[7] Auburn Hills is home to Oakland University and the U.S. headquarters of Stellantis, PHINIA, BorgWarner and Volkswagen.

In 1908, automobile pioneer John Dodge bought a farmhouse 3 miles (4.8 km) northeast of Auburn Heights to use as his country retreat.

He and his wife, Matilda Dodge Wilson, continued to buy farmland, eventually totaling 1,400 acres.

[10] Dodge died in 1920, and Matilda Dodge later married lumber baron Alfred Gaston Wilson, with whom she built one of America's castles, Meadow Brook Hall,[11] on a portion of the estate in present day Rochester Hills at a cost of $4 million (equivalent to $69,495,000 in 2023).

The estate included hunting land, dog kennels, a swimming pool, horse stables, and a 5,000-square-foot (460 m2) Colonial Revival house.

They named their campus (a former Nike missile base) at Featherstone and Squirrel roads for the town and the hilly terrain in the area.

In the early 1980s, Oakland University partnered with developers to create a technology and research park.

The Oakland Technology Park was approved by the city in 1985, with Comerica, EDS, and Chrysler to build campuses there.

At the end of 2013, a number of large projects were completed Downtown, including a four-story graduate student apartment complex, a 233-space parking deck, an auxiliary classroom space for schools and colleges called the University Center and the Downtown Educational Nook (DEN), a refurbished historic log cabin acting as a student and community center.

Auburn Hills is home to PHINIA, BorgWarner, Guardian Industries, Autoliv, RGIS, Joyson Safety Systems, the Americas headquarters of GKN Driveline, the North American headquarters of Faurecia, Volkswagen/Audi North American Headquarters, and until its demolition, The Palace of Auburn Hills, the former home of the National Basketball Association's Detroit Pistons and the former home of Women's National Basketball Association's Detroit Shock.

In 2017, Maserati announced it was moving its U.S. headquarters from Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey to the former Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills.

Other ASD facilities in Auburn Hills include the district administrative offices and Avondale Montessori.

A skateboard, inline skate and BMX bike park open to all ages and skill levels.

The park offers open lawn areas and a picnic shelter with a fireplace inside.

The park features a softball field, 9-hole disc golf course, tennis courts, two play structures, and swings.

The 2.1-mile (3.4 km) section of trail within Auburn Hills is covered in finely crushed stone, ideal for walking, jogging and biking.

Located adjacent to downtown Auburn Hills and along the Clinton River, Riverside Park is a popular spot during the warmer months.

Visitors can navigate through the park on a paved pathway system, which includes a bridge over the Clinton River.