Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,113, settled in 1893.
The best of Aurora’s subject grades is an A for incomes; the weakest is a D for cost of living. 12% of residents are under 18 in Aurora, below both the Oregon town median (21%) and the median of U.S. towns (22%). On incomes, just 14 of Oregon’s 228 towns do better. Aurora's schools rank behind 76% of the state's. Aurora Colony Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places. Aurora has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Oregon), ordered by how far Aurora is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 122 in 1900, 1,133 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 1856 and 4 maps from 1940 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Aurora. Close and well known come first.
21 mi Stadium & arenaModa Center
21 mi Stadium & arenaProvidence Park
39 mi WaterfallMultnomah Falls
19 mi MuseumEvergreen Aviation & Space Museum
11 mi WaterfallWillamette Falls
21 mi MuseumPittock MansionModa Center: Lugnuts, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Providence Park: Pdx.rollingthunder, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Multnomah Falls: John Fowler from Placitas, NM, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum: Notkeel at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Willamette Falls: The original uploader was Cacophony at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 · Pittock Mansion: PittockBack.jpg: Cacophony derivative work: Tiptoety talk, CC BY-SA 3.0
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 Oct 2, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Aurora.
Aurora’s median rent is $2,167 a month, against $1,414 a month in Oregon’s towns and $1,185 a month across U.S. towns. 94% of households own their home in Aurora. The typical Aurora home is worth about $675,000, up 0.6% in a year, 37% above the Oregon typical home.
| Aurora | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 94% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $2,167 a month | $1,414 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Aurora beats the Oregon average on 0 of 26 CDC measures and trails it on 6. 44% of Aurora adults have obesity.
| Aurora | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 35% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 11% | 12% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 27% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Aurora | OR |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with obesity | 43.6% | 33.6% |
| More adults with COPD | 8.5% | 6.8% |
| More adults with diabetes | 13.8% | 11.2% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Aurora has mild winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 82°, January nights drop to 36° and about 1 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 67% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Most working residents leave Aurora for work: only 1% work in town. The median household income in Aurora is $108,000. Jobs based in Aurora grew to 490 in 2023, 355 more than in 2013.
| Aurora | Oregon towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $108,000 | $81,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.2% | 9.8% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 28 minutes | 23 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 6.1% | 11% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
4 within 15 miles of the center of Aurora
About 4 of every 100 Aurora residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Oregon.
City in Oregon, United States
Aurora is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States. The population was 1,133 at the 2020 census, up from 918 in 2010. It is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
