Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Aurora gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $177K, 2.9 years of the county’s $61K median household income. It grades C overall, 170th of 247 graded towns in Missouri. The low prices come with trade-offs. Residents are less healthy than 95% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates, and the median household income is $50K, and 18% of residents live below the poverty line. 18% of residents live below the poverty line in Aurora, against 14% in Missouri’s towns and 9.6% across U.S. towns. Lewis Shaw Coleman House is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Where Aurora beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Aurora’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Aurora is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 3,482 in 1890, a low of 3,482 in 1890, 7,219 in 2020. The archive holds 21 old photos and papers going back to 1907 and 2 maps from 1942 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
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.
19% of Aurora adults report frequent physical distress. Aurora beats the Missouri average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 18. 38% of Aurora adults get no exercise outside work.
| Aurora | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 15% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 30% | 25% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 17% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 22% | 19% |
| What stands out | Aurora | MO |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 24.4% | 15.8% |
| More uninsured adults | 13.3% | 8.7% |
| More adults with COPD | 12.1% | 8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Aurora R-Viii school district. Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Aurora High, with 550 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robinson SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades 3–6 | Grades 3–6 | 541 | C+ |
| Aurora HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 550 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Aurora for work: only 16% work in town. The average trip to work in Aurora is 21 minutes. The top destinations are Springfield (20%), Monett (13%) and Mount Vernon (3%).
| Aurora | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $50,000 | $62,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 16% | 13% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 21 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Homes are within reach (about $177K for the typical one, A− for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 23 miles. The median property tax bill is $867, against $1,948 across Missouri, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Aurora’s median rent is $823 a month. The typical Aurora home is worth about $177,000, up 3.6% in a year, 33% below the Missouri typical home.
| Aurora | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $823 a month | $972 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 68% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Aurora has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 89°, January nights drop to 24° and about 12 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Aurora's reported crime rate is close to Missouri's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 30 violent crimes were reported in 2023.
| Aurora | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2023) | 4 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.8 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2023) | 18.6 per 1,000 residents | 15.2 | 13.1 |
FBI crime data, 2023 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 59% of U.S. communities. Since 2015, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Aurora.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
0.2 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Crosby Park | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Aurora; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Aurora residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Missouri.
6 notable people were born in Aurora.
City in Missouri, United States
Aurora is a city in Lawrence County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 7,217.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Aurora grades C overall, better than 25% of U.S. towns and #170 of 247 in Missouri. 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−.
6 notable people were born here, including Don S. Davis and Jack Goodman.
