Aurelia was founded in 1873 as a stop along the Illinois Central Railroad branch connecting Sioux City, Iowa to Chicago, Illinois. This was the only railroad connecting the two Midwestern hubs and so gave birth to many railroad towns. Aurelia was named for the youngest daughter of the owner of the railroad, John Insley Blair, who died in 1866. The location of Aurelia was only set after a last minute change in the railroad design that saw it redirect to go through LeMars and Cherokee, rather than connect Sioux City directly to Storm Lake. Almost 70% of Aurelia's population is people over age 50.
Geography
Aurelia is located at. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, all land.
As of the census of 2010, there were 1,036 people, 426 households, and 299 families living in the city. The population density was. There were 447 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 96.3% White, 0.3% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 1.6% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.6% of the population. There were 426 households of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.9% were married couplesliving together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 29.8% were non-families. 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.84. The median age in the city was 45.2 years. 22.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.4% were from 25 to 44; 26.4% were from 45 to 64; and 23.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.5% male and 50.5% female.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,062 people, 424 households, and 295 families living in the city. The population density was 1,015.2 people per square mile. There were 469 housing units at an average density of 448.3 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 98.87% White, 0.09% African American, 0.19% Asian, 0.75% from other races, and 0.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.85% of the population. There were 424 households out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.0% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.2% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.88. 23.6% were under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 23.1% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 28.5% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $37,250, and the median income for a family was $44,135. Males had a median income of $30,259 versus $19,333 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,417. About 3.0% of families and 5.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.7% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over.
