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People Statistics · City

Population of the urban area in Aurora

1975 – 2025 · 11 data points 2 of 11 · Towns of Illinois Updated Oct 21, 2026

Source: European Commission JRC — GHSL Urban Centre Database, 1975 – 2025

Population of the urban area, 1975 – 2025 people · Aurora
1975 
 
1985 
 
1995 
 
2005 
 
2015 
 
359K
2025 

Source: European Commission JRC — GHSL Urban Centre Database, 1975 – 2025

The series at a glance Aurora · 1975 – 2025
Latest value 359,037 · 2025
First value 233,395 · 1975
Highest 359,037 · 2025
Lowest 233,395 · 1975
Average change +0.9% a year on average
Data points 11

By year

All years · 1975 – 2025

YearAuroraChange
2025 359,037 +0.6%
2020 356,830 +2.1%
2015 349,491 +5.1%
2010 332,645 +7.8%
2005 308,448 +7.7%
2000 286,473 +9.8%
1995 260,904 +7.8%
1990 242,018 +1.8%
1985 237,766 +1.1%
1980 235,124 +0.7%
1975 233,395

Source: European Commission JRC — GHSL Urban Centre Database, 1975 – 2025

Ranking · Towns of Illinois

1990 · Place 1 is the highest value.

#TerritoryPopulation of the urban area
1 Chicago 4.9M
2 Aurora 242K
3 Bolingbrook 195K
4 Wheaton 163K
5 Champaign 78,244
6 Bloomington 69,366
7 Chicago Heights 61,408
8 Waukegan 59,428
9 Elgin 57,295
10 Joliet 49,309
11 Lake in the Hills 40,896

Source: European Commission JRC — GHSL Urban Centre Database, 1990

What it means

How many people live in the built-up city as a whole, regardless of municipal borders.

How it is calculated

Satellite maps of buildings and census data are combined into a 1 km grid; the continuous dense area of at least 50,000 people is the urban centre. Every five years from 1975; 2030 is a projection.