What salary do you need to live in Auburn, AL?

The cost side of living in Auburn

A one-bedroom in Auburn rents for a median of $889 a month, utilities the tenant pays included; a two-bedroom goes for $1,023 and a three-bedroom for $1,101. Over a full year, the two-bedroom median comes to $12,276.

The median value of owner-occupied homes in the metro is $247,500. That works out to 3.9× the local median household income of $63,649, a mid-range ratio.

The Regional Price Parity, BEA's index of local prices with the US at 100, is 87.9 here. Below 100 means a paycheck stretches further: $100,000 in Auburn has the buying power of roughly $113,723 at national average prices.

Auburn: the pre-tax income for each grade

For two bedrooms, $107,000 is where Auburn turns Comfortable. Below that, $53,000 marks the start of Okay and $27,000 the start of Tight; under $27,000 the score reads Stretched. Rent at the Comfortable line is 11% of gross pay.

The Royal grade is within reach at $266,000 a year, where both rent and the median home price look small next to income.

These lines come straight from the calculator's formula: the income is raised until the two-bedroom score crosses each cutoff, then rounded up to the next $1,000.

Four salaries, three home sizes in Auburn

At $75,000 home size barely changes the picture: one, two and three bedrooms all grade Okay, with scores from 54 to 57.

Read down the two-bedroom column and the first Comfortable row is $150,000, consistent with the $107,000 line above.

Auburn on the national list

Out of 387 metros, Auburn has the 338th highest price parity and the 271st highest two-bedroom rent, which puts it in the least expensive quarter on overall prices and in the middle half on rent.

For a sense of scale, the metros just above and below it on two-bedroom rent are Fond du Lac, WI ($1,024) and Burlington, NC ($1,023).

Comparing Auburn with Alabama

How Auburn stacks up against its state: $1,023 for a two-bedroom against Alabama's $960, $247,500 for the median home against $209,900, and a price level of 87.9 against 88.8.

On statewide medians, a two-bedroom budget reaches Comfortable at $97,000 — below Auburn's $107,000 line.

If Auburn is on your list, Mobile, AL, Tuscaloosa, AL, and Montgomery, AL are the most similar Alabama metros by two-bedroom rent and price level; the table shows where each turns Comfortable.

The median Auburn household

A household at the Auburn median income of $63,649 would see a two-bedroom score of 50 — Okay — with rent at 19% of income. Put differently, Auburn's typical household is $43,351 below the $107,000 it takes to read Comfortable on two bedrooms. For Alabama as a whole, the median household income of $63,999 scores 53 against statewide rents. A household figure may pool several earners, unlike a single salary.

All figures are pre-tax estimates from public data, not financial advice.