Scores by category

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

Safety76#3,685/15,637
Economy75#3,962/15,631
Housing86#2,087/14,977
Health81#2,979/15,609
Healthcare64#5,562/15,650
Environment61#6,053/15,453
Education95#755/15,649
Infrastructure87#2,025/15,650
Community97#462/15,651
Leisure & amenities61#6,089/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Aurora, Nebraska ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Hamilton 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

Loneliness · low29.4%
99/100Nebraska 29.8%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Math scores · high3.60
99/100Nebraska 3.16United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHamilton County value
Drug overdose deaths · low0.0 /100k
99/100Nebraska 6.6 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataHamilton County value
Income inequality (Gini index) · low0.334
98/100Nebraska 0.456United States 0.4832020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B19083
Mammography screening · high58.0%
97/100Nebraska 54.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHamilton County value
Reading scores · high3.43
96/100Nebraska 3.11United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteHamilton County value

Weaknesses

Job growth · low-5.4%
1/100Nebraska -0.1%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataHamilton County value
Natural hazard risk · high95.1
5/100Nebraska 52.42025Federal Emergency Management AgencyHamilton County value
Distance to an airport · high115 mi
7/100Nebraska 65 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauHamilton County value
Traffic deaths · high23.2 /100k
15/100Nebraska 11.9 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataHamilton County value
Pharmacies · low1.0 /10k
15/100Nebraska 1.6 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsHamilton County value
Grocery stores · low1.0 /10k
16/100Nebraska 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsHamilton County value

Trends

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

New homes permittedImproving
1.5 /1k (2021) → 3.2 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+113%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
23.0% (2015-2019) → 33.8% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Average commute timeWorsening
13.3 min (2015-2019) → 20.3 min (2020-2024)
+53%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
85.0% (2015-2019) → 94.7% (2020-2024)
+9.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
31.3% (2015-2019) → 40.5% (2020-2024)
+9.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.3× (2015-2019) → 3.0× (2020-2024)
+29%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, Nebraska improved on 4 of 12 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 7 moved within the margin of error and 0 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.

Improved4

Bachelor's++11 points23.0% → 33.8%
Inequality−0.0500.385 → 0.334
Broadband+9.7 points85.0% → 94.7%
Household income+27%$61,269 → $77,679

Declined1

Price / income+0.7×2.3× → 3.0×

All 12 measures

Change of every measure of Aurora, Nebraska between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	13.3 min2015-2019	20.3 min2020-2024	+7.0 min	Within the margin of error	5%
Bachelor's degree or higher	23.0%2015-2019	33.8%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	92%
Broadband subscriptions	85.0%2015-2019	94.7%2020-2024	+9.7 points	Improved	58%
Effective property tax rate	1.26%2015-2019	0.98%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	72%
High school diploma or higher	95.7%2015-2019	97.6%2020-2024	+2 points	Within the margin of error	58%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	3.0×2020-2024	+0.7×	Declined	38%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.3852015-2019	0.3342020-2024	−0.050	Improved	84%
Median household income	$61,2692015-2019	$77,6792020-2024	+27%	Improved	48%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	23.8%2015-2019	21.5%2020-2024	−2.3 points	Within the margin of error	71%
Rent-burdened households	31.3%2015-2019	40.5%2020-2024	+9.2 points	Within the margin of error	26%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.8%2015-2019	7.8%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	34%

“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, Nebraska five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Aurora, Nebraska 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, Nebraska itself moved +1.9 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

4,664 residents (±34)

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: 40–49 women (−4.1 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 B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

4,664 residents (±34)

Aurora, Nebraska
Nebraska share

White94%4,372
Black0.2%†10
Hispanic or Latino3.2%†147
Asian0.0%0
American Indian and Alaska Native0.0%0
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander0.0%0
Other or two or more races2.9%†135

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: White (−4.3 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

3,093 residents (±145)

Aurora, Nebraska
Nebraska share

No high school diploma2.4%†73
High school or GED31%973
Some college23%708
Associate degree9.5%†293
Bachelor's degree22%681
Graduate degree12%†365

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Some college (−10.6 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 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

1,762 households (±140)

Aurora, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Under $25k8.6%†152
$25k–50k19%†329
$50k–75k23%†399
$75k–100k12%†213
$100k–150k23%†404
$150k–200k12%†215
$200k or more2.8%†50

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Under $25k (−7.5 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 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

1,762 households (±140)

Aurora, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Own81%1,434
Rent19%†328

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+11.0 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 B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

309 households (±127)

Aurora, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Under $75048%†148
$750–1,0009.4%†29
$1,000–1,50041%†126

Home values

1,434 homes (±117)

Aurora, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Under $150k19%†269
$150k–250k35%509
$250k–400k36%520

Age of homes

1,998 homes (±121)

Aurora, Nebraska
Nebraska share

2010 or later9.4%†187
2000–20096.3%†125
1980–199919%†379

Size of homes

1,998 homes (±121)

Aurora, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Studio0.0%0
1 bedroom5.1%†101
2 bedrooms21%†421

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

2,089 workers (±198)

Aurora, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Drive alone77%1,608
Carpool9.6%†200
Public transit0.0%0
Walk3.8%†80
Bike0.0%0
Work from home8.9%†186
Other0.7%†15

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† 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

1,903 workers (±232)

Aurora, Nebraska
Nebraska share

Under 15 min53%1,016
15–29 min19%†356
30–44 min22%†419

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

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 Hamilton County, the county holding most of Aurora's residents.

Hamilton County has 327 employer establishments, 342 for every 10,000 residents (1.38× the US rate of 248; 1.20× Nebraska's), with 3,166 paid employees at an average annual pay of $58,678. The Census Bureau also counts 847 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 327; 847 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 342; US 248 · Nebraska 284
Paid employees: 3,166
Average annual pay: $58,678; US $68,342

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

Truck transportation	25	26.2	5.17×More than typical	164	$65,280	40
Specialty trade contractors	22	23	1.49×More than typical	121	$72,727	68
Religious organizations	17	17.8	3.21×More than typical	58	$23,431	—
Construction of buildings	15	15.7	2.08×More than typical	58	$45,293	35
Restaurants and other eating places	15	15.7	0.85×About typical	192	$15,359	—
Lessors of real estate	12	12.6	1.02×About typical	25	$27,080	126
Ambulatory health care services	11	11.5	0.55×Fewer than typical	51	$71,078	24
Automotive repair and maintenance	10	10.5	2.08×More than typical	61	$36,262	23
Building equipment contractors	9	9.4	1.56×Too few to compare	31	$41,935	14
Full-service restaurants	9	9.4	1.23×Too few to compare	94	$16,255	—
Banks and credit unions	8	8.4	2.59×Too few to compare	79	$57,937	—
Landscaping services	8	8.4	2.39×Too few to compare	20	$42,950	24

Rank places for an industry Open Hamilton County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 9,557 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 $1,181 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Aurora, Nebraska: $0.25 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $1,181
Per resident: $0.25; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 30%; 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 Veterans Affairs$1,181100%

Top recipients

PENNER PATIENT CARE, INC.$1,181100%

Spending by fiscal year

994.7FY2017
2.1KFY2018
639.2FY2019
6.1KFY2020
172.8FY2021
2.4KFY2022
420.2FY2023
229.8FY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Plastics product manufacturing · 3261$82170%
Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391$35930%

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, Nebraska, so they do not add up across cities.

Aurora, Nebraska's figures are part of those of Hamilton County, NE ($89.3K in FY2026), never added to them: 1.3% of that total.

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

See federal money in Hamilton 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, Nebraska is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Adrian SmithR-NE-3 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 1.6%

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.

Hamilton County99100% of residents

Other cities and towns in Hamilton 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/3102690

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends