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Auburn, California

33 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1994. It stands in the Auburn census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95603. It lies near Baltimore Ravine. The Survey maps it on the Auburn quadrangle. 13,776 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,227 feet above sea level.

Auburn within Placer County

Then and now

1891 to 1994

The same ground, surveyed 103 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Auburn, surveyed 1994
Topographic sheet of Auburn, surveyed 1891

On record in Auburn

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 12 of 15 shown

Every listing in Placer County

Population over time

2 figures

Auburn grew from 13,330 to 13,776 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
201013,330
202013,776+446 (+3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

12 surveys from 33 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

1,190 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1,190 fires within 5 miles of Auburn between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,838 acres in total. 8 started naturally. 68 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined508
Equipment and vehicle use343
Debris and open burning152
Arson/incendiarism68
Smoking35
Misuse of fire by a minor34
Power generation/transmission/distribution24
Railroad operations and maintenance10
Natural8
Recreation and ceremony4
Other causes2
Firearms and explosives use1
Fireworks1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionGERRY
9 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionEDGEWOOD
9 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitSHAWNEE
9 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitAUBURN
9 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitAIRPORT
9 September 1996Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitLINE
9 September 1992Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresAmador-El Dorado UnitMISTY
9 September 1992Arson/incendiarism150 acresNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitFORESTHILL

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Placer County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 262 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 262 workings within 5 miles of Auburn: 91 past producers, 87 unknowns, 70 occurrences, 13 producers. 13 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Silver, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Copper. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Cool-Cave Valley QuarryLimestone, GeneralProducer
Coulton Lime and Stone-Auburn PlantLimestone, DimensionProducer
Davenport DepositSilicaOccurrence
Eclipse ConsolidatedGold, Copper, Lead, Silver, ZincUnknown
Eclipse ConsolidatedGold, Copper, Silver, Lead, ZincPast ProducerArgentite, Galena, Gold, Pyrite, Sphalerite
ElderMolybdenum, CopperOccurrenceMolybdenite
Gold BlossomGold, Silver, Lead, Zinc, Copper, ArsenicPast ProducerGold, Pyrite, Sphalerite, Tetrahedrite
Golden StagGold, Silver, MolybdenumPast ProducerGold, Molybdenite
Green PointIronOccurrence
Green Point Mercury and Uranium PspMercury, UraniumProspect

Every working recorded in Placer County

Storms near this place

7 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Auburn in 7 storm reports between 2000 and 2025: 4 flood, 2 heavy rain, 1 thunderstorm wind. The reports record 2 deaths. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
November 2024FloodAuburn2 killedPlacer County Sheriff reported a group of three men went to fish in the North American River, north of Folsom Lake on November 23rd. Two of the men, both 20 years old, got into the water. One of them was swept away by the strong currents and the second man tried to help but was also pulled into the current. The recovery operation was extremely technical and in a portion of the river with rapids and strong current due to the storm. Both 20 year old men drowned and their bodies were recovered downstream on November 25th.
February 2025FloodAuburn-California Highway Patrol reported a partial road obstruction with dirt in the roadway on the Auburn side at State Route 99 and El Dorado Street from heavy rain.
January 2023FloodAuburn-Caltrans District 3 reported closure of Highway 49 at Lincoln Way to the American River Confluence due to a Rockslide.
January 2023FloodAuburn-Caltrans and CHP Auburn reported a rockslide on SR-49 east of Auburn. SR-49 is closed from the North Fork American River Bridge to Borland St and Lincoln Way.
July 2001Thunderstorm WindAuburn-no account filed
January 2000Heavy RainAuburn-no account filed
January 2000Heavy RainAuburn-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Placer County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Millertown (historical)1.4 miles33
North Auburn2.4 miles33
Ophir2.5 miles33
Newcastle3.4 miles28
Bowman3.5 miles33
Elders Corner4.3 miles33
Nielsburg4.8 miles33
Gold Hill5.6 miles27

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on AuburnAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q758542The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1657964. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.