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Auburn named best place to live in Alabama by MONEY magazine

MONEY magazine gave Auburn that designation on Monday, when the magazine included Auburn on its list of the best places to live in every state

<p>The lit Christmas tree in front of Samford Hall at the Holiday Lighting Ceremony on Dec. 2, 2018, in Auburn, Ala.</p>

The lit Christmas tree in front of Samford Hall at the Holiday Lighting Ceremony on Dec. 2, 2018, in Auburn, Ala.

Auburn has been named the best place to live in Alabama, in large part because of its high-performing public school system, good economic health and low cost of living.

MONEY magazine gave Auburn that designation on Monday, when the magazine included Auburn on its list of the best places to live in every state.

Auburn's placement on the new MONEY list is another in a long series of magazine and news articles that have regularly listed Auburn as one of the best small towns in the South and as one of the safest. The local food soon has also received national accolades.

"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 Barbecue," the article reads. "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."


Acre on Sunday, April 8, 2018, in Auburn, Ala.


The magazine noted Auburn's "quintessential college town" character.

To create the ranking, MONEY looked only at cities with populations of 50,000 or greater. 

They eliminated any place that had more than double the national crime risk, less than 85 percent of its state’s median household income or a lack of ethnic diversity. The final eligible list came out to be 583 cities.

MONEY then collected more than 135,000 different data points to narrow the list. 


Dr. Amal Kaddoumi, left, a professor in Auburn’s Department of Drug Discovery and Development, works in a lab with graduate research assistant Sweilem Al Rihani. Kaddoumi is leading a multi-disciplinary team in an investigation of oleocanthal, a molecule that appears naturally in extra-virgin olive oil, as a novel preventative treatment for such diseases as Alzheimer’s or dementia.

The magazine considered data on each city's economic health, cost of living, diversity, public education, income, crime, ease of living and amenities. With the University serving as the city's main economic engine, the magazine noted the city's median income of $51,977 and a median home price of $308,217, one of the highest in the state. 

Auburn has a population of 65,792.

The data was provided by the magazine's research partner, Witlytic. MONEY teamed up with realtor.com to leverage its knowledge of housing markets throughout the country. 

The magazine put the greatest weight on economic health, public school performance and local amenities. Housing, cost of living and diversity were also critical components.

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Chip Brownlee | Editor-in-chief

Chip Brownlee, senior in journalism and political science, is the editor-in-chief of The Auburn Plainsman.


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