Auburn Hills is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 21,412 at the 2010 census. Before incorporating as a city in 1983, the Place was portion of the now-defunct Pontiac Township. It is home to Oakland University and the U.S. headquarters of Stellantis, BorgWarner, Chrysler, and Volkswagen. The city is a northern suburb of Metro Detroit and is regarding 12 miles (19 km) north of the city of Detroit.

In 1908, automobile buccaneer John Dodge bought a farmhouse 3 miles (4.8 km) northeast of Auburn Heights to use as his country retreat. His oldest child, Winifred Dodge, married genuine estate baron Wesson Seyburn, who built his own country retreat 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north of Auburn Heights. The house included hunting land, dog kennels, a swimming pool, horse stables, and a 5,000-square-foot (460 m) Colonial Revival house. Pontiac Township purchased the land in 1976, and adapted the buildings for handing out use. Today, it is known as the Auburn Hills Civic Center.

The first use of the name “Auburn Hills,” in 1964, was by Oakland Community College. They named their campus (a former Nike missile base) at Featherstone and Squirrel roads for the town and the hilly terrain in the area. Besides Oakland Community College, three other colleges, Oakland University, Baker College, and Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School have campuses partially within the city limits.

Auburn Hills began as Pontiac Township, including the village of Auburn, in 1821, at what is today the corner of Auburn and Squirrel roads. Situated upon the Clinton River, it was named by Aaron Webster, the first settler, for Auburn, New York. His sawmill and grist mill attracted settlers to Auburn. After the streets were laid out in 1826, Auburn rivaled within reach Pontiac until the 1860s, when it loose its own prosperity. The town was renamed Amy in 1880, and it officially became Auburn Heights in 1919. Pontiac Township bordered the city of Pontiac on two sides. The township attempted to incorporate as Pontiac Heights in 1971, but was denied by permit officials. Pontiac Township became a charter township in 1978, to protect itself from supplementary annexation. In 1983, Pontiac Township merged when the village of Auburn Heights to become the City of Auburn Hills. It is not to be embarrassed with the similarly named city of Auburn, Michigan, that exists in Bay County, near Saginaw Bay.