Living in Auburn, Kansas: homes, schools and costs

The book's checklist

Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 11.2% below the U.S. average in the Topeka metro area.
More house for the moneyA typical home costs 2.6 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Auburn itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
Schools in town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Washburn Rural High, about 5 miles away.
A hospital close byStormont Vail Hospital in Topeka, about 12 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityKansas City is about 70 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Auburn meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $151,200U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 19%Shawnee County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $871 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $57,875U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them: 54%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill: $2,339 a yearKansas: $2,798
Homes built before 1940: 1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 4%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices: 88.8U.S. average = 100 (the Topeka metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 19% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Topeka metro area, not Auburn alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate: 1,2722020: 1,276
Median age: 37.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 11%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 26%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 20%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 3%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work: Schools, health care and social services (21%); retail (15%); government (13%)
Unemployment rate: 5%U.S.: 5%
Average commute: 24 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home: 8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 11%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Stormont Vail Hospital, Topeka, KS, about 12 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 4 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

1 public school in Auburn, run by Auburn-Washburn. The nearest public high school is Washburn Rural High, about 5 miles away.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Kansas's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Weather

January average low: 19°F
July average high: 90°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 52 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 117 a year
Rain and melted snow: 37.6 inches a year
Snow: 12 inches a year
Elevation: 1,080 feet

Weather stations: Topeka Forbes Fld (9 miles away) and Auburn (less than a mile away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Stormont Vail HospitalEmergency room12

Topeka, KSCity of 126,00011

Kansas City, MOMetro of 2.3 million70

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Stormont Vail Hospital, Topeka, Kansas City.

Shawnee County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park12 miles
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve49 miles

Read about Auburn's history on Wikipedia.

Know Auburn?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Carbondale, KS1,300 people, 9 miles
Silver Lake, KS1,300 people, 13 miles
Rossville, KS1,100 people, 17 miles
Osage City, KS2,800 people, 19 miles
Lyndon, KS1,000 people, 22 miles
St. Marys, KS2,800 people, 24 miles

Smaller places

Wakarusa, KS (unincorporated)209 people, 6 miles
Scranton, KS637 people, 10 miles
Burlingame, KS925 people, 11 miles
Harveyville, KS172 people, 11 miles

Sources

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.