Auburn was recently listed by the Birmingham Business Journal as one of the poorest cities in the country.
However, the area the article refers to as "Auburn" is not really Auburn, but the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).
An MSA is a geographical region designated by the Federal government, and is a designation for an area with a certain level of population density and geographic and economic similarities that tie the communities in the area together, said Director of Public Affairs David Dorton.
Dorton said the Auburn-Opelika MSA is made up of many areas including Auburn, Loachapoka, Notasulga, Opelika, Phenix City, Smiths Station, Waverly, Beauregard, Beulah, Gold Hill, Marvyn and Salem, with Auburn being the largest.
According to Dorton, the article claiming Auburn as one of the country's poorest cities mixes too many areas together to be credible.
"The methodology states that they’re measuring the 'Auburn-Opelika MSA,' but then they talk in terms of 'city' and 'Auburn,'" Dorton said. "The average characteristics they list don’t necessarily apply to Auburn or any other single community in the MSA."
Dorton also said the article is not entirely accurate because student incomes and housing influences median household income and other statistics in the City of Auburn.
Penny Smith, finance director for the City of Auburn, also said the fact that a majority of Auburn's population is students affects the income statistics.
"We do get hit because of student population," said Smith. "We don't get that income there."
Smith said having a large student population with little income, or household income, causes the accuracy of the income to be difficult to depict.
"If anything, Auburn is one of Alabama's economic engines," Dorton said.
For the article to be more meaningful, Dorton said it would need to continuously refer to the MSA, instead of calling the area Auburn. He also suggested the ranking include other small cities and rural areas, not just those part of an MSA.
"Auburn has a healthy economy with a thriving industrial job base of small to mid-size technology based companies," Dorton said.
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