Basalt · FY2021 municipal finance benchmarks

Name: Basalt, CO municipal finance benchmarks
Creator: Orivian
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Pitkin, Eagle counties · Central Mountains & Resort · home rule municipality · Pop. 4,009 (2025 estimate); FY2021 per-resident figures use 4,036 · Census finance data FY2016, FY2021

Latest Census Bureau finance data for Basalt: FY2021. Retrieved Oct 2026. Newer years are added when the Census Bureau publishes them. Why the lag?

City website (opens in a new tab)

Fiscal yearCompare

FY2021 in brief

Tax revenue per resident sits 65% below its peers, but 3.6× the state median. Debt per resident runs 70% below peers.

Regional hub: sales tax per resident is 3.0× the Colorado median.

Revenue per resident withheld: Revenue per resident is 27% of the peer median

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

Compared with

Nearest on population, household income and region

Revenue per resident (definition)

Peer median: Benchmark unavailable
CO median · 227 with a published figure Median of the 227 Colorado municipalities with FY2021 Census finance data. In FY2016 and FY2021 the Census covers every municipality; in other years it surveys a sample, mostly larger cities.: $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)

$4,501

58% below peers

Peer median: $10,647
CO median · 220 with a published figure Median of the 220 Colorado municipalities with FY2021 Census finance data. In FY2016 and FY2021 the Census covers every municipality; in other years it surveys a sample, mostly larger cities.: $2,208
Position: Higher than 85% of the 220 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars: Not enough history for a 5-year change

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

$3,822

65% below peers

Peer median: $11,052
CO median · 201 with a published figure Median of the 201 Colorado municipalities with FY2021 Census finance data. In FY2016 and FY2021 the Census covers every municipality; in other years it surveys a sample, mostly larger cities.: $1,072
Position: Higher than 92% of the 201 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars: Not enough history for a 5-year change

Debt per resident (definition)

$1,358

70% below peers

Peer median: $4,498
CO median · 199 with a published figure Median of the 199 Colorado municipalities with FY2021 Census finance data. In FY2016 and FY2021 the Census covers every municipality; in other years it surveys a sample, mostly larger cities.: $1,411
Position: Higher than 48% of the 199 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars: −11.4%/yr

How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident ·

Withheld pending verification

1Withheld
Revenue per resident is 27% of the peer median It stays withheld until it is verified against Basalt’s audited financial report.
2Census line items
- A91 Water utility charges
- D89 Local government aid
- T01 Property tax
- T09 General sales tax
- T29 Licenses & permits
- U11 Sale of property
- U20 Interest earnings
- U30 Fines & forfeits
- U50 Private donations
- U99 Miscellaneous
3Source file
- Annual Survey of State & Local Government Finances 2022 - Individual Unit File
  Value for
  FY2021
  Survey file
  2022
  The 2022 Census survey covers fiscal years ending July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022, so a fiscal year ending December 31, 2021 is FY2021.
  Retrieved October 12, 2026 · View source: Annual Survey of State & Local Government Finances 2022 - Individual Unit File (opens in a new tab)
- Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 - incorporated places
  Value for
  FY2021
  Source year
  2025
  Retrieved October 7, 2026 · View source: Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 - incorporated places (opens in a new tab)

What the numbers mean

With about 4,036 residents, small changes in Basalt's budget move per-resident figures a lot. Compare several years, not one.

Where the money comes from and where it goes

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

Regional hub: sales tax per resident is 3.0× the Colorado median.

Sales tax per resident is high, which usually means many non-residents shop, stay or work here. Per-resident figures divide citywide totals by residents only, so they overstate what residents themselves pay and use.

The biggest difference from peers is General government: $3,457 per resident, 46% below the peer median.

Money in

Revenue

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

Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 227 reporting

Money out

Spending

$4,501

per resident58% below peers

Money out: Basalt spending per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
Category	Per resident	Peer median	vs peers	Share of spending
	$3,457	$6,423	46% below peerspeers $6,423	77%

General public buildings $2,442 · peers $377 incl. $2,235 construction Central staff services $667 · peers $1,704 Financial administration $284 · peers $133 General government (other) $64 · peers $3,041 incl. $2,235 construction Administration, finance, legal and courts, public buildings and other general government. Census line items E23 Financial administration E29 Central staff services E31 General public buildings E89 General government (other) F31 General public buildings
	$552	$669	17% below peerspeers $669	12%

Police $552 · peers $669 Police, fire protection, inspection and corrections. Census line items E62 Police
	$253	$1,448	82% below peerspeers $1,448	6%

Parks & recreation $188 · peers $834 Housing & community development $65 · peers $731 Parks and recreation, libraries, housing and community development. Census line items E50 Housing & community development E61 Parks & recreation
	$218	$323	32% below peerspeers $323	5%

Water utility $218 · peers $273 incl. $51 construction incl. $51 construction Water, sewer, solid waste, electric and gas utilities, and natural resources. Census line items E91 Water utility F91 Water utility
	$20	$94	78% below peerspeers $94	<1%

Interest on debt $20 · peers $94 Interest paid on the municipality's debt. Census line items I89 Interest on debt I91 Interest on debt
None reported · peers $1,770	$0	$1,770	None reported	0%

Basalt reported nothing in this category for FY2021. Streets and highways, transit, parking and airports.

Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 220 reporting

Basalt 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

Basalt compared with its peer municipalities, FY2021, per resident
Municipality	Revenue	Expenditures	Tax revenue	Sales tax	Debt
BasaltRegional hub: Sales tax per resident is 3.0× the Colorado median.	Withheld Basalt · Revenue per resident · FY2021 Reason: Revenue per resident is 27% of the peer median We don't publish figures that fail our quality checks until they're verified against the city's audited financial report.	$4,501	$3,822	$2,626	$1,358
SilverthorneUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 9.8% 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.Regional hub: Sales tax per resident is 3.9× the Colorado median.	$7,598	$5,097	$4,321	$3,328	Not reported for this year
VailRegional hub: Sales tax per resident is 8.6× the Colorado median.	$21,953	$22,889	$16,803	$7,389	$7,163
BreckenridgeUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 6.3% 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.Regional hub: Sales tax per resident is 7.8× the Colorado median.	$20,388	$18,127	$14,033	$6,761	$23,212
FriscoUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 7.9% 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.Regional hub: Sales tax per resident is 5.5× the Colorado median.	$9,125	$6,629	$6,781	$4,772	$1,832
Snowmass VillageRegional hub: Sales tax per resident is 6.6× the Colorado median.	$15,733	$10,647	$11,052	$5,669	$316
Peer median	Benchmark unavailable	$10,647	$11,052	$5,669	$4,498

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

Regional hub marks a municipality whose sales tax per resident is at least 1.5× the Colorado median: a shopping or visitor hub where people who live elsewhere pay much of the sales tax.

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

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

FY2016 withheld: Expenditures per resident is 9% of the peer median

Show data table

Expenditures per resident by fiscal year
Year	This city	Peer median	Colorado median
FY2016	Withheld (Expenditures per resident is 9% of the peer median)	Benchmark unavailable	$1,749 (196 reporting)
FY2021	$4,501	$10,647	$2,208 (220 reporting)

Tax revenue per resident

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

FY2016 withheld: Tax revenue per resident is 27% of the peer median

Show data table

Tax revenue per resident by fiscal year
Year	This city	Peer median	Colorado median
FY2016	Withheld (Tax revenue per resident is 27% of the peer median)	Benchmark unavailable	$705 (193 reporting)
FY2021	$3,822	$11,052	$1,072 (201 reporting)

Debt per resident

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Show data table

Debt per resident by fiscal year
Year	This city	Peer median	Colorado median
FY2016	$2,483	$2,249	$1,072 (220 reporting)
FY2021	$1,358	$4,498	$1,411 (199 reporting)

Questions about Basalt’s finances

How does Basalt's spending per resident compare with similar cities?: Basalt spent $4,501 per resident in FY2021, 58% below the median of its peers: Silverthorne, Vail, Breckenridge, Frisco and Snowmass Village. See the figure
How much debt does Basalt have per resident?: Basalt carried $1,358 of debt per resident in FY2021, 70% below its peers' median. See the figure
Which cities is Basalt compared with?: Basalt is compared with Silverthorne, Vail, Breckenridge, Frisco and Snowmass Village: 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): +0.7%/yr; 2021 estimate
Median household income: $104.6K; 2021 estimate
Poverty rate: 3.9%; 2021 estimate
Median home value: $873.4K; 2021 estimate
Housing vacancy rate: 24.7%; 2021 estimate

Explore further

Also in Central Mountains & Resort

Vail$28,156 · FY2023
Buena Vista$2,987 · FY2021
Breckenridge$27,953 · FY2023
Snowmass Village$19,796 · FY2023
Frisco$10,679 · FY2023
Leadville
Silverthorne$8,639 · FY2023
Telluride$22,046 · FY2023

Revenue per resident, latest published year.

Sources

American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2017-2021 · 2021
U.S. Census Bureau
Retrieved October 7, 2026View source: American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2017-2021 (opens in a new tab)
Annual Survey of State & Local Government Finances 2022 - Individual Unit File · 2022 survey file
U.S. Census Bureau
Retrieved October 12, 2026View source: Annual Survey of State & Local Government Finances 2022 - Individual Unit File (opens in a new tab)
Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 - incorporated places · 2025
U.S. Census Bureau
Retrieved October 7, 2026View source: Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 - incorporated places (opens in a new tab)

Dataset: Basalt, 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

General government is Basalt’s largest difference from its peers (46% below the peer median in FY2021). See how that line moves month to month in your own budget-vs-actual.

Orivian applies the same sourced, governed approach to your city's own budget-vs-actual data.

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Basalt · FY2021 municipal finance benchmarks

FY2021 in brief

FY2021 headline figures

Revenue per resident (definition)

Expenditures per resident (definition)

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

Debt per resident (definition)

How this number was calculated

What the numbers mean

Where the money comes from and where it goes

Money in

Money out

Basalt and its peers

Trends

Questions about Basalt’s finances

Community context

Explore further

Also in Central Mountains & Resort

Sources

General government is Basalt’s largest difference from its peers (46% below the peer median in FY2021). See how that line moves month to month in your own budget-vs-actual.