Moving to Auburn: Pros, Cons & What to Know
Moving to Auburn means relocating to one half of Maine's real, current 'Lewiston-Auburn' twin-cities region -- a genuinely growing, retail- and services-oriented city with real practical logistics worth knowing before move-in day.
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Learn moreMaine BMV: Driver License and Vehicle Registration
Maine generally requires new residents to obtain a Maine driver's license and register vehicles within a defined window after establishing residency, including a title transfer and proof of Maine-minimum auto insurance. Current specific deadlines and required documents should be confirmed directly with the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) before or immediately after a move.
Budget for Maine's Genuinely High Property and Income Tax Picture
As detailed on the property-taxes and taxes topic pages, Maine's top marginal income tax rate is genuinely high (7.15% for 2026), and Auburn's own property tax picture runs genuinely high too, with a real, disclosed, wide cross-source spread on the exact effective rate (approximately 0.98% statewide to approximately 2.28% on the highest Auburn-specific citation reviewed this pass). Movers should confirm a specific target property's actual current tax bill directly with the City of Auburn Assessing Department rather than relying on any single citywide average.
Understand the Twin-Cities Relationship With Lewiston
Auburn and neighboring Lewiston, across the Androscoggin River, form a real, current shared regional economy, airport, and (largely) healthcare market, even as the two cities remain legally and civically distinct -- voters decisively rejected a formal merger as recently as November 2017. Movers should understand which side of the river a specific job, hospital, or amenity actually sits on, since some regional institutions (both major hospital systems, for instance) are physically located in Lewiston rather than Auburn -- see the healthcare topic page for the full, disclosed detail.
Plan Around the Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport's Charter-Only Status
As detailed on the traffic-transportation topic page, the jointly-owned Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport (LEW) inside Auburn's city limits carries no scheduled commercial airline service -- movers who fly regularly should plan around the nearest scheduled-commercial option, Portland International Jetport, approximately 35 miles / a real, cited approximately 46-minute drive south.
Research a Specific Target Property's Flood-Zone Status
As detailed on the flood-hurricane-risk topic page, the Androscoggin River carries real, documented historical flood risk, with major flood years cited in 1896, 1936, and 1987. Movers considering a property near the Androscoggin or Little Androscoggin Rivers should confirm current FEMA flood-zone status directly for that specific address.
Key takeaways
- Confirm current Maine BMV driver's license and vehicle registration requirements after establishing residency.
- Maine's income tax (7.15% top rate) and Auburn's property tax both run genuinely high -- confirm a specific target property's actual current tax bill directly.
- Understand which side of the Androscoggin River a specific job, hospital, or amenity is actually located on -- Auburn and Lewiston remain legally distinct cities despite their shared regional economy.
- The Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport carries no scheduled commercial service -- the nearest scheduled-commercial airport (Portland) is approximately 35 miles / ~46 minutes away.
- Confirm current FEMA flood-zone status directly for any target property near the Androscoggin or Little Androscoggin Rivers.
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