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Boulder · FY2023 municipal finance benchmarks

Boulder County · Denver Metro · home rule municipality · Pop. 105,689 (2025 estimate); FY2023 per-resident figures use 106,465 · Census finance data FY2016–FY2023

Latest Census Bureau finance data for Boulder: 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

FY2023 in brief

Boulder collected $3,415 per resident (including city-run utilities), in line with the median of the 97 Colorado municipalities reporting that year, 2.1× its peers. Tax revenue per resident sits 95% above its peers, and 17% above the state median. Debt per resident runs 5.0× peers.

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

Compared with

Nearest on population, household income and region

FY2023 headline figures

Revenue per resident (definition)

$3,415
2.1× peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$1,624
CO median · 97 with a published figure
$3,580
Position
Higher than 46% of the 97 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+0.6%/yr
How Colorado compares on revenue per resident

Expenditures per resident (definition)

$3,906
2.3× peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$1,709
CO median · 91 with a published figure
$3,680
Position
Higher than 56% of the 91 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
−0.4%/yr

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

$2,014
95% above peers
Peer median
$1,031
CO median · 90 with a published figure
$1,726
Position
Higher than 64% of the 90 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
−2.0%/yr

Debt per resident (definition)

$2,182
5.0× peers
Peer median
$434
CO median · 91 with a published figure
$2,130
Position
Higher than 51% of the 91 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+0.6%/yr
How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident · $3,415
Reported by the city to the Census Bureau

  1. 1Metric

    $3,415 Total revenue divided by population

    = Total revenue ÷ population

    Full definition: Revenue per resident

  2. 2Inputs

    Total revenue $363.6M ÷ population 106,465 (2023 estimate)

  3. 3Census line items

    • A01 Airport charges
    • A50 Housing & community development charges
    • A60 Parking charges
    • A61 Parks & recreation charges
    • A80 Sewer charges
    • A89 General government (other) charges
    • A91 Water utility charges
    • A94 Transit charges
    • B89 Federal aid
    • C89 State aid
    • D89 Local government aid
    • T01 Property tax
    • T09 General sales tax
    • T19 Selective sales taxes (lodging, utilities, etc.)
    • T28 Licenses & permits
    • T29 Licenses & permits
    • U11 Sale of property
    • U20 Interest earnings
    • U40 Rents
    • U99 Miscellaneous

  4. 4Source file

What the numbers mean

  • Boulder runs city-owned utilities, which add 10.1% of its revenue. Cities that don't run utilities will look lower on revenue and spending per resident for that reason alone. What counts as utility revenue
  • Debt per resident is 5.0× the peer median. One large bond issue can do this; check the city's annual financial report for what it funded.

Where the money comes from and where it goes

Per resident, FY2023. Bars show Boulder; the gold tick is the peer median. How categories work

The biggest difference from peers is Public safety: $913 per resident, 2.1× the peer median. On the revenue side, fees & charges is 2.3× peers.

Money in

Revenue

$3,415
per resident2.1× peers
Money in: Boulder revenue per resident by category, FY2023, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$1,04739% abovepeers $754
$6922.3×peers $305
$5072.9×peers $175
$4604.5×peers $101
$34344.9×peers $8
$2364.4×peers $54
$13044% belowpeers $231
Peer median of 3 peers · Colorado median of 97 reporting

Money out

Spending

$3,906
per resident2.3× peers
Money out: Boulder spending per resident by category, FY2023, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$92171% abovepeers $538
$9132.1×peers $445
$84854% abovepeers $551
$77571% abovepeers $454
$32143% abovepeers $225
$882.5×peers $36
$40No peer comparisonpeers $0
Peer median of 3 peers · Colorado median of 91 reporting

Boulder 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, FY2023. How peers are chosen

Open in Compare
Boulder compared with its peer municipalities, FY2023, per resident
MunicipalityRevenueExpendituresTax revenueSales taxDebt
BoulderUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 10.1% of total revenue in FY2023. Revenue and spending per resident include them, so cities that run their own utilities read higher than cities that don't.$3,415$3,906$2,014$1,047$2,182
WestminsterUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 12.9% of total revenue in FY2023. Revenue and spending per resident include them, so cities that run their own utilities read higher than cities that don't.$3,101$3,033$1,724$1,151$2,944
Centennial$638$583$452$23
LakewoodUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 0.5% of total revenue in FY2023. Revenue and spending per resident include them, so cities that run their own utilities read higher than cities that don't.$1,624$1,537$1,031$754$33
Peer median$1,624$1,709$1,031$825$434

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)
Revenue per resident
FY2016 $3,546 to FY2023 $3,415.$0$2K$4K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $2,244Peer median FY2017: $2,169Peer median FY2018: $2,159Peer median FY2019: $2,273Peer median FY2020: $2,234Peer median FY2021: $2,570Peer median FY2022: $3,015Peer median FY2023: $1,624Colorado median FY2016: $1,746 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,476 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $3,546FY2017: $3,568FY2018: $3,319FY2019: $3,575FY2020: $3,613FY2021: $3,039FY2022: $4,041FY2023: $3,415

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2017, FY2018, FY2021, FY2022, FY2023. Peers are matched each year, so the peer median can step when the group changes.

Show data table
Revenue per resident by fiscal year
YearThis cityPeer medianColorado median
FY2016$3,546$2,244$1,746 (224 reporting)
FY2017$3,568$2,169$2,694 (35 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$3,319$2,159$2,529 (75 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$3,575$2,273$2,694 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$3,613$2,234$2,739 (76 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$3,039$2,570$2,476 (227 reporting)
FY2022$4,041$3,015$3,031 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$3,415$1,624$3,580 (97 reporting, sample year)
Expenditures per resident
FY2016 $3,351 to FY2023 $3,906.$0$2K$4K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $2,217Peer median FY2017: $2,070Peer median FY2018: $2,055Peer median FY2019: $2,159Peer median FY2020: $2,138Peer median FY2021: $2,404Peer median FY2022: $2,497Peer median FY2023: $1,709Colorado median FY2016: $1,749 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,208 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $3,351FY2017: $3,515FY2018: $3,979FY2019: $2,674FY2020: $2,747FY2021: $2,541FY2022: $2,769. Excludes equipment purchases and payments to other governments, which Census stopped reporting after FY2021.FY2023: $3,906. 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 FY2017, FY2018, FY2021, FY2022, FY2023, the same year as the census definition change. 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$3,351$2,217$1,749 (196 reporting)
FY2017$3,515$2,070$2,663 (35 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$3,979$2,055$2,387 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$2,674$2,159$2,759 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$2,747$2,138$2,485 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$2,541$2,404$2,208 (220 reporting)
FY2022$2,769$2,497$3,025 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$3,906$1,709$3,680 (91 reporting, sample year)
Tax revenue per resident
FY2016 $1,903 to FY2023 $2,014.$0$1.3K$2.6K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $965Peer median FY2017: $1,058Peer median FY2018: $1,099Peer median FY2019: $1,167Peer median FY2020: $1,174Peer median FY2021: $1,311Peer median FY2022: $1,409Peer median FY2023: $1,031Colorado median FY2016: $705 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,072 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,903FY2017: $1,972FY2018: $2,223FY2019: $2,242FY2020: $2,346FY2021: $1,782FY2022: $2,582FY2023: $2,014

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2017, FY2018, FY2021, FY2022, FY2023. Peers are matched each year, so the peer median can step when the group changes.

Show data table
Tax revenue per resident by fiscal year
YearThis cityPeer medianColorado median
FY2016$1,903$965$705 (193 reporting)
FY2017$1,972$1,058$1,098 (34 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$2,223$1,099$1,173 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$2,242$1,167$1,187 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$2,346$1,174$1,238 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$1,782$1,311$1,072 (201 reporting)
FY2022$2,582$1,409$1,631 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$2,014$1,031$1,726 (90 reporting, sample year)
Debt per resident
FY2016 $1,161 to FY2023 $2,182.$0$1.1K$2.3K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $1,304Peer median FY2017: $1,163Peer median FY2018: $1,540Peer median FY2019: $1,442Peer median FY2020: $1,314Peer median FY2021: $1,370Peer median FY2022: $2,138Peer median FY2023: $434Colorado median FY2016: $1,072 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,411 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,161FY2017: $972FY2018: $2,120FY2019: $1,207FY2020: $1,097FY2021: $2,000FY2022: $2,274FY2023: $2,182

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2017, FY2018, FY2021, FY2022, 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$1,161$1,304$1,072 (220 reporting)
FY2017$972$1,163$1,482 (34 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$2,120$1,540$1,644 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$1,207$1,442$1,627 (69 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$1,097$1,314$1,798 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$2,000$1,370$1,411 (199 reporting)
FY2022$2,274$2,138$2,068 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$2,182$434$2,130 (91 reporting, sample year)

Questions about Boulder’s finances

How much revenue does Boulder collect per resident?
Boulder collected $3,415 per resident in FY2023, in line with the median of the 97 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. See the figure
How does Boulder's spending per resident compare with similar cities?
Boulder spent $3,906 per resident in FY2023, 2.3× the median of its peers: Westminster, Centennial and Lakewood. See the figure
How much debt does Boulder have per resident?
Boulder carried $2,182 of debt per resident in FY2023, 5.0× its peers' median. See the figure
Which cities is Boulder compared with?
Boulder is compared with Westminster, Centennial 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)
−0.5%/yr
2023 estimate
Median household income
$85.4K
2023 estimate
Poverty rate
21.8%
2023 estimate
Median home value
$982.6K
2023 estimate
Housing vacancy rate
6.3%
2023 estimate

Explore further

Also in Denver Metro

Revenue per resident, latest published year.

Sources

Dataset: Boulder, 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

Public safety is Boulder’s largest difference from its peers (2.1× the peer median in FY2023). See how that line moves month to month in your own budget-vs-actual.

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