Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Aurora gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $278K for a typical one, or 3.4 years of the Cincinnati metro’s $81K median household income. It grades C overall, 488th among Indiana's 585 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 86% of the country, and FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 75% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. On the plus side, 12% of its land is conserved. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 98% of U.S. towns, with 11 places on the National Register. 12% of the land in Aurora is conserved, against 1.9% in Indiana’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. On history, just 35 of Indiana’s 1,098 towns do better. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 70% of U.S. towns.
Where Aurora beats most towns.
Hillforest (Forest Hill) is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 1,954 in 1850, a peak of 4,828 in 1940, 3,479 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1875 and 6 maps from 1928 on.
11 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Indiana), ordered by how far Aurora is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Aurora. Close and well known come first.
Big draw35 mi Theme parkArk Encounter
7 mi MuseumCreation Museum1.2M visitors a year
Big draw39 mi Theme parkKings Island3.5M visitors a year
21 mi Stadium & arenaPaycor Stadium
22 mi Stadium & arenaGreat American Ball Park
21 mi Stadium & arenaNippert StadiumArk Encounter: OlinEJ, CC0 · Creation Museum: Creashin at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Kings Island: Eli Duke from Portland, OR, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Paycor Stadium: JonRidinger, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Great American Ball Park: Eric Kilby profile at Flickr website, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Nippert Stadium: Ben Levin, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Aurora, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Aurora.
Aurora sends many workers across the state line to Cincinnati and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of Indiana (mostly inland flooding).
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Aurora Sports Park | 0.5 mi | 13 |
| 2. Lesko Park | — | 13 |
| 3. Aurora Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 4,825 U.S. towns with household incomes like Aurora’s, it is less healthy than 60%, so its D isn’t only a matter of income. All 4 graded neighbors score healthier than its D, from Center Township (C) to Lawrenceburg Township (B).
22% of Aurora adults smoke cigarettes, where Indiana’s towns sit at 17% and U.S. towns at 14%. 20% of adults report frequent mental distress in Aurora. Aurora beats the Indiana average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5.
| Aurora | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 17% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 18% | 17% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 21% | 19% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Aurora | IN |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 22.1% | 15.4% |
| More smokers | 21.6% | 15.7% |
| More adults with COPD | 10.4% | 8.1% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 97% of Indiana towns, with expected losses of about $526 per resident a year; that rating is what its C− for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1978, 42 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Aurora.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Aurora has chilly winters and warm summers. Aurora’s July high is 87°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
41% of working residents cross a state line to work, Cincinnati among the top destinations. Jobs based here fell from 2,012 in 2013 to 1,294.
Most working residents leave Aurora for work: only 6% work in town. 19% of Aurora residents live below the poverty line. Jobs based in Aurora fell to 1,294 in 2023, 718 fewer than in 2013.
| Aurora | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $47,000 | $71,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.4% | 11% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The median rent in Aurora is $718 a month. Typical home values rose 5.7% in the year to September 2026.
| Aurora | Indiana towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 64% | 76% | 73% |
| Median rent | $718 a month | $947 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2 within 15 miles of the center of Aurora
About 6 of every 100 Aurora residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Indiana.
11.5% of the town is conserved land, across 6 parks and preserves.
11 places in Aurora on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Aurora.
City in Indiana, United States
Aurora is a city in Dearborn County, Indiana, United States. The population was 3,479 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Aurora.
All 3 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its C; Center Township (C) is closest.
| Town | IN rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora | #488 | C | A | — | C+ | D |
| Center Township | #475 | C | A | — | C+ | C |
| Lawrenceburg | #50 | A | A− | A− | B+ | B− |
| Lawrenceburg Township | #27 | A+ | A | — | B+ | B |
| Hogan Township | — | — | B+ | — | C+ | C |
Hogan Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Aurora, Center Township, Lawrenceburg Township and Hogan Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Aurora with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Aurora grades C overall, better than 30% of U.S. towns and #488 of 585 in Indiana. It grades D for health and C+ for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a D.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A.
9 notable people were born here, including Elmer Davis and Stephen Davison Bechtel, Sr..
