Photo: Public domain · Public domainHow is Aurora run?
Aurora’s city government spent $6.5 million on day-to-day services in the year to September 30, 2024, about $1,391 per resident. Water and other utilities ($681,000) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Aurora is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $1,391 per resident a year, or $3.81 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: sewer & trash, at 26%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
$1,189 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar cities
Aurora’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($1,189 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 32 Nebraska cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $1,409, and the middle half spent $1,096–$1,810. Aurora spent less than 62% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($1.5 million), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →
Nebraska cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Aurora itself left out).
Day-to-day spending is up 21% since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Aurora reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2022: $1,189 · 2023: $1,260 · 2024: $1,391.
full-time in March 2025, the same as 40 in 2022. Both are Census estimates.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $2,290 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.98% of the home’s value, vs 1.49% across Nebraska.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Aurora’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Aurora’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Aurora →
Who’s in charge in Aurora
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Aurora’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on cityofaurora.org ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 116 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (a Census estimate). Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (4,648).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Aurora Public Schools
Aurora’s K–12 school district, shared with Marquette, Phillips, Stockham. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $16,187 per pupil, $9,854 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Nebraska districts overall: 56% local, 34% state, 10% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Aurora’s votes are counted by county
Nebraska reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Aurora alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Hamilton County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican79.6%4,416 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat19.2%1,067 votesOthers: 1.2% (64 votes).
Most votes in Hamilton County: Donald J Trump
Nebraska: Trump 59.3%, Harris 38.9%
100% of Aurora lies in Hamilton County. Every 2024 race in Hamilton County is on the county’s page.
Hamilton County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Aurora.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: cityofaurora.org ↗
- 2Nebraska SenateState senator
- 3GovernorStatewide
- 4U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 5U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Nebraska
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Aurora’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Aurora’s government
How much does Aurora spend per resident?
About $1,391 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to September 30, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $1,189 was less than 62% of 32 Nebraska cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools.
What is the property tax rate in Aurora?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $2,290 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.98% of the typical home’s value, vs 1.49% across Nebraska. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see cityofaurora.org.
Who runs Aurora’s government?
See cityofaurora.org for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Aurora yet.
How did Aurora vote in 2024?
Nebraska counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Aurora alone. Hamilton County, where 100% of Aurora lies, voted Trump 79.6%, Harris 19.2% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Aurora?
40 full-time and 30 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $272,114 (about $3.3M a year if every month were the same); Census Bureau estimates.
Who represents Aurora in the state legislature?
State Senate District 34 (Loren Lippincott). Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Aurora’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →