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Works Better Corporation, a nonpartisan public benefit corporation, builds this site.

Independent public-records project, separate from the City of Aurora and from every party and campaign.

Every number carries one of four labels (FACT, CALC, SAMPLE or PENDING) and a source you can open.
Aurora Works Better

Findings

Three things the public record shows about Aurora. Each one reads across a whole budget book or report. No single line of it states the finding. Each shows its label, its formula or where it is printed, and the record it rests on. Published .

How to read a finding

Our own reading, with the working shown

A finding reads across a whole public document. No single line of it states the finding. Each one is the work of WorksBetter, and each is dated.

A finding labeled FACT is what a publisher prints, and it says where each figure is printed. A finding labeled CALC is arithmetic on such figures, with the formula shown. A question the record does not yet answer is labeled PENDING. It is left open, never estimated.

Every number in a finding is listed under “The numbers” with its formula or its publisher. Each finding is worked out again from its records whenever this page is rebuilt. A finding we get wrong goes in the corrections log.

What the record shows

Three things the record shows

What the record shows · A WorksBetter finding Found Link to this finding

Does Aurora sit in one county?

No. Aurora’s 403,130 residents live in three counties. 84.7% are in Arapahoe County, 14.3% are in Adams County and 1.0% are in Douglas County.

  • Arapahoe County part 84.7%
  • Adams County part 14.3%
  • Douglas County part

Each county is a separate government with its own budget. Its figures are shown beside the city’s, and never added to them.

How it is counted CALC

  • The Census Bureau’s estimate for the city as a whole: 403,130 residents.
  • Arapahoe County part: 341,313 ÷ 403,130 = 84.7%.
  • Adams County part: 57,648 ÷ 403,130 = 14.3%.
  • Douglas County part: 4,169 ÷ 403,130 = 1.0%.
  • The three parts add to the city’s total exactly.

The numbers

FigureWhat it is, and how it is worked out
403,130 FACTAurora’s residents, 2024 estimateas printed by the publisher named under Sources
341,313 FACTResidents in the Arapahoe County partas printed by the publisher named under Sources
57,648 FACTResidents in the Adams County partas printed by the publisher named under Sources
4,169 FACTResidents in the Douglas County partas printed by the publisher named under Sources
84.7% CALCShare in the Arapahoe County part= 341,313 ÷ 403,130
14.3% CALCShare in the Adams County part= 57,648 ÷ 403,130
1.0% CALCShare in the Douglas County part= 4,169 ÷ 403,130
Records
The Census Bureau’s subcounty population estimates for Colorado, Vintage 2024. The file prints Aurora’s place row and one row for each county part.
Sources
  • U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program: subcounty estimates for Colorado
How to reproduce
Find Aurora’s place row and its three county-part rows in the file. Divide each county part by the place total.
Limits
  • These are estimates of residents, not a count of land or of taxable property.
  • Any figure that belongs to one county is not a figure for the city.

What the record shows · A WorksBetter finding Found Link to this finding

Is the General Fund most of Aurora’s budget?

No. Of every $100 in Aurora’s adopted 2026 budget, $40.98 is the General Fund. The enterprise funds carry $556.3M, which is $41.41. That is more than the General Fund’s $550.5M.

  • General Fund $40.98
  • Enterprise funds $41.41
  • All other funds

How it is counted CALC

  • The adopted budget’s total, all funds: $1.34B.
  • General Fund share: $550.5M ÷ $1.34B × $100 = $40.98.
  • Enterprise funds share: $556.3M ÷ $1.34B × $100 = $41.41.

The numbers

FigureWhat it is, and how it is worked out
$1,343,410,297 FACTTotal appropriations, all funds, 2026 adoptedas printed by the publisher named under Sources
$550,497,207 FACTGeneral Fund appropriationsas printed by the publisher named under Sources
$556,319,253 FACTEnterprise funds appropriationsas printed by the publisher named under Sources
$40.98 CALCGeneral Fund per $100 of the total= $550,497,207 ÷ $1,343,410,297 × $100
$41.41 CALCEnterprise funds per $100 of the total= $556,319,253 ÷ $1,343,410,297 × $100
Records
The adopted 2026 budget book’s table of appropriations by department and fund type. Its grand total row prints each fund type’s amount.
How to reproduce
Read each fund type’s total from the grand total row of the fund-type table. Divide it by the all-funds total and multiply by $100.
Limits
  • The total adds up fund appropriations, so a dollar moved from one fund to another is counted in both.
  • This is a share of that total as the book prints it, not of the audited expenses, which are a different basis and are never mixed with it.

What the record shows · A WorksBetter finding Found Link to this finding

How many vehicle thefts did Aurora’s police report in 2024, against 2022 and 2019?

Aurora’s police department reported 3,648 vehicle thefts in 2024. That is 916.9 for every 100,000 residents it serves. In 2022 it reported 6,877, or 1,753.7. The 2024 rate is 47.7% below the 2022 rate and 54.3% above the 2019 rate of 594.3.

This is one department’s own reports over time. This site draws no comparison with another city’s rate.

How it is counted CALC

  • Reported thefts in 2024: 3,648. In 2022: 6,877. Each is the sum of the department’s twelve monthly reports to the FBI.
  • Rate for 2024: 3,648 ÷ the 2024 population the department serves × 100,000 = 916.9.
  • Below 2022: (1,753.7 − 916.9) ÷ 1,753.7 = 47.7%.
  • Above 2019: (916.9 − 594.3) ÷ 594.3 = 54.3%.

The numbers

FigureWhat it is, and how it is worked out
3,648 FACTMotor vehicle thefts reported, 2024as printed by the publisher named under Sources
6,877 FACTMotor vehicle thefts reported, 2022as printed by the publisher named under Sources
916.9 CALCThefts per 100,000 residents served, 2024= 3,648 ÷ the population the department serves × 100,000
1,753.7 CALCThefts per 100,000 residents served, 2022= 6,877 ÷ the population the department serves × 100,000
594.3 CALCThefts per 100,000 residents served, 2019= the 2019 count ÷ the population the department serves × 100,000
47.7% CALCHow far the 2024 rate is below the 2022 rate= (1,753.7 − 916.9) ÷ 1,753.7
54.3% CALCHow far the 2024 rate is above the 2019 rate= (916.9 − 594.3) ÷ 594.3
Records
The FBI Crime Data Explorer’s summarized offense report for the Aurora Police Department, one count a month, with the population the department serves.
Sources
  • FBI Crime Data Explorer: Aurora Police Department, motor vehicle theft
How to reproduce
Add the twelve monthly counts for a year. Divide by the population served that the same report prints for that year, and multiply by 100,000.
Limits
  • These are thefts the department reported, not every theft that happened.
  • The rate divides by the population the department serves, which is not the Census figure used elsewhere.
  • The FBI’s 2021 change in reporting does not affect these counts, because the department has reported by incident since 1985.