Auburn vs Lincoln
Metro-area medians — Auburn-Opelika, AL Metro Area vs Lincoln, NE Metro Area — not the cities proper.
Lincoln comes out ahead, winning 5 of the 6 clearly-decided measures.
Auburn is about 4% cheaper to live in, while Lincoln households earn about 10% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Lincoln.
Their widest everyday difference: the typical commute is shorter in Lincoln — about 20 min versus 23 min.
For your salary & household
Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.
On $75,000 for just you, Auburn leaves you about $1,977/yr better off after tax and local prices.
Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.
Choose Lincoln for
- + Livability (CityLedger)
- + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
- + Median household income
- + Unemployment
- + Average commute
More comparisons
Metros closest to Auburn and Lincoln on cost, income, size, and education.
Auburn vs Lincoln — frequently asked
- Is Auburn cheaper than Lincoln?
- Auburn is cheaper: its overall cost of living runs about 4% below Lincoln's (BEA Regional Price Parities).
- Which has higher household income, Auburn or Lincoln?
- Lincoln has the higher median household income — $74,935 versus $68,336 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 10% more.
- Does a paycheck go further in Auburn or Lincoln?
- A paycheck stretches further in Lincoln. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $81,824 there versus $77,714 in Auburn.
- Which has cheaper rent, Auburn or Lincoln?
- Rents are close — $1,111/mo in the Auburn metro versus $1,114/mo in Lincoln (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).