Over the past five months, the Institute for Immigration Research (IIR) has worked with Welcoming America and the Office of International and Immigrant Affairs of the City of Aurora, Colorado to provide a comprehensive picture of the foreign-born population in Aurora. The IIR completed a detailed Immigration Data on Demand (iDod) fact sheet that examines foreign-born and native-born residents living in Aurora. It includes robust data on demographic, economic, educational, employment, health, and housing characteristics, as well as additional indicators such as English language proficiency, poverty status, and nativity among the city’s foreign-born and native-born residents.
Key findings include:
- More than one-third (36%) of immigrants in Aurora were born in Mexico followed by Ethiopia (7%), Korea (4%), El Salvador (3%), and Vietnam (3%).
- More than half (52%) of Aurora’s immigrant population arrived in the United States between 1990 and 2009, and 32% arrived between 2010 and 2021.
- Immigrants in Aurora tend to be older compared to the native-born in the city. For example, the median age among immigrants living in Aurora is 42 years old compared to 32 years old for the native-born.
- Immigrants and the native-born in Aurora are employed across largely similar occupational groups, sharing three of the top five occupations: service; management, business, and financial; and office and administrative support. However, immigrants living in Aurora have higher rates of working in construction and production compared to native-born residents.
- Approximately 10% of immigrants in Aurora are self-employed or business owners. This is slightly higher compared to native-born residents in Aurora (8%).
To provide examples of some of the people behind the statistics and as part of its Immigrant Stories project, the IIR conducted in-depth interviews with three immigrant entrepreneurs in the city of Aurora. Originally from Uruguay, Marcelo Alvariza is the visionary behind Orejano Casual Latin Cuisine, winner of “Best Empanadas” in Westboro’s Best of Denver 2026. K.C. Lee took over the family’s business Vista Services, a commercial cleaning company, that his father founded soon after the family emigrated from Korea. Jambo Woldyohannis owns Jambo Motors, a used car and auto repair business that grew out of a similar business he started in his home country of Ethiopia prior to coming to the United States.
The goal of the interviews is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the realities faced by immigrants and to highlight their significant economic and social contributions to their local communities and to the United States as a whole. By integrating quantitative data with in-depth interviews, the IIR demonstrates the value of combining data analysis and storytelling to highlight the lived experiences behind the numbers.
To read the City of Aurora iDod fact sheet, click here.
To read the stories of the interviewees, click here.
To read the complete report for the City of Aurora, click here.
For more information about iDod, click here.