Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 50/100
D+
Median home value$274,800
Chicago $323,000
Median rent$1,596/mo
Chicago $1,430/mo
Cost-burdened households31%
Chicago 33%
Aurora
Kane & DuPage & Will counties179,898 residents4 school districts
55
C−
Suburbgrade score
45th of 60 Chicago suburbs. Strongest on amenities, held back by cost of living.
55
Chicago median 60
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Aurora yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 55 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Aurora is like to live in, by category
Bars show Aurora against Chicago. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 58/100
C
Within-state proficiency45th pct
Chicago median 63rd pct
Student–teacher ratio15.6
Chicago median 13.7
Graduation rate—
Chicago median 91%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 49/100
D+
Housing cost index97
Chicago 100
Eff. tax rate2.25%
Chicago 1.83%
Local sales tax8.96%
Chicago median 8.96%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 59/100
C
Mean commute27.2 min
Chicago 30.3 min
Under 30 minutes60%
Chicago 51%
Transit stops / sq mi12
Chicago median 3.8 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 60/100
C
Restaurants & cafés39
Chicago median 50 · within 2 miles
Groceries4
Chicago median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks118
Chicago median 65 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 54/100
C−
Median household income$93,633
Chicago $90,887
Unemployment5.8%
Chicago 6.1%
Professional occupations38%
Chicago 45%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
—
No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Aurora yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
—
Do you feel safe walking after dark?
—
Can you walk to a grocery store?
—
Is it good for young children?
—
Are yards and streets well kept?
—
Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Aurora on cost of living
Aurora's weakest grade is D+. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbCost of livingOverall
Downers Grove14 mi from AuroraC 68 B− Addison19 mi from AuroraC 56 C− Elk Grove Village23 mi from AuroraC 62 C Orland Park25 mi from AuroraC 61 C Carpentersville25 mi from AuroraC 54 C− Woodridge13 mi from AuroraC 64 C+ Cost-of-living index composed in-house from housing cost, utilities, effective property tax and local sales tax · Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Effective property tax: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Aurora
Is Aurora, IL a good place to live?
Aurora scores 55 out of 100, 45th of 60 Chicago suburbs. It is strongest on amenities and weakest on cost of living. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Aurora expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades D+. The median home is $274,800, 15% below the Chicago median, and the effective property tax rate is 2.25%. $1,596/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Aurora?
Schools grade C. The districts serving Aurora sit at the 45th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a — graduation rate and a 15.6 student–teacher ratio. Aurora is served by Indian Prairie Cusd 204, Aurora West USD 129, Aurora East USD 131 and Oswego Community Unit School District 308. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Aurora?
The mean commute is 27.2 min, with 60% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 16% working from home. Transit density is 12 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Aurora?
Within two miles there are 4 groceries, 39 restaurants and cafés and 118 parks, which grades C on amenities.
Are the homes in Aurora old or new?
The median home in Aurora was built in 1987 — newer than the Chicago median of 1971. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 75% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.