What stands out worked out from the figures below

Cooper has the most people working from home (13.5%).

Aurora has the most kids (26.5% under 18).

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	Cooper	Aurora
People
Population	157Highest	132Lowest
Median age	46.5±9.1Lowest 4% above ME	47.2±17Highest 5% above ME
	Aurora and Cooper are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18	16.6%±17Lowest ME: 18.1%	26.5%±16.9Highest ME: 18.1%
	Aurora and Cooper are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+	22.9%±14Lowest ME: 22.4%	27.3%±26.9Highest ME: 22.4%
	Aurora and Cooper are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+	22.2%Lowest ME: 36.2%	42.4%Highest ME: 36.2%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents	4.5%±9.8Lowest ME: 5.8%	5.3%±10.1Highest ME: 5.8%
	Aurora and Cooper are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian	$48,750±$15k 35% below ME	—
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied	$212,500±$66kHighest 28% below ME	$189,400±$17kLowest 36% below ME
	Cooper and Aurora are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Rentmedian gross, monthly	—	$1,125±$342 about the ME average
Property taxmedian, yearly	$1,929Lowest 36% below ME	$2,025Highest 33% below ME
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent	—	33.3%±100 ME: 48.4%
Below poverty line	20.4%Highest ME: 10.7%	15.2%Lowest ME: 10.7%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes	95%Highest ME: 74.3%	75.9%Lowest ME: 74.3%
Typical home builtmedian year	1977Lowest same as ME	1990Highest 13 yrs newer than ME
Getting to work
Average commuteone way	44 minHighest 78% above ME	34 minLowest 36% above ME
Work from home	13.5%±11Highest ME: 15.9%	6.5%±5.9Lowest ME: 15.9%
	Cooper and Aurora are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Schools
School district	—	Airline CSD
High school 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.