Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety22#12,219/15,637
Economy63#5,822/15,631
Housing16#12,649/14,977
Health65#5,462/15,609
Healthcare81#2,954/15,650
Environment40#9,315/15,453
Education44#8,755/15,649
Infrastructure75#3,990/15,650
Community82#2,819/15,651
Leisure & amenities55#7,020/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Aurora, Colorado ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Arapahoe County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Dentists · high120 /100k
97/100Colorado 88 /100kUnited States 75 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteArapahoe County value
New business applications · high25.5 /1k
96/100Colorado 23.9 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauArapahoe County value
Average weekly wage · high$1,708
93/100Colorado $1,618United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsArapahoe County value
Preventable hospital stays · low1,768 /100k
92/100Colorado 1,686 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteArapahoe County value
Mental health providers · high530 /100k
90/100Colorado 518 /100kUnited States 348 /100k2025University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteArapahoe County value
Public transit commuters · high3.4%
89/100Colorado 1.6%United States 3.2%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B08301

Weaknesses

High ozone days · high15 days
4/100Colorado 10 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyArapahoe County value
Rent-burdened households · high60.3%
4/100Colorado 52.9%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Property crime rate · high2,313 /100k
7/100Colorado 2,144 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationArapahoe County value
Violent crime rate · high533 /100k
9/100Colorado 422 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationArapahoe County value
Rent as share of income · high35.0%
9/100Colorado 31.4%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high15.3%
15/100Colorado 9.3%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
369,111 (2015-2019) → 394,432 (2020-2024)
+6.9%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedWorsening
10.9 /1k (2021) → 3.6 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−67%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Median household incomeImproving
$65,100 (2015-2019) → $88,368 (2020-2024)
+36%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
87.3% (2015-2019) → 93.6% (2020-2024)
+6.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
29.7% (2015-2019) → 33.6% (2020-2024)
+3.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
4.5× (2015-2019) → 5.3× (2020-2024)
+19%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Aurora, Colorado improved on 3 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 8. 3 moved within the margin of error and 1 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Household income+36%$65,100 → $88,368
Bachelor's++3.9 points29.7% → 33.6%
Broadband+6.3 points87.3% → 93.6%

Declined8

Uninsured+2.8 points12.5% → 15.3%
Unemployment+1.3 points4.6% → 5.9%
Price / income+0.9×4.5× → 5.3×
Child poverty+3 points15.0% → 18.1%
Inequality+0.0200.409 → 0.430

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Aurora, Colorado between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	29.5 min2015-2019	28.6 min2020-2024	−0.9 min	Within the margin of error	59%
Bachelor's degree or higher	29.7%2015-2019	33.6%2020-2024	+3.9 points	Improved	59%
Broadband subscriptions	87.3%2015-2019	93.6%2020-2024	+6.3 points	Improved	39%
Child poverty rate	15.0%2015-2019	18.1%2020-2024	+3 points	Declined	26%
Effective property tax rate	0.65%2015-2019	0.57%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Little change	30%
High school diploma or higher	87.7%2015-2019	86.3%2020-2024	−1.4 points	Within the margin of error	19%
Home price to income ratio	4.5×2015-2019	5.3×2020-2024	+0.9×	Declined	28%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4092015-2019	0.4302020-2024	+0.020	Declined	34%
Median household income	$65,1002015-2019	$88,3682020-2024	+36%	Improved	67%
Poverty rate	10.7%2015-2019	11.9%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Public transit commuters	4.7%2015-2019	3.4%2020-2024	−1.4 points	Declined	16%
Rent as share of income	33.1%2015-2019	35.0%2020-2024	+1.9 points	Declined	40%
Rent-burdened households	56.8%2015-2019	60.3%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Declined	43%
Unemployment rate	4.6%2015-2019	5.9%2020-2024	+1.3 points	Declined	25%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	12.5%2015-2019	15.3%2020-2024	+2.8 points	Declined	20%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Aurora, Colorado five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Aurora, Colorado in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Aurora, Colorado itself moved −3.2 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

394,432 residents (±85)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69
50–59
40–49
30–39
20–29
10–19
Under 10

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under 10 men (−0.8 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

394,432 residents (±85)

Aurora, Colorado
Colorado share

White41%161,514
Black15%60,219
Hispanic or Latino31%123,736
Asian6.0%23,752
American Indian and Alaska Native0.3%†1,127
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander0.4%1,472
Other or two or more races5.7%22,612

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: White (−3.4 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B03002View table on data.census.gov

Education

263,093 residents (±1,816)

Aurora, Colorado
Colorado share

No high school diploma14%36,128
High school or GED23%61,466
Some college21%53,983
Associate degree8.7%22,991
Bachelor's degree22%57,180
Graduate degree12%31,345

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: High school or GED (−3.6 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B15003View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

145,310 households (±1,460)

Aurora, Colorado
Colorado share

Under $25k11%16,106
$25k–50k14%20,913
$50k–75k16%23,961
$75k–100k14%20,549
$100k–150k20%29,044
$150k–200k12%17,349
$200k or more12%17,388

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $25k–50k (−8.4 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

145,310 households (±1,460)

Aurora, Colorado
Colorado share

Own62%90,683
Rent38%54,627

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+2.5 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

53,630 households (±1,467)

Aurora, Colorado
Colorado share

Under $7503.2%1,698
$750–1,0001.8%960
$1,000–1,50023%12,317

Home values

90,683 homes (±1,871)

Aurora, Colorado
Colorado share

Under $150k4.9%4,477
$150k–250k4.4%4,020
$250k–400k21%19,248

Age of homes

152,377 homes (±1,265)

Aurora, Colorado
Colorado share

2010 or later15%22,576
2000–200914%22,087
1980–199934%51,492

Size of homes

152,377 homes (±1,265)

Aurora, Colorado
Colorado share

Studio2.8%4,338
1 bedroom13%20,311
2 bedrooms28%42,256

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

206,488 workers (±2,490)

Aurora, Colorado
Colorado share

Drive alone67%137,345
Carpool10%21,021
Public transit3.4%6,932
Walk1.5%3,091
Bike0.2%†361
Work from home16%33,973
Other1.8%3,765

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+10.9 points).

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

172,515 workers (±2,353)

Aurora, Colorado
Colorado share

Under 15 min15%26,235
15–29 min40%68,258
30–44 min29%49,641

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Arapahoe County, the county holding most of Aurora's residents.

Arapahoe County has 20,137 employer establishments, 302 for every 10,000 residents (1.22× the US rate of 248; 0.98× Colorado's), with 321,810 paid employees at an average annual pay of $76,250. The Census Bureau also counts 76,340 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 20,137; 76,340 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 302; US 248 · Colorado 309
Paid employees: 321,810
Average annual pay: $76,250; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Arapahoe County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	2,061	31	1.49×More than typical	30,269	$75,897	3,827
Lessors of real estate	1,443	21.7	1.76×More than typical	6,593	$72,682	7,069
Specialty trade contractors	1,368	20.5	1.33×More than typical	15,677	$76,358	5,081
Restaurants and other eating places	1,278	19.2	1.05×About typical	25,598	$27,889	327
Real estate agents and brokers	746	11.2	2.30×More than typical	1,068	$83,480	1,853
Management, scientific and technical consulting	711	10.7	1.59×More than typical	4,811	$103,072	3,060
Offices of other health practitioners	683	10.3	1.69×More than typical	4,250	$56,039	1,816
Limited-service restaurants	563	8.5	1.05×About typical	11,171	$24,471	157
Insurance agencies and brokerages	541	8.1	1.85×More than typical	5,014	$108,205	989
Computer systems design and related services	532	8	1.85×More than typical	7,516	$121,158	888
Construction of buildings	531	8	1.05×About typical	6,136	$108,175	2,120
Full-service restaurants	514	7.7	1.01×About typical	11,856	$32,336	111

Rank places for an industry Open Arapahoe County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 665,778 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $368.8M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Aurora, Colorado: $935 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $368.8M; −33% vs FY2025
Per resident: $935; US $1,994
Sole-source: 25%; US 30%
Single offer: 8.8%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Air Force$188.2M51%
Department of Veterans Affairs$71.4M19%
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement$67.6M18%
Defense Health Agency$7.7M2.1%
Corporation for National and Community Service$6.8M1.8%
Department of the Army$5.6M1.5%
National Institutes of Health$3.8M1.0%
Defense Microelectronics Activity$2.9M0.8%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

730.8MFY2017
780MFY2018
909.8MFY2019
669.3MFY2020
656.3MFY2021
467.1MFY2022
605.7MFY2023
394.5M

Top industries (NAICS)

Scientific research and development services · 5417$107.6M29%
Facilities support services · 5612$70.5M19%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415$37.1M10%
Space research and technology · 9271$29.9M8.1%
Nonresidential building construction · 2362$16.7M4.5%
Employment services · 5613

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Aurora, Colorado

ENGINEERING SERVICES AND DEVELOPMENT LEADING TO THE DELIVERY OF THE JPSS COMMON GROUND SYSTEM INSTRUMENT AND SUPPORT. THIS CONTRACT ACTION ABSORBS NASA'S CONTRACT ACTION NNG10XA03C.$606.7M
RAYTHEON COMPANY· Arapahoe County, CO· IT & telecom· Aug 30, 2018 – Jul 1, 2026· 1332KP18CNEEJ0005
GPS ADVANCED CONTROL SEGMENT (OCX) PHASE B BLOCKS 1 AND 2$276.5M
RAYTHEON COMPANY· Arapahoe County, CO· Research & development· Oct 13, 2016 – May 14, 2026· FA880710C0001
NEXT GENERATION OPERATIONAL CONTROL SYSTEM BLOCK 3 FOLLOW-ON.$268M
RAYTHEON COMPANY· Arapahoe County, CO· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Apr 29, 2021 – Jun 3, 2026· FA880721C0002

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Aurora, Colorado, so they do not add up across cities.

Aurora, Colorado's figures are part of those of Arapahoe County, CO, Adams County, CO and Douglas County, CO ($3.3B in FY2026), never added to them: 11% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Aurora is mostly in Arapahoe County.

See federal money in Arapahoe County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Aurora, Colorado is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO78

Other cities and towns in Arapahoe County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/0804000

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends