Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Auburn grades B overall, 168th among Massachusetts's 282 graded towns. The median household earns $117K. It is healthier than 80% of U.S. towns. What holds it back is price: the typical home is worth about $464K, 4.8 years of the Worcester metro’s $96K median household income. Only 27 of Massachusetts’ 300 towns score lower on safety. Auburn’s trail density is 0.5 miles per square mile, below Massachusetts’ towns (1.8) and close to U.S. towns (0.4). Only 18 of Massachusetts’ 325 towns score lower on the outdoors.
Where Auburn beats most towns.
Goddard Rocket Launching Site is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 473 in 1790, 16,889 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1729 and 8 maps from 1889 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Auburn is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Auburn. Close and well known come first.
Big draw11 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
Big draw31 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw40 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw39 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum
31 mi LakeWalden Pond
38 mi National Historic SiteSpringfield Armory National Historic Site14K visitors a yearLake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Gillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Walden Pond: Victorgrigas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Springfield Armory National Historic Site: National Park Service, Public domain
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 trades workers with Worcester and other neighbors, is safe by national standards but not by Massachusetts’s and is healthy by national standards but behind most towns in Massachusetts.
Within Massachusetts it is less healthy than 68% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar. Against the 6,198 U.S. towns with household incomes like Auburn’s, it is healthier than 58%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
26% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Auburn, where Massachusetts’ towns sit at 24% and U.S. towns at 23%. Auburn beats the Massachusetts average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 82% of adults had a checkup this year in Auburn.
| Auburn | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 24% | 23% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 82% | 79% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 28% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| What stands out | Auburn | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4% | 5.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 8.6% | 11.1% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.1% | 8.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its B is the best School Grade on its borders; Millbury (C+) is next.
Its public schools are run by the Auburn school district. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Auburn Senior High, with 834 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auburn MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 628 | B− |
| Auburn Senior HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 834 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 82% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 14 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Auburn.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Auburn home is worth about $465,000, up 0.9% in a year, 29% below the Massachusetts typical home. Auburn’s median rent is $1,467 a month.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
At 26.7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 89% of Massachusetts’s graded towns. Each of the 3 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Millbury (C+) to Oxford (B+).
The violent crime rate in Auburn is 3.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Auburn | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.4 per 1,000 residents | 1.4 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 11.8 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Auburn has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 16° and about 73 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Auburn has about as many jobs (10,108) as working residents, but only 870 people both live and work here.
Most working residents leave Auburn for work: only 10% work in town. 5.2% of Auburn residents live below the poverty line. The top destinations are Worcester (26%), Boston (7%) and Marlborough (3%).
| Auburn | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $117,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 26 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 14% | 18% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 5.2% | 6% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Adults 18 to 34 are 18% of residents (24% statewide). Auburn has grown 4.1% since 2020, to 17,566 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 45% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 47% across Massachusetts.
| Auburn | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 45% | 47% | 29% |
| Median age | 44.8 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 21% | 19% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 21% | 20% | 22% |
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±1.9 points). Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 47.1, men 42.2.
| Auburn | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.6% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.4% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.7% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 11.8% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.9% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 16.4% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.5% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.2% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 9.6% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.6% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23.6% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 17.1% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 8.2% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 26.6% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 18.8% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
8.2 miles of trail in 12 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Gilbert/Stockwell Property, at 80 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Worcester Flood Diversion Channel | 0.5 mi | 31 |
| 2. Goddard Park | 0.3 mi | 10 |
| 3. Gilbert/Stockwell Property | — | 80 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
9 within 15 miles of the center of Auburn
About 5 of every 100 Auburn residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
3 places in Auburn on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Auburn.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Auburn is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,889 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Auburn.
It grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; Leicester (B−) comes closest.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Auburn grades B overall, better than 60% of U.S. towns and #168 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A− for health, C for safety and B for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Massachusetts has less crime than most states, so among its own towns Auburn sits nearer the middle.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
9 notable people were born here, including Jeffrey Lynn and Jacob Whitman Bailey.
