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Place dossier plate
SheetSD-AURORA-SD · Aurora, SD 1,407 pop · income 71st pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Aurora
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Aurora on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Burkesville · lowest
32,361
Burkesville · lowest
32,361 median HH income
28.9% of the leader · rank #1
Smithfield · near
90,602
Smithfield · near
90,602 median HH income
80.9% of the leader · rank #2
Cedar Hill · near
90,608
Cedar Hill · near
90,608 median HH income
81.0% of the leader · rank #3
Aurora · this city
90,612
Aurora · this city
90,612 median HH income
81.0% of the leader · rank #4
Parks · near
90,625
Parks · near
90,625 median HH income
81.0% of the leader · rank #5
Woody · near
90,625
Woody · near
90,625 median HH income
81.0% of the leader · rank #6
Cherry Branch · highest
111,930
Cherry Branch · highest
111,930 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Aurora on ACS population and median household income
. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 1,407.
Nationally, Aurora sits in the 71st percentile for household income among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS.
71st
percentile, household income
48th
percentile, home value
13th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Aurora, SD
South Dakota's Aurora is a small town, with 1,407 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. The typical household in Aurora brings in $90,612 a year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 0.8%. Aurora's housing stock carries a median value of $219,100, and the median resident age is 29.7 years. 44.1% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 85.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
Housing supply pressure shows in Census Building Permit Survey data: 43 residential units were authorized in 2024 (Building Boom), up 153% from five years earlier.
Living costs in South Dakota run below the national norm: the state registers 88.6 on a 100-equals-national-average index (Well Below Average) per BEA Regional Price Parities 2024. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $990 monthly. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in South Dakota run around $200, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 26.8 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Very Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Aurora's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from population change to comparison shortlist to work and mobility to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Aurora, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, annual population history, local building permits.
No matched row is reported here for matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles, FBI reported-crime rates; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Population change
Is Aurora growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +233 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +22.1% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 43 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Which cities make useful reference points for Aurora?
Within South Dakota, the closest population matches are North Eagle Butte (1,432 residents, $38,125 income); Mission (1,380 residents, $34,000 income); Miller (1,346 residents, $51,774 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Burkesville, KY (1,407 residents); Kaibab Estates West, AZ (1,406 residents); Arbury Hills, IL (1,408 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.
What does the journey to work look like in Aurora?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 81.3%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
How far does income reach against housing in Aurora?
The home-value-to-income reference is relatively compact: the ACS median home value is 2.4 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 0.8%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. The ratio makes housing the clearest place to start this profile, but a low multiple can coexist with slow demand, older stock, or household-level hardship. Compare the home-value distribution and same-state peer table before treating it as an advantage.
Above median income · poverty 0.8% (Very low poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
88.6 (US=100)
Very affordable · BEA RPP 2024, South Dakota average
A-
City profile score · Aurora, SD
83/100
4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Poverty rate A+
0.8%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Cost of living A+
88.6 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Bachelor's+ share B+
44.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Household income B
$90,612
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Violent crime N/A
N/A
No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).
Aurora profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 94/100 (A+) · 0.8%
Cost of living: 91/100 (A+) · 88.6 index
Bachelor's+ share: 79/100 (B+) · 44.1%
Household income: 70/100 (B) · $90,612
How does Aurora compare to other US cities?
Here's how Aurora stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income71% higher than other cities
Home value48% pricier than other cities
Median rent13% pricier than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Aurora against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to South Dakota only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
South Dakota-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Aurora near the bottom of South Dakota's cities
Among the 303 South Dakota cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Aurora ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Aurora only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#41 of 285
86th percentile in South Dakota
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 303
0th percentile in South Dakota
Median Home Value
#50 of 263
81st percentile in South Dakota
Poverty Rate
#246 of 302
18th percentile in South Dakota
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#11 of 303
96th percentile in South Dakota
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within South Dakota only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
71st percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
How Aurora's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$219,100Among the most affordablemore affordable than 52% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Aurora's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.4×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#3,584 of 15,516
More affordable than 77% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#3,259 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.4×, Aurora sits in the affordable band:
national rank #3,584 of 15,516 and #3,259 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$90,612Aurora, SD median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Aurora, SD median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Aurora, SD.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)44.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)0.8%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)85.5%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
1,407
Median Income
$90,612
Median Home Value
$219,100
Median Age
29.7
Poverty Rate
0.8%
Labor force participation
85.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
44.1%
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Aurora's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
1,053 residents
2021
1,078 residents
2022
1,131 residents
2023
1,145 residents
2024
1,175 residents
2025
1,286 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
43
housing units authorized
Single-Family
5
detached homes
Multifamily
38
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
30.6
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
17
17
0
$3.1M
2020
11
11
0
$2.1M
2021
19
19
0
$4.2M
2022
4
4
0
$0.9M
2023
2
2
0
$0.6M
2024
43
5
38
$5.7M
Permit volume increased 153% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
81.3%
Carpool
4.0%
Public Transit
1.2%
Walk
1.7%
Work from Home
11.2%
Other
0.6%
Based on 900 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
South Dakota statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $200
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across South Dakota at $200 (electricity about $95 , water and sewer about $40 ).
These are South Dakota statewide averages, not a meter reading for Aurora. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
South Dakota's BEA cost-of-living index is 88.6 (Well Below Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Aurora is $990/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to South Dakota statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 26.8 / 100 (Very Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a South Dakota statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Aurora sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Aurora compares to similar-size South Dakota cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.