Aurora is a city in Hamilton County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 4,479 at the 2010 census. It is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Hamilton County.

History

In 1861, David Millspaw became the first permanent settler in the area of what was to become Aurora. Hamilton County was formed in 1870. Aurora was laid out as a town in 1871 by David Stone who named it after his former hometown of

Aurora, Illinois Aurora is a city in northeastern Illinois, United States. It is located along the Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River west of Chicago. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, second-most populous city in Illinois, with a popul ...

. The county seat was transferred from Orville City (an extinct town) to Aurora in 1876.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The average precipitation per year in Hamilton County during the years 1971 to 2000 was between .

Demographics

2010 census

At the 2010

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, there were 4,479 people, 1,781 households and 1,199 families in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 1,939 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.7%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.4%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2.4% of the population. There were 1,781 households, of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 32.7% were non-families. 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.00. The median age in the city was 40.4 years. 26.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.3% were from 25 to 44; 25.7% were from 45 to 64; and 18.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.

2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 4,225 people, 1,662 households and 1,163 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,798 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.92%

, 0.19%

, 0.05% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.57% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.56% of the population. There were 1,662 households, of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.0% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.98. 27.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

was $37,690 and the median family income was $43,884. Males had a median income of $29,162 compared with $20,484 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,309. About 6.1% of families and 6.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.4% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public schools

Aurora is served by Aurora Public Schools * Aurora High School (grades 9 though 12) * Aurora Middle School (grades 6 through 8) * Aurora Elementary School (grades PreK through 5)

Media

Radio

* KRGY 97.3FM

Newspaper

* Aurora News-Register

Notable people

* Silas Reynolds Barton — U.S. Representative from Nebraska *

Harold Eugene Edgerton Harold Eugene "Doc" Edgerton (April 6, 1903 – January 4, 1990), also known as Papa Flash, was an American scientist and researcher, a professor of electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is largely credited with ...

— inventor of the strobe light * Eugene Jerome Hainer — U.S. Representative from Nebraska * Bob Kremer — Nebraska state senator * Tom Kropp - Professional basketball player * Clarence Mitchell —

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player * Terese Nielsen — freelance fantasy artist * Baylor Scheierman - Professional basketball player *

Harry Scott Smith Harry Scott Smith (November 29, 1883 – November 28, 1957), an entomologist and professor at University of California, Riverside (UCR), was a pioneer in the field of biological pest control. United States Department of Agriculture Smith grew ...

- entomologist and educator * Ron Spencer — artist for '' Magic: The Gathering'' * William Ledyard Stark — populist politician * Marion Van Berg - thoroughbred trainer in Racing Hall of Fame

References

External links

City of Aurora, Nebraska

Aurora News-Register
{{Authority control Cities in Nebraska Cities in Hamilton County, Nebraska County seats in Nebraska