Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,272, settled in 1859.
The best of Auburn’s subject grades are an A− for health and an A for civic life; the weakest is a C for hazard risk. Auburn's schools rank ahead of 74% of Kansas towns. Union Church Building is on the National Register of Historic Places. Auburn has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Auburn beats most towns.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Kansas), ordered by how far Auburn is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 100 in 1880, 1,273 in 2020. The archive holds 2 maps from 1952 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Auburn, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Auburn.
Auburn beats the Kansas average on 13 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 8.7% of Auburn adults have diabetes, against 11% in Kansas’ towns and 12% across U.S. towns. 21% of Auburn adults get no exercise outside work.
| Auburn | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.7% | 11% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 26% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 18% | 19% |
| What stands out | Auburn | KS |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7% | 9.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.4% | 13% |
| More adults with depression | 24.3% | 20.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Auburn for work: only 3% work in town. Since 2013, Auburn has added 90 jobs, to 210 in 2023. Auburn’s median household income is $58,000, below both Kansas’ towns ($73,000) and U.S. towns ($80,000).
| Auburn | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 2.5% | 15% | 8% |
| Median household income | $58,000 | $73,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 20 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 11% | 9.1% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Auburn has chilly winters and warm summers. The July high in Auburn is 90°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 64% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Auburn home is worth about $284,000, up 0.6% in a year, 15% above the Kansas typical home. 54% of households own their home in Auburn.
| Auburn | Kansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 54% | 72% | 73% |
| Median rent | $871 a month | $975 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
0.2 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Brownville Heritage Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Auburn. Close and well known come first.
8 mi MuseumCombat Air Museum11 mi Zoo & aquariumTopeka Zoo
12 mi National Historical ParkBrown v. Board of Education National Historical Park18K visitors a year11 mi MuseumKansas Historical Society
11 mi MuseumKansas Museum of History
31 mi MuseumSpencer Museum of ArtCombat Air Museum: Eric Friedebach, CC BY 3.0 · Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park: James Michael DuPont, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kansas Museum of History: Sesamehoneytart, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Spencer Museum of Art: Alan Islas, CC BY-SA 4.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Auburn
About 5 of every 100 Auburn residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across Kansas.
Where Auburn’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
City in Shawnee County, Kansas
Auburn is a city in Shawnee County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,273.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
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