What stands out worked out from the figures below

Aurora has the most affordable homes ($189k median).

Cranberry Isles has the most expensive homes ($439k median).

What matters to you?

Pick a few. We’ll pull those rows to the top and mark which town comes out ahead on each. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Raising kidsAffordabilityOwning a homeShort commuteWorking from homeYounger crowdSettled, older crowdGrowing town

Measure	Aurora	Cranberry Isles
People
Population	132Lowest	196Highest
Median age	47.2±17Lowest 5% above ME	48±11.9Highest 7% above ME
	Cranberry Isles and Aurora are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	26.5%±16.9Highest ME: 18.1%	19.4%±9.5Lowest ME: 18.1%
	Aurora and Cranberry Isles are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	27.3%±26.9Highest ME: 22.4%	19.9%±7.5Lowest ME: 22.4%
	Aurora and Cranberry Isles are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	42.4%Lowest ME: 36.2%	51.7%Highest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	5.3%±10.1Lowest ME: 5.8%	6.6%±3.9Highest ME: 5.8%
	Cranberry Isles and Aurora are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	—	$65,000±$37k 13% below ME
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$189,400±$17kLowest 36% below ME	$439,100±$51kHighest 48% above ME
Rentmedian gross, monthly	$1,125±$342Highest about the ME average	$1,000±$413Lowest 12% below ME
	Aurora and Cranberry Isles are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly	$2,025Lowest 33% below ME	$3,273Highest 8% above ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	33.3%±100Lowest ME: 48.4%	71.4%±79Highest ME: 48.4%
	Cranberry Isles and Aurora are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Below poverty line	15.2%Highest ME: 10.7%	4.6%Lowest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	75.9%Lowest ME: 74.3%	81%Highest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1990Highest 13 yrs newer than ME	1938Lowest 39 yrs older than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	34 minHighest 36% above ME	20 minLowest 17% below ME
Work from home	6.5%±5.9 ME: 15.9%	6.5%±6 ME: 15.9%
Schools
School district	Airline CSD	Cranberry Isles Public Schools
High school in town	None in town	None in town
On TownTapestry
Old photos in History	None yet	None yet

ME average · Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2020–2024; 2010 & 2020 decennial census; NCES Common Core of Data. “±” is the Census margin of error. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. School rank compares math and reading proficiency against the state average.