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Brighton · FY2021 municipal finance benchmarks

Weld, Adams counties · Northern Front Range · home rule municipality · Pop. 45,395 (2025 estimate); FY2021 per-resident figures use 40,837 · Census finance data FY2016–FY2023

You’re viewing FY2021. See the latest view (FY2023). Latest Census Bureau finance data for Brighton: 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

Brighton collected $2,532 per resident (including city-run utilities), in line with the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. Tax revenue per resident sits 9% above its peers, and 24% above the state median. Debt per resident runs 20% above peers.

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)

$2,532
in line with peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$2,426
CO median · 227 with a published figure
$2,476
Position
Higher than 52% of the 227 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+6.0%/yr
How Colorado compares on revenue per resident

Expenditures per resident (definition)

$2,260
37% above peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$1,646
CO median · 220 with a published figure
$2,208
Position
Higher than 51% of the 220 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+5.3%/yr

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

$1,329
9% above peers
Peer median
$1,215
CO median · 201 with a published figure
$1,072
Position
Higher than 60% of the 201 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+4.6%/yr

Debt per resident (definition)

$1,382
20% above peers
Peer median
$1,156
CO median · 199 with a published figure
$1,411
Position
Higher than 49% of the 199 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
−3.0%/yr
How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident · $2,532
Reported by the city to the Census Bureau

  1. 1Metric

    $2,532 Total revenue divided by population

    = Total revenue ÷ population

    Full definition: Revenue per resident

  2. 2Inputs

    Total revenue $103.4M ÷ population 40,837 (2021 estimate)

  3. 3Census line items

    • A03 Commercial activities (other) charges
    • A50 Housing & community development charges
    • A80 Sewer charges
    • A89 General government (other) charges
    • A91 Water utility charges
    • C89 State aid
    • T01 Property tax
    • T09 General sales tax
    • T19 Selective sales taxes (lodging, utilities, etc.)
    • T28 Licenses & permits
    • T29 Licenses & permits
    • T99 Other taxes
    • U01 Special assessments
    • U20 Interest earnings
    • U30 Fines & forfeits
    • U99 Miscellaneous

  4. 4Source file

What the numbers mean

  • Brighton runs city-owned utilities, which add 13.3% 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

Where the money comes from and where it goes

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

The biggest difference from peers is Utilities & environment: $927 per resident, 2.2× the peer median. On the revenue side, other revenue is 2.8× peers.

Money in

Revenue

$2,532
per residentin line with peers
Money in: Brighton revenue per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$1,01215% abovepeers $878
$39885% abovepeers $215
$33857% abovepeers $215
$2912.8×peers $105
$22812% abovepeers $203
$1775% abovepeers $167
$8934% belowpeers $134
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 227 reporting

Money out

Spending

$2,260
per resident37% above peers
Money out: Brighton spending per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$9272.2×peers $419
$3726% abovepeers $352
$35920% belowpeers $446
$34334% abovepeers $257
$1956% belowpeers $209
$4523% abovepeers $37
$18No peer comparisonpeers $0
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 220 reporting

Brighton 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
Brighton compared with its peer municipalities, FY2021, per resident
MunicipalityRevenueExpendituresTax revenueSales taxDebt
BrightonUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 13.3% 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.$2,532$2,260$1,329$1,012$1,382
NorthglennUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 8.9% 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.$2,426$1,441$1,044$861$2,330
Littleton$1,859$1,622$1,215$878$234
WindsorUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 8.6% 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.$2,595$1,646$1,174$835$611
EnglewoodUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 10.7% 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.$3,095$2,642$1,590$1,055$1,156
Wheat Ridge$2,285$1,858$1,390$1,118$2,167
Peer median$2,426$1,646$1,215$878$1,156

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 $1,890 to FY2023 $2,803.$0$1.6K$3.1K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $1,770Peer median FY2017: $2,278Peer median FY2018: $2,488Peer median FY2019: $2,118Peer median FY2020: $1,703Peer median FY2021: $2,426Peer median FY2022: $2,692Peer median FY2023: $2,142Colorado median FY2016: $1,746 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,476 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,890FY2017: $1,938FY2018: $2,403FY2019: $2,389FY2020: $3,101FY2021: $2,532FY2022: $2,621FY2023: $2,803

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2017, FY2018, FY2020. 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$1,890$1,770$1,746 (224 reporting)
FY2017$1,938$2,278$2,694 (35 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$2,403$2,488$2,529 (75 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$2,389$2,118$2,694 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$3,101$1,703$2,739 (76 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$2,532$2,426$2,476 (227 reporting)
FY2022$2,621$2,692$3,031 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$2,803$2,142$3,580 (97 reporting, sample year)
Expenditures per resident
FY2016 $1,748 to FY2023 $2,383.$0$1.7K$3.3K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $1,943Peer median FY2017: $1,974Peer median FY2018: $2,028Peer median FY2019: $1,620Peer median FY2020: $2,090Peer median FY2021: $1,646Peer median FY2022: $2,187Peer median FY2023: $2,189Colorado median FY2016: $1,749 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,208 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,748FY2017: $1,825FY2018: $2,311FY2019: $2,116FY2020: $3,301FY2021: $2,260FY2022: $2,398. Excludes equipment purchases and payments to other governments, which Census stopped reporting after FY2021.FY2023: $2,383. 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, FY2020. 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$1,748$1,943$1,749 (196 reporting)
FY2017$1,825$1,974$2,663 (35 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$2,311$2,028$2,387 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$2,116$1,620$2,759 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$3,301$2,090$2,485 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$2,260$1,646$2,208 (220 reporting)
FY2022$2,398$2,187$3,025 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$2,383$2,189$3,680 (91 reporting, sample year)
Tax revenue per resident
FY2016 $1,061 to FY2023 $1,371.$0$737.8$1.5K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $905Peer median FY2017: $1,025Peer median FY2018: $1,134Peer median FY2019: $1,046Peer median FY2020: $1,103Peer median FY2021: $1,215Peer median FY2022: $1,338Peer median FY2023: $1,476Colorado median FY2016: $705 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,072 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,061FY2017: $1,098FY2018: $1,173FY2019: $1,245FY2020: $1,133FY2021: $1,329FY2022: $1,415FY2023: $1,371

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2017, FY2018, FY2020. 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$1,061$905$705 (193 reporting)
FY2017$1,098$1,025$1,098 (34 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$1,173$1,134$1,173 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$1,245$1,046$1,187 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$1,133$1,103$1,238 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$1,329$1,215$1,072 (201 reporting)
FY2022$1,415$1,338$1,631 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$1,371$1,476$1,726 (90 reporting, sample year)
Debt per resident
FY2016 $1,607 to FY2023 $1,114.$0$915.4$1.8K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $718Peer median FY2017: $992Peer median FY2018: $1,254Peer median FY2019: $1,831Peer median FY2020: $712Peer median FY2021: $1,156Peer median FY2022: $744Peer median FY2023: $674Colorado median FY2016: $1,072 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,411 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,607FY2017: $1,519FY2018: $771FY2019: $1,352FY2020: $904FY2021: $1,382FY2022: $1,258FY2023: $1,114

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2017, FY2018, FY2020. 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$1,607$718$1,072 (220 reporting)
FY2017$1,519$992$1,482 (34 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$771$1,254$1,644 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$1,352$1,831$1,627 (69 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$904$712$1,798 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$1,382$1,156$1,411 (199 reporting)
FY2022$1,258$744$2,068 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$1,114$674$2,130 (91 reporting, sample year)

Questions about Brighton’s finances

How much revenue does Brighton collect per resident?
Brighton collected $2,532 per resident in FY2021, in line with the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. See the figure
How does Brighton's spending per resident compare with similar cities?
Brighton spent $2,260 per resident in FY2021, 37% above the median of its peers: Northglenn, Littleton, Windsor, Englewood and Wheat Ridge. See the figure
How much debt does Brighton have per resident?
Brighton carried $1,382 of debt per resident in FY2021, 20% above its peers' median. See the figure
Which cities is Brighton compared with?
Brighton is compared with Northglenn, Littleton, Windsor, Englewood and Wheat Ridge: 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)
+1.3%/yr
2021 estimate
Median household income
$79.3K
2021 estimate
Poverty rate
7.8%
2021 estimate
Median home value
$366.2K
2021 estimate
Housing vacancy rate
2.6%
2021 estimate

Explore further

Also in Northern Front Range

Revenue per resident, latest published year.

Sources

Dataset: Brighton, 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

Utilities & environment is Brighton’s largest difference from its peers (2.2× the peer median in FY2021). See how that line moves month to month in your own budget-vs-actual.

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