Aurora (city, Colorado)

Aurora (city, Colorado), city in Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties in central Colorado. It is a residential suburb in the Denver metropolitan area. Leading manufacturing employers include telecommunications and aerospace firms; other large employers are healthcare facilities and customer service centers for national corporations. The city is a gateway to tourist spots and winter-sports centers in the Rocky Mountains. Aurora is the site of a community college; the Colorado University Health Medical Center; and Buckley Air National Guard Base. To the north of the city is the Denver International Airport.

The city was founded during the silver boom of the 1890s and was originally named Fletcher, after its Canadian-born developer Donald Fletcher. Aurora was renamed for the Roman goddess of dawn and incorporated in 1907. In 1995 Fitzsimons Army Medical Center (since redesignated a garrison) was selected for closure by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission as part of a federal base consolidation program. In response, Aurora residents began work on a redevelopment plan for the large base and leading employer, and in 1997 Colorado University Health Medical Center took over the former military facility.

Aurora covers a land area of 369 sq km (143 sq mi). According to the 2000 census, whites are 68.9 percent of the population, blacks 13.4 percent, Asians 4.4 percent, Native Americans 0.8 percent, and Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders 0.2 percent. The remainder are of mixed heritage or did not report race. Hispanics, who may be of any race, are 19.8 percent of the people. Population 158,588 (1980); 222,103 (1990); 276,393 (2000); 303,582 (2006).