MONEY magazine named Auburn the best place to live in Alabama in 2018, highlighting the city’s award-winning restaurants and low cost of living. “Sports fans will feel right at home in this quintessential college town,” stated the article. “Auburn University, named MONEY’s best college in Alabama, is the city’s largest employer and home to historic NCAA Division I sports teams. (Notable alumni include Apple CEO Tim Cook and NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley.) Known as ‘The Loveliest Village on the Plains,’ Auburn is also home to incredible food: Head to Acre for award-winning farm-to-table fare, or get your fingers dirty at Moe’s Original Bar B Que. Best of all is the relatively low cost of living. Median home sale prices are among the lowest in Alabama cities, and family incomes are about $2,000 higher than the state median.” To develop the list, MONEY evaluates cities with 50,000 people or more based on economic health, cost of living, diversity, public education, income, crime, ease of living and amenities. Read more about the rankings at time.com/money/5479244/this-is-the-best-place-to-live-in every-state.
Other 2018 Rankings and Recognitions • The Milken Institute ranked the Auburn-Opelika MSA No. 10 on its list of the Top 10 BestPerforming Small Cities in 2017. • Auburn came in at No. 6 on Niche.com’s 2018 Best Places to Live in Alabama list with an overall grade of A+. • Auburn ranked No. 5 on Niche.com’s list of the best public schools in Alabama. • Auburn ranked No. 8 on Niche.com’s list of the best places to raise a family. • Six of the top 15 schools on Niche.com’s list of 2018’s Best Public Elementary Schools in Alabama were in the City of Auburn, including Dean Road, Cary Woods, Richland, Wrights Mill, Ogletree and Yarbrough elementary schools. • Four Auburn schools made Niche.com’s list of Alabama schools with the best teachers, including Ogletree, Yarbrough, Wrights Mill and Dean Road elementary schools. • Business Facilities Magazine ranked the Auburn-Opelika MSA No. 1 in Economic Growth Potential and No. 3 in Job Growth for small metro areas in its 2018 Metro Rankings Report. • Auburn was included on Southern Living’s list of The South’s Best College Towns of 2018. • ListsForAll.com ranked Auburn among the Top 20 Cities to Retire In. • Security Choice ranked Auburn No. 82 on its list of the top 100 safest cities to retire. • Livability ranked Auburn No. 93 on its list of 2018 Top 100 Best Places to Live. • Insurify named Auburn the most educated city in Alabama
