Photo: Sea Cow · CC BY-SA 4.0Aurora Township has higher unemployment (6.2%) than 76% of U.S. towns
For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 3.5 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 36.9 in Chicago. Jobs and income earn Aurora Township B−; getting around on foot earns it A−. About one in five work in Aurora Township itself; outside it, Aurora draws the most (21%, 2 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Aurora Township
Aurora Township trades workers with the towns around it
Aurora Township has about as many jobs (44,600) as working residents (51,483), but they are mostly different people: 40,883 residents leave for work each day while 34,000 people come in. Only 24% of the jobs in Aurora Township are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Aurora Township and Aurora trade workers both ways
Aurora is the top workplace for Aurora Township residents (21%) and also where the most people who work in Aurora Township come from (25% of its jobs). The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Aurora Township
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Aurora Township is better than 53% of U.S. towns, #486 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds Aurora Township’s grade up (ahead of 92% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down. It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Aurora Township could be anywhere from B− to B.
The daily flow of workers through Aurora Township
On a workday 40,883 residents head out to work, 10,600 work right here, and 34,000 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.87 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Out of Aurora Township to work: where people go
Where Aurora Township clocks in
21% of workers
10% of workers
7% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Inside Aurora Township’s 44,600 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Aurora Township, 2013 → 2023: 47,532 → 44,600. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Aurora Township’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Time on the road from Aurora Township: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Aurora Township workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 58,534 commuters (the 9% who work from home are left out). Across Illinois: 78% drive alone, 7% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Close to home or a long way: work trips from Aurora Township
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Aurora Township, walking beats the bus
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Aurora Township is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns, #221 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 10.8% across Illinois.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 64,281 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 77% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 31% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.5 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 78% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.8% of Aurora Township households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Aurora Township’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
For jobs and income, Aurora Township is 191st of 316 U.S. towns of 89,000 to 172,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 2 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 3 | Franklin TN | 90,226 | $120K | 4.6% | 2.2% | 31% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 7 | Wheatland Township IL | 92,693 | $173K | 3.2% | 4.0% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 13 | Naperville IL | 153,114 | $155K | 4.4% | 4.5% | 17% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 17 | Northfield Township IL | 89,835 | $137K | 7.1% | 3.5% | 16% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 189 | Denton TX | 169,431 | $76K | 15.8% | 5.1% | 28% | B− |
| 190 | Rialto CA | 106,554 | $89K | 12.7% | 7.7% | 9% | B− |
| 191 | Aurora Township IL | 127,446 | $76K | 12.1% | 6.2% | 21% | B− |
| 192 | Fargo ND | 136,275 | $67K | 12.9% | 3.8% | 70% | B− |
| 193 | Antioch CA | 118,958 | $97K | 11.4% | 7.4% | 10% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 316 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | D |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Aurora Township, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
Work in the towns next to Aurora Township
The biggest share goes to North Aurora (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Aurora Township workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora Township | – | B− | A− | 25 min | $76,459 |
| Batavia Township | under 2% | A | A | 29 min | $131,798 |
| Sugar Grove Township | under 2% | A | B− | 34 min | $125,078 |
| Oswego Township | under 2% | A | B− | 31 min | $114,047 |
| Naperville Township | under 2% | A− | A | 31 min | $120,026 |
| North Aurora | 2% | A− | B+ | 27 min | $114,305 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Aurora Township’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Aurora Township: questions
What is the median household income in Aurora Township?
$76,459 (±$3,246) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Aurora Township?
12.1%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Aurora Township?
25 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 9% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Aurora Township work?
21% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Aurora (21%, 2 mi), Chicago (10%, 33 mi), Naperville (7%, 8 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Aurora Township walkable?
Aurora Township is more walkable than 84% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 11.7 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Aurora Township without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 7% of households have no car. 31% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Aurora Township, from the people who make the trip.
More of Aurora Township
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.