Orivian

Arvada · FY2021 municipal finance benchmarks

Adams, Jefferson counties · Denver Metro · home rule municipality · Pop. 122,901 (2025 estimate); FY2021 per-resident figures use 123,538 · Census finance data FY2016, FY2017, FY2021, FY2023

You’re viewing FY2021. See the latest view (FY2023). Latest Census Bureau finance data for Arvada: FY2023. Retrieved Oct 2026. Newer years are added when the Census Bureau publishes them. Why the lag?

City website (opens in a new tab)

Compare

FY2021 in brief

Debt per resident runs 57% below peers.

  • Revenue per resident withheld: Revenue per resident is 3473% of this city's typical level in other years
  • Tax revenue per resident withheld: Tax revenue per resident is 1897% of this city's typical level in other years

Generated from the figures below. Every number links to its Census source.

Compared with

Nearest on population, household income and region

FY2021 headline figures

Revenue per resident (definition)

Peer median
Benchmark unavailable
CO median · 227 with a published figure
$2,476
Position
Not reported for this year
5-year changenominal dollars
Withheld with this year's value
How Colorado compares on revenue per resident

Expenditures per resident (definition)

$1,446
40% below peers
Peer median
$2,404
CO median · 220 with a published figure
$2,208
Position
Higher than 26% of the 220 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
Not enough history for a 5-year change

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

Peer median
Benchmark unavailable
CO median · 201 with a published figure
$1,072
Position
Not reported for this year
5-year changenominal dollars
Withheld with this year's value

Debt per resident (definition)

$862
57% below peers
Peer median
$2,000
CO median · 199 with a published figure
$1,411
Position
Higher than 33% of the 199 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+29.5%/yr
How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident ·
Withheld pending verification

  1. 1Withheld

    Revenue per resident is 3473% of this city's typical level in other years It stays withheld until it is verified against Arvada’s audited financial report.

  2. 2Census line items

    • A61 Parks & recreation charges
    • A80 Sewer charges
    • A81 Solid waste charges
    • A89 General government (other) charges
    • A91 Water utility charges
    • B89 Federal aid
    • C89 State aid
    • D89 Local government aid
    • T01 Property tax
    • T09 General sales tax
    • T28 Licenses & permits
    • T29 Licenses & permits
    • U20 Interest earnings
    • U30 Fines & forfeits
    • U99 Miscellaneous

  3. 3Source file

What the numbers mean

No structural factors stand out in the data. The peer comparison below is a fair starting point.

Where the money comes from and where it goes

Per resident, FY2021. Bars show Arvada; the gold tick is the peer median. How categories work

The biggest difference from peers is Parks, libraries & community: $197 per resident, 49% below the peer median.

Money in

Revenue

Categories are withheld with the total until it is verified against Arvada’s audited financial report.

Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 227 reporting

Money out

Spending

$1,446
per resident40% below peers
Money out: Arvada spending per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$46615% belowpeers $549
$46216% abovepeers $398
$29234% belowpeers $444
$19749% belowpeers $385
$2959% belowpeers $70
None reported · peers $172$0None reported
None reported · peers $1$0None reported
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 220 reporting

Arvada and its peers

The five Colorado municipalities nearest on population, median household income and region. Budget size isn’t a matching factor, so peers aren’t chosen on the figures being compared. Per resident, FY2021. How peers are chosen

Open in Compare
Arvada compared with its peer municipalities, FY2021, per resident
MunicipalityRevenueExpendituresTax revenueSales taxDebt
Arvada$1,446$778$862
WestminsterUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 16.6% of total revenue in FY2021. Revenue and spending per resident include them, so cities that run their own utilities read higher than cities that don't.$2,640$2,404$1,531$1,041$2,987
Centennial$684$690$566$441$24
LongmontUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 37.1% of total revenue in FY2021. Revenue and spending per resident include them, so cities that run their own utilities read higher than cities that don't.$3,522$3,114$1,371$436$3,136
BoulderUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 11.3% of total revenue in FY2021. Revenue and spending per resident include them, so cities that run their own utilities read higher than cities that don't.$3,039$2,541$1,782$934$2,000
LakewoodUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 0.5% of total revenue in FY2021. Revenue and spending per resident include them, so cities that run their own utilities read higher than cities that don't.$1,498$1,191$942$736$142
Peer medianBenchmark unavailable$2,404Benchmark unavailable$736$2,000

Utilities marks a municipality whose revenue and spending include city-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit), which raises its per-resident totals.

Trends

Every available fiscal year. Lines break where a year is missing or withheld; nothing is interpolated.

  • This city
  • Peer median
  • Withheld (shown on the axis, no value)
  • Colorado median (Census of Governments years only)
Expenditures per resident
FY2021 $1,446 to FY2023 $1,709.$0$1.5K$3K’16’17’21’23Peer median FY2021: $2,404Peer median FY2023: $3,033Colorado median FY2021: $2,208 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2021: $1,446FY2023: $1,709. Excludes equipment purchases and payments to other governments, which Census stopped reporting after FY2021.

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Census definition change: Excludes equipment purchases and payments to other governments, which Census stopped reporting after FY2021.

Peer group changed in FY2023. Peers are matched each year, so the peer median can step when the group changes.

Show data table
Expenditures per resident by fiscal year
YearThis cityPeer medianColorado median
FY2016———
FY2017———
FY2021$1,446$2,404$2,208 (220 reporting)
FY2023$1,709$3,033$3,680 (91 reporting, sample year)
Tax revenue per resident
4 years withheld.$0$536$1.1K’16’17’21’23Colorado median FY2016: $705 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,072 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: withheld — Tax revenue per resident is 5% of this city's typical level in other yearsFY2017: withheld — Tax revenue per resident is 5% of this city's typical level in other yearsFY2021: withheld — Tax revenue per resident is 1897% of this city's typical level in other yearsFY2023: withheld — Tax revenue per resident is 2185% of this city's typical level in other years

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

  • FY2016, FY2017 withheld: Tax revenue per resident is 5% of this city's typical level in other years
  • FY2021 withheld: Tax revenue per resident is 1897% of this city's typical level in other years
  • FY2023 withheld: Tax revenue per resident is 2185% of this city's typical level in other years
Show data table
Tax revenue per resident by fiscal year
YearThis cityPeer medianColorado median
FY2016Withheld (Tax revenue per resident is 5% of this city's typical level in other years)Benchmark unavailable$705 (193 reporting)
FY2017Withheld (Tax revenue per resident is 5% of this city's typical level in other years)Benchmark unavailable$1,098 (34 reporting, sample year)
FY2021Withheld (Tax revenue per resident is 1897% of this city's typical level in other years)Benchmark unavailable$1,072 (201 reporting)
FY2023Withheld (Tax revenue per resident is 2185% of this city's typical level in other years)Benchmark unavailable$1,726 (90 reporting, sample year)
Debt per resident
FY2016 $236 to FY2023 $835.$0$1K$2K’16’17’21’23Peer median FY2016: $1,161Peer median FY2017: $972Peer median FY2021: $2,000Peer median FY2023: $1,108Colorado median FY2016: $1,072 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,411 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $236FY2017: $182FY2021: $862FY2023: $835

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2017, FY2021, FY2023. Peers are matched each year, so the peer median can step when the group changes.

Show data table
Debt per resident by fiscal year
YearThis cityPeer medianColorado median
FY2016$236$1,161$1,072 (220 reporting)
FY2017$182$972$1,482 (34 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$862$2,000$1,411 (199 reporting)
FY2023$835$1,108$2,130 (91 reporting, sample year)

Questions about Arvada’s finances

How does Arvada's spending per resident compare with similar cities?
Arvada spent $1,446 per resident in FY2021, 40% below the median of its peers: Westminster, Centennial, Longmont, Boulder and Lakewood. See the figure
How much debt does Arvada have per resident?
Arvada carried $862 of debt per resident in FY2021, 57% below its peers' median. See the figure
Which cities is Arvada compared with?
Arvada is compared with Westminster, Centennial, Longmont, Boulder and Lakewood: the Colorado municipalities nearest to it on population, median household income and region. Budget size isn't used, so peers aren't chosen on the figures being compared. See the peer table
Where do these numbers come from?
From the U.S. Census Bureau's Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, as each government reported its own fiscal year, divided by Census population estimates. Figures that fail quality checks are withheld rather than shown. Sources and methodology

Community context

American Community Survey 5-year estimates and Census population estimates. Where the selected year isn’t available, the nearest earlier year is shown and labeled.

Population growth (5-yr)
+1.1%/yr
2021 estimate
Median household income
$96.7K
2021 estimate
Poverty rate
6.0%
2021 estimate
Median home value
$456.2K
2021 estimate
Housing vacancy rate
2.6%
2021 estimate

Explore further

Also in Denver Metro

Revenue per resident, latest published year.

Sources

Dataset: Arvada, CO municipal finance benchmarks

Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab). Please credit “Source: Orivian Municipal Index, orivian.ai/benchmarks”. See the data use terms.

Notes: dollars are nominal (not inflation-adjusted). Colorado medians cover the municipalities reporting that year. Peers: nearest on population, income and region. Definitions: orivian.ai/benchmarks/methodology.Retrieved October 12, 2026 from orivian.ai/benchmarks.

Every figure on this page is read from the published index; nothing is recalculated for display. Read the methodology

Parks, libraries & community is Arvada’s largest difference from its peers (49% below the peer median in FY2021). See how that line moves month to month in your own budget-vs-actual.

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