Photo: Chris Flook · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Aurora trail those of 91% of U.S. towns
Aurora grades C+ for jobs and income and C for walkability. Below the poverty line: 18.5% of residents, where Indiana as a whole has 12.3%. Only 6% stay in Aurora for work; outside it, Lawrenceburg is the main destination (15%, 3 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Aurora at work: what stands out
Fewer jobs are based in Aurora than ten years ago
Jobs counted in Aurora fell from 2,012 in 2013 to 1,294 in 2023, −36%. That can be real closings or a large employer now reporting its workers at another address; the data can’t tell the two apart. The jobs ↓
Aurora workers spend longer getting to work
The average trip takes 29 minutes each way, against 24 across Indiana. Over a year that’s about 222 hours of commuting, 38 more than the state’s typical worker. Time on the road ↓
Young people hold many of the jobs here
32% of the jobs based in Aurora are held by workers 29 or younger, against 24% of 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.
The four measures behind Aurora’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Aurora is better than 38% of U.S. towns, #429 of 593 in Indiana. Unemployment holds Aurora’s grade up (1.6%, U.S. 5.2%); household income pulls it down ($47,470, U.S. $80,734).
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Aurora could be anywhere from C− to B.
What work there is in Aurora: 1,294 jobs
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Aurora, 2013 → 2023: 2,012 → 1,294. 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’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The trip to work from Aurora: about 29 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Aurora workers work from home, vs 11% across Indiana. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 1,789 commuters (the 6% who work from home are left out). Across Indiana: 85% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Aurora on a workday afternoon
On a workday 1,528 residents head out to work, 105 work right here, and 1,189 people come in from elsewhere.
About 3,200 people are in Aurora on a workday afternoon, 10% fewer than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (0.79 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.
The towns that employ Aurora’s residents
Where Aurora clocks in
6% 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.
Near or far: the trip to work from Aurora
About 20% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
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.
Getting around Aurora: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Aurora is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns, #396 of 593 in Indiana. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: hardly any commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.3% across Indiana.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 1,899 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 9.1% of Aurora households have no vehicle (Indiana 6.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Aurora’s commuters take a bus or train.
Out of 4,355 U.S. towns of 2,500 to 4,800, Aurora comes 2,745th on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riverwoods IL | 3,766 | $249K | 0.7% | 0.7% | 2% | A+ |
| 2 | Belle Meade TN | 2,621 | $250K | 1.4% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| 3 | Mission Hills KS | 3,522 | $250K | 1.2% | 0.3% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 85 | Clark Township IN | 3,026 | $138K | 5.2% | 0.0% | <1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 99 | Milan Township IN | 4,066 | $120K | 1.3% | 0.0% | 9% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 138 | Georgetown IN | 3,855 | $113K | 2.1% | 1.4% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 2,743 | Harrisburg OR | 3,765 | $74K | 8.9% | 8.1% | 5% | C+ |
| 2,744 | Delphi IN | 2,973 | $60K | 9.6% | 4.9% | 12% | C+ |
| 2,745 | Aurora IN | 3,533 | $47K | 18.5% | 1.6% | 6% | C+ |
| 2,746 | La Grange TX | 4,509 | $54K | 10.9% | 2.4% | 18% | C+ |
| 2,747 | Columbia Township IN | 3,528 | $55K | 9.3% | 4.1% | 10% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 4,355 | Lake Isabella CA | 4,059 | $27K | 40.7% | 8.6% | 18% | 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, the top three, the last and three more from Indiana.
Next door is work for 17% of Aurora
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Aurora workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora | – | C+ | C | 29 min | $47,470 |
| Center Township | under 2% | C+ | C− | 27 min | $59,375 |
| Lawrenceburg | 15% | B− | A− | 20 min | $51,250 |
| Lawrenceburg Township | under 2% | B+ | B+ | 24 min | $72,665 |
| Hogan Township | 2% | C | D− | 44 min | $75,794 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Lawrenceburg. Darker towns draw more of Aurora’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: questions
What is the median household income in Aurora?
$47,470 (±$8,925) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $71,957 across Indiana and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Aurora?
18.5%, against 12.3% across Indiana and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Aurora?
29 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Indiana and 26 nationally. 6% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Aurora work?
6% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Lawrenceburg (15%, 3 mi), Cincinnati (6%, 22 mi), Greendale (6%, 7 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Aurora walkable?
Aurora is more walkable than 30% of U.S. towns (Walkability C): an EPA walkability index of 7.7 out of 20, and 0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Aurora without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Aurora, from the people who make the trip.
More of 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.