Sell Your Commercial Property In Aurora, IL

Who rents in Aurora

Aurora has 179,898 residents in the ACS 2020–2024 estimates and spans Kane, DuPage, Kendall and Will counties. Of 61,317 occupied homes, 40,713 are owner-occupied and 20,604 are rented, a 33.6% renter share. The median household income is $93,633. Rent burden is still common: 9,087 renter households, 44.1%, spend 30% or more of income on housing, and 20.7% spend half or more.

Health care is one anchor. Rush Copley Medical Center on Ogden Avenue is a 210-bed hospital with 700 physicians on staff across more than 65 specialties. The city is also the western end of Metra's BNSF line to downtown Chicago, and manufacturing and logistics employers line the I-88 corridor, as noted on this page.

Rents and affordability

The Census median of $1,596 includes utilities and averages five years of leases. Most of Aurora falls in HUD's Chicago-Joliet-Naperville rent area; the Kendall County portion has its own FY2026 Fair Market Rents:

The citywide median is $185 below the Chicago-area two-bedroom FMR, and two- and three-bedroom vouchers pay more in the Kendall County part of town, where the three-bedroom FMR of $2,819 is $525 above the Chicago-area figure. For an owner with larger units south of the Kane County line, that difference matters when leasing to voucher holders. A household paying $1,596 needs about $63,800 a year to keep rent at 30% of income, well under the $93,633 citywide median, yet 44.1% of renters are already over that line.

Among nearby cities, Aurora sits in the middle. Its median gross rent is above Joliet's $1,276 and below Naperville's $1,885, and its renter share of 33.6% is higher than Naperville's 25.2% or Joliet's 26.3%.

The apartment stock

Aurora's median year built is 1987. Of 63,763 housing units, 37,408 are single-family detached and 10,572 single-family attached, mainly townhomes. Buildings with five or more units hold 9,987 homes, 15.7% of the total: 2,462 in buildings of five to nine units, 2,904 in buildings of 10 to 19, 1,905 in buildings of 20 to 49, and 2,716 in complexes of 50 or more. Two- to four-unit buildings add 5,527.

Compared with its neighbors, Aurora's stock is in between. Five-plus buildings hold 20.1% of Naperville's housing and 11.6% of Joliet's, against Aurora's 15.7%, and Naperville's median year built is 1990, against 1987 in Aurora and 1985 in Joliet. Rent burden follows income: 38.2% of Naperville renters, 44.1% of Aurora renters and 48.5% of Joliet renters spend 30% or more of income on housing.

Property taxes on apartment buildings in Kane County

Illinois assesses property outside Cook County at 33⅓% of market value, with no separate apartment class and no assessment cap. Township assessors revalue property every four years, and a state multiplier equalizes each county to the one-third level. Appeals go first to the county board of review, then to the Property Tax Appeal Board within 30 days of the board's written notice. Because Aurora spans four counties, a parcel's county sets its assessment, rates and appeal calendar.

Kane County's 2025 district rate listing (payable 2026) shows how the school district shapes a Kane-side bill:

• West Aurora School District 129: 4.187522%
• East Aurora School District 131: 3.291213%
• City of Aurora: 1.591253%
• Waubonsee College: 0.397963%
• Fox Valley Park District: 0.356340%
• Aurora Public Library: 0.286348%
• Kane County: 0.269368%; Forest Preserve: 0.136162%; Aurora Township: 0.135256%

With District 131, those districts total about 6.46% of equalized value; with District 129, about 7.36%. On a one-third assessment of a $1 million building, that is roughly $21,500 to $24,500 a year before any other levies.

Landlord rules and local compliance

• Licensing: Aurora requires every non-owner-occupied rental unit to register with the Property Standards Division, with renewals due August 31 and annual interior and exterior inspections. The city's landlord training lists license fees from $90.
• Fees: late renewal adds $80, then $160 after 30 days; reinspections cost $80, then $150 per building; missed inspections cost $150, $250 and then $500 per licensing period.
• Rent control: the Illinois Attorney General states Illinois has no rent control law, and state law bars local rent control.
• Deposits: in buildings of five or more units, the Security Deposit Return Act requires an itemized statement within 30 days.
• Transfer: the state transfer tax is $0.50 per $500 of value, plus a county transfer tax.

What this means if you own a building here

An Aurora buyer will ask for the current rental license, recent inspection reports and the parcel's school district, since that alone can shift the tax line. If you plan to reinvest, the 1031 exchange calculator shows how closing costs such as the transfer tax reduce the equity you carry into the next property. Skyline buys 5+ unit buildings in Downtown Aurora, the Fox Valley area, Montgomery and North Aurora. Try the cap rate calculator or start at sell my apartment building.