Business & Economy
Knowing that a lack of economic planning can be a disastrous mistake, the city has created the Aurora Economic Development Commission to offer assistance and resources to help businesses to be more competitive. The commission has prepared a comprehensive program to work in partnership with business on the development and start-up of industrial and commercial facilities.
To help businesses receive the information, assistance and resources needed to locate or expand industrial and commercial facilities in Aurora, the commission offers a number of services pertaining to training, education, recruiting, building permit review, property tax rebate, utilities, business planning, financing and infrastructure, to name of few.
Aurora’s labor force claims a large pool of qualified workers drawn from area institutions of higher education, which has always made recruiting and training easy here for potential business.
The work force is diverse, made up of industries including skilled office, research, technical, manufacturing and distribution workers, and professional employees.
The city has a total labor force of 102,000.
The Aurora Economic Development Commission also is able to coordinate recruiting and training assistance for employers by contacting the Illinois Department of Employment Security to assist in recruiting potential employees and qualifying them for the Targeted Jobs Tax Credit program. The program allows an income tax credit of up to $5,000 to be applied to wages paid to certain qualified employees.
Also, the commission work with Waubonsee Community College and the College of Du Page to apprise them of your training needs. Both colleges can design customized training programs at the plant location to fit employers training needs and schedules.
Some of Aurora’s largest employers include Caterpillar Inc., Farmers Insurance Group, MetLife, Hollywood Casino - Aurora and Hartford Financial Services.
Demographics
The median income for a household in the city is about $54,861 and the median income for a family, $61,113.
Men had a median income of $41,429 versus $30,150 for women.
Approximately 70 percent of Aurorans own their homes with an estimated median housing value of about $185,000.
Over the past 25 years Aurora and its economic base has expanded considerably: Aurora’s population has increased from 84,540 to approximately 175,000 and Aurora’s size has dramatically increased from 15.68 square miles in 1972 to 42 square miles in 2005.