Photo: AlphaBeta135 · CC BY 4.0North Aurora has 0.6 jobs for every working resident, so most commute out
Jobs & income A−: better than 80% of U.S. towns on income, poverty, unemployment and job access · #250 of 768 in Illinois.
Walkability B+: more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns · #386 of 768 in Illinois.
Household incomes here are higher than in 86% of U.S. towns. Working residents average 27 minutes each way (Illinois 28, U.S. 26). Only 3% work in North Aurora; the top destination outside it is Aurora (13%, 4 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work and commuting in North Aurora, in brief
North Aurora makes and builds things
38% of the jobs based in North Aurora are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs North Aurora residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 15%. The jobs ↓
Young people hold many of the jobs here
34% of the jobs based in North Aurora are held by workers 29 or younger, against 22% of North Aurora’s own working residents. The jobs ↓
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.
What’s behind North Aurora’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, North Aurora is better than 80% of U.S. towns, #250 of 768 in Illinois. Job access by car holds North Aurora’s grade up (ahead of 90% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (5.5%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, North Aurora could be anywhere from B+ to A.
North Aurora makes things: 38% of its jobs are in goods
5,735 jobs are based in North Aurora. Here is what they are, next to the jobs North Aurora’s own residents hold wherever they work.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in North Aurora, 2013 → 2023: 4,906 → 5,735. 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.
North Aurora quiets down on a workday
On a workday 9,044 residents head out to work, 288 work right here, and 5,447 people come in from elsewhere.
About 16,000 people are in North Aurora on a workday afternoon, 19% fewer than live here.
0.61 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
13% of working residents work in Aurora
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Where North Aurora clocks in
13% of workers
12% of workers
6% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
About 27 minutes each way, about the IL average
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of North Aurora workers work from home, vs 16% across Illinois. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,000 commuters (the 21% who work from home are left out). Across Illinois: 78% drive alone, 7% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
Half of North Aurora commutes less than 14 miles
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Most trips from North Aurora start in a car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, North Aurora is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns, #386 of 768 in Illinois. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.5% 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 10,103 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 26% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 5% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 2.2 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 70% 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). 5.8% of North Aurora households have no vehicle (Illinois 11.0%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of North Aurora’s commuters take a bus or train.
North Aurora is 615th of 1,760 U.S. towns of 14,000 to 26,000 on jobs and income
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of North Aurora, the top three, the last and three more from Illinois.
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ada Township MI | 14,769 | $168K | 2.0% | 0.7% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 6 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 10 | Deerfield IL | 19,642 | $182K | 2.8% | 2.7% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | La Grange IL | 15,935 | $160K | 4.6% | 2.2% | 6% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 613 | North Arlington NJ | 16,601 | $94K | 4.3% | 6.3% | 5% | A− |
| 614 | Stony Point NY | 15,335 | $127K | 5.2% | 6.6% | 8% | A− |
| 615 | North Aurora IL | 19,406 | $114K | 6.3% | 5.5% | 3% | A− |
| 616 | Grayslake IL | 21,140 | $114K | 6.3% | 5.4% | 8% | A− |
| 617 | Red Oak TX | 20,394 | $105K | 5.2% | 6.0% | 3% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,760 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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.
20% of North Aurora works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Aurora (13%). Darker towns draw more of North Aurora’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | North Aurora workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Aurora | – | A− | B+ | 27 min | $114,305 |
| Aurora | 13% | B+ | A | 27 min | $93,633 |
| Batavia | 5% | A | A | 29 min | $120,056 |
| Sugar Grove Township | under 2% | A | B− | 34 min | $125,078 |
| Batavia Township | 2% | A | A | 29 min | $131,798 |
| Aurora Township | under 2% | B− | A− | 25 min | $76,459 |
| Blackberry Township | under 2% | A | B | 31 min | $156,494 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
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 North Aurora: questions
What is the median household income in North Aurora?
$114,305 (±$8,995) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $83,390 across Illinois and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in North Aurora?
6.3%, against 11.8% across Illinois and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from North Aurora?
27 minutes each way on average, against 28 across Illinois and 26 nationally. 21% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in North Aurora work?
3% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Aurora (13%, 4 mi), Chicago (12%, 34 mi), Naperville (6%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is North Aurora walkable?
North Aurora is more walkable than 70% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.7 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around North Aurora without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 5% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from North Aurora, from the people who make the trip.
More of North Aurora
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.