Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The everyday basics are strong; the price of a home is the catch. Its strongest subject is health: it is healthier than 92% of U.S. towns. Add schools to its strengths (A−): its public schools beat just over four fifths of New York towns on state tests and graduation. What holds it back is cost of living (C−) — the typical home is worth about $365K, 5.1 years of the Buffalo metro’s $72K median household income. All told, that adds up to an A overall and a rank of 95th of 745 in New York. That leaves it better than 89% of U.S. towns. Aurora has 7 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Millard Fillmore House and Roycroft Campus. 52% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more locally, above both the New York town median (32%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%).
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · schools, state test and graduation results · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · National Register of Historic Places.
Where Aurora beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Aurora is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Millard Fillmore House is one of 2 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 1,285 in 1820, 13,943 in 2020. The archive holds 16 old photos and papers going back to 1848 and 3 maps from 1925 on.
7 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Aurora. Close and well known come first.
Big draw8 mi Stadium & arenaHighmark Stadium
Big draw32 mi WaterfallNiagara Falls
Big draw8 mi Stadium & arenaRalph Wilson Stadium
6 mi WaterfallEternal Flame Falls
15 mi Stadium & arenaKeyBank Center
16 mi MuseumUSS The SullivansHighmark Stadium: James161723, CC0 · Niagara Falls: Robert F. Tobler, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ralph Wilson Stadium: User Evilarry on en.wikipedia, Public domain · Eternal Flame Falls: Mpmajewski, CC BY-SA 3.0 · KeyBank Center: Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA 4.0 · USS The Sullivans: Unknown, Public domain
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 Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Aurora.
Aurora gets more snow than nearly all U.S. towns, has less food insecurity than most of New York and trades workers with Buffalo and other neighbors.
Its widest gap with New York is food insecurity: 7.3% of its 11,307 adults worry about having enough food, against 17.2% statewide.
18% of Aurora adults binge drink. Against the New York average, Aurora comes out ahead on 17 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 2.
| Aurora | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 32% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 84% | 81% | 79% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.8% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Aurora | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.3% | 17.2% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.8% | 7.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.7% | 7.7% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Two of its 5 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. The largest public high school is East Aurora High School, with 542 students. The public schools here belong to the East Aurora Union Free School District.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parkdale Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 704 | B+ |
| East Aurora High SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 542 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
The biggest place to walk is Knox Farm State Park, 568 acres with 7.1 miles of trail. Across 7 parks and preserves: 18 miles of trail. The density of trails in Aurora is 0.5 miles per square mile.
| Aurora | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 7.1% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Knox Farm State Park | 7.1 mi | 568 |
| 2. Emery County Park | 2.1 mi | 345 |
| 3. Majors Park | 1.3 mi | 168 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
On expected storm and flood damage, Aurora sits below 68% of U.S. communities. The national flood insurance program has paid 9 claims locally since 1979. Expected losses in Aurora break down as 81% from inland flooding and 11% from cold waves.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Wales weather station records that 109 inches of snow fall in a normal winter, more than in 98% of U.S. towns. The Wales weather station records that about 1 days a year reach 90°, fewer than in 97% of U.S. towns.
July afternoons reach 80° and January nights drop to 16°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Aurora has about as many jobs (6,670) as working residents, but only 1,153 people both live and work here. The average commute takes 23.7 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Aurora’s middle household income is $102,000. Commuting out is the norm here: 18% of working residents work locally. The share of workers in Aurora who work from home: 22%. Since 2013, Aurora has lost 846 jobs, to 6,670 in 2023.
| Aurora | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 22% | 12% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 3% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 18% | 10% | 8% |
| Median household income | $102,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
84% of households are owner-occupiers in Aurora. On the market locally: a median 35 days to sell.
| Aurora | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 84% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,116 a month | $1,098 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
3 within 15 miles of the center of Aurora
About 3 of every 100 Aurora residents are enrolled in college, against 7 across New York.
7 places in Aurora on the National Register of Historic Places.
5 notable people were born in Aurora.
Town in New York, United States
Aurora is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 13,782 at the 2010 census. It is one of the "Southtowns" of Erie County and is also erroneously called "East Aurora", the name of its principal village. The town is centrally located in the county, southeast of Buffalo. The former Christ the King Seminary is located in the northern part of the town.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Aurora.
It grades higher overall than all 5 graded towns on its borders; Wales (A) comes closest. Colden next door grades lower for schools (B− to Aurora’s A−) and higher for cost of living (B− to C−).
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora | #95 | A | C− | — | A− | A |
| Wales | #100 | A | B | — | B+ | A |
| Elma | #112 | A | C+ | — | A− | A |
| Orchard Park | #189 | A− | D | B | A− | A |
| Colden | #359 | B− | B− | — | B− | A− |
| Marilla | #139 | A− | B− | — | A− | A |
| Billington Heights | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Aurora, Wales, Elma, Colden and Marilla report no FBI crime data of their own. Billington Heights isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Aurora with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Aurora grades A overall, better than 89% of U.S. towns and #95 of 745 in New York. It grades A for health and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a C−.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $365,000, 31% below the New York typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
5 notable people were born here, including Horace Boies and Alonzo Delano.
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