What it's like to live in Auburn
Auburn is a small city in Indiana with rent below the national average, home prices that remain within reach, county unemployment below the national average, and crime rates well below the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Auburn deals with larger class sizes than the national average, cold winters, snowy winters, and a car-dependent commute, with few people using transit.
The good
- Rent below the national average
- Affordable home prices
- Low unemployment in the county
- Low crime rates
- Short commutes
The not so good
- High student-teacher ratio
- Cold winters
- Snowy winters — 36" per year
- Car-dependent — few commuters use transit
How Auburn compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Auburn
Based on Auburn's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$1,730
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $34,600 a year
- 33% of Auburn renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$38,160
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $19,080
- Homes cost 2.8× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▼ 39% below US
$865/mo median rent
Rent here is genuinely low, with median rent around $865 a month. Factoring in local incomes, the value gets even better. Money stretches further here than in most of the country. Home prices here are genuinely accessible, with a median around $190,800. That kind of affordability is rare in today's market.
Median home value $190,800 · 33% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
3.3% county unemployment
Unemployment in DeKalb County is 3.3%, a little below the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
DeKalb County (county-wide)
Safety▼ 81% below US
64 violent crimes per 100k
Safety is genuinely one of the selling points here. Both violent and property crime run well below the national average, the kind of numbers that fade into the background after a week of living somewhere.
Property crime 234/100k · Auburn Police Department · 2025 data
Getting around▼ 30% below US
18 min average commute
Commutes are reasonable, averaging 18.2 minutes. Nothing heroic, and there's still time left over for a life after work. 9 in 10 workers drive to work.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are comfortable, with highs around 79°F, and winters are cold and harsh, with lows dropping to 19°F.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
2 hospitals
There are 2 Medicare-certified hospitals inside city limits. They average 3.0 out of 5 on Medicare's star rating.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforce▼ 35% below US
23% bachelor's degree or higher
College degree attainment runs below average at 23%. That tends to reflect a more trade and working-class economy, which can be great or limiting depending on the industry.
Schools
2 public schools inside the boundary
There are 2 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 19:1, slightly above the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is River Raisin National Battlefield Park (95 miles away).
Bottom line
Auburn's strongest points are rent below the national average and home prices that remain within reach; the main tradeoffs are cold winters and snowy winters. A year of median rent ($865/mo) equals 15% of the median household income here, less than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit people watching their budget, job seekers (county-wide unemployment is low), and anyone prioritizing low crime.
Other places near Auburn
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