Industry and Occupation
Aurora's residents are employed in a wide range of industries, but the top industries are Educational Services, Health Care, and Social Assistance; Professional, Scientific, Management, Administrative and Waste Management; Retail Trade; and Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, Accommodation and Food Services. These have been our top industries for the past couple years. If you would like historical data on employment in Aurora, please contact the Data Services group in the Planning Department.
Industry for the Employed Population 16+ Years and Over
Image Description: Aurora's employment breakdown by Industry for 2021 compared to the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood Metro Area (percentages in parentheses): Educational services, and health care and social assistance (Aurora 19.4% Metro Area 19.1%), Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (Aurora 13.9% Metro Area 16.9%), Retail Trade (Aurora 10.6% Metro Area 8.5%), Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (Aurora 10.2% Metro Area 6.1%), Construction (Aurora 9.5% Metro Area 8.6%), Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (Aurora 7.8% Metro Area 9.8%), Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (Aurora 7.7% Metro Area 5.5%), Manufacturing (Aurora 5.7% Metro Area 7.8%), Other services, except public administration (Aurora 4.8% Metro Area 4.0%), Public Administration (Aurora 3.8% Metro 5.5%), Information (Aurora 3.2% Metro Area 3.7%), Wholesale Trade (Aurora 2.6% Metro Area 3.2%), Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining (Aurora 0.8% Metro Area 1.4%)
Source: U.S Census Bureau, 2017-2021 ACS 5-Year Estimates
Industry vs Occupation
What is the difference?
Industry refers to a group of establishments that produce similar products or provide similar services. It refers to the type of firm for which a person works. Occupation is a set of activities or tasks that employees are paid to perform. Employees who perform essentially the same tasks are in the same occupation, whether or not they work in the same industry. The data on this page reflects the employment of Aurora residents, whether they work in or outside of Aurora.
Occupation for the Employed Population 16+ Years and Over
Image Description: Aurora's employment breakdown by Occupation for 2021 compared to the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood Metro Area (percentages in parentheses): Management, business, science and arts occupations (Aurora 37.3% Metro Area 47.1%), Service Occupations (Aurora 17.4% Metro Area 14.7%), Sales and office occupations (Aurora 20.8% Metro Area 20.8%), Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations (Aurora 11.1% Metro Area 7.9%), Production, transportation, and material moving occupations (Aurora 13.4%, Metro Area 9.5%)
Source: US Census Bureau, 2017-2021 ACS 5-Year Estimates
Labor Force
Aurora's labor force has grown significantly since the great recession and seen many changes since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The city of Aurora's unemployment rate, as of November 2022, is 3.7%. The unemployment rate for the state of Colorado, as of November 2022, is 3.5% and 3.7% for the nation. If you would like specific information on unemployment rates and the labor force please contact the Planning Department.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics - Press Release: Colorado Employment Situation
(Data for given month and year can be found here: https://cdle.colorado.gov/category/press-releases?page=0)