income.

Rent as a share of income
9.9%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.5×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$764
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$325,900
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income3.50Top 39%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate90.7%Top 17%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1791,026Bottom 46%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$400$764Bottom 19%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$67,677$325,900Top 29%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income9.9%Bottom 4%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2.6%Bottom 11%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
78/ 100
Top 6% of 5,428 published city profiles

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.

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

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

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Auburn, AL, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 33°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 55.2 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station OPELIKA, 7.5 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND5.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation55.2"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall0.0"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low33°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing35°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

61 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, tornado and hurricane.

HurricaneModerate
LightningModerate
TornadoModerate
Inland floodingModerate
EarthquakeModerate
DroughtModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, wildfire, hail, strong wind, ice storm, landslide, cold wave, winter weather.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. Reported crime is also easy to misread: agency participation varies year to year, and a city that draws a large daytime workforce carries incidents its residents did not generate.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 58 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Montgomery Rgnl (Dannelly Fld)MGM58 mi9,020 ft
Hartsfield/Jackson Atlanta IntlATL90 mi12,390 ft
Birmingham-Shuttlesworth IntlBHM90 mi12,007 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
77
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 30, 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 browse every source.

36879 vs Auburn

How this ZIP area compares with Auburn as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like.

36879
Auburn
Median household income
$93,029
vs
$63,668
Per capita income
$44,041
vs
$37,018
Population density
32/sq mi
vs
1,280/sq mi
Median home value
$325,900
vs
$364,800
Median gross rent
$764
vs
$1,098
Homeownership rate
90.7%
vs
53.1%
Bachelor's degree or higher
41.1%
vs
64.1%
Poverty rate
1.7%
vs
25.4%
Median age
46.8
vs
25.9

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.