Best PlacesAuburn, Cranston, RI Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Auburn, Cranston, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Auburn, Cranston ranks 2,565th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. State finances pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on low crime.
The best neighborhoods in Auburn, Cranston
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Auburn, Cranston's strengths and weaknesses
Where Auburn, Cranston ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 79% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 77% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 75% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 74% of neighborhoods
Where Auburn, Cranston ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- School gradeD, better than only 13% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 17% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Auburn, Cranston
A household needs to earn about $94,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Auburn, Cranston home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $94,049, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Auburn, Cranston's effective rate of 1.34%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Auburn, Cranston
Auburn, Cranston runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Auburn, Cranston.
Who works in Auburn, Cranston, and how
Work in Auburn, Cranston centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Auburn, Cranston
Auburn, Cranston has more restaurants and bars per resident than 68% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 29 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Auburn, Cranston and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Auburn, Cranston, month by month
Auburn, Cranston sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 32° | 23° |
| April | 62° | 49° | 39° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 68° | 56° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Auburn, Cranston
The nearest airport, Rhode Island Tf Green International, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is General Edward Lawrence Logan International, about 46 miles away.
The best schools in and around Auburn, Cranston
Schools across Auburn, Cranston average a D, better than 13% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Edward S. Rhodes SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Woodridge SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Daniel D. Waterman SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Winman Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Park View Middle SchoolD · 20% proficient
- Hugh B. Bain Middle SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- Pilgrim High SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Nel/cps Construction CareerF · 10% proficient
- Dr. Jorge Alvarez HsF · 3% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Auburn, Cranston school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Auburn, Cranston measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Auburn, Cranston against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Auburn, Cranston
Is Auburn, Cranston a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Auburn, Cranston ranks 2,565th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low crime, health care access, and clean air, and lowest on state finances and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Auburn, Cranston expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $335,660. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $94,049 median income, cost of living beats 68% of neighborhoods.
Is Auburn, Cranston safe?
Yes, Auburn, Cranston is safer than 80% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $220 per resident a year.
Compare Auburn, Cranston with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Auburn, Cranston. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Auburn, Cranston represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Auburn, Cranston detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Auburn, Cranston: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Auburn, Cranston: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Auburn, Cranston: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Auburn, Cranston: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Auburn, Cranston detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.