Orivian

Burlington · FY2021 municipal finance benchmarks

Kit Carson County · Eastern Plains · home rule municipality · Pop. 3,164 (2025 estimate); FY2021 per-resident figures use 3,109 · Census finance data FY2016, FY2021, FY2023

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

Burlington collected $3,957 per resident (including city-run utilities), 60% above the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year, 28% above its peers. Tax revenue per resident sits 14% below its peers, and 30% below the state median. Debt per resident runs 11% 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)

$3,957
28% above peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$3,090
CO median · 227 with a published figure
$2,476
Position
Higher than 77% of the 227 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+7.2%/yr
How Colorado compares on revenue per resident

Expenditures per resident (definition)

$3,489
25% above peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$2,781
CO median · 220 with a published figure
$2,208
Position
Higher than 77% of the 220 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+7.9%/yr

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

$750
14% below peers
Peer median
$869
CO median · 201 with a published figure
$1,072
Position
Higher than 29% of the 201 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+7.1%/yr

Debt per resident (definition)

$1,564
11% above peers
Peer median
$1,408
CO median · 199 with a published figure
$1,411
Position
Higher than 53% of the 199 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
−4.1%/yr
How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident · $3,957
Reported by the city to the Census Bureau

  1. 1Metric

    $3,957 Total revenue divided by population

    = Total revenue ÷ population

    Full definition: Revenue per resident

  2. 2Inputs

    Total revenue $12.3M ÷ population 3,109 (2021 estimate)

  3. 3Census line items

    • A01 Airport charges
    • A61 Parks & recreation charges
    • A81 Solid waste charges
    • A89 General government (other) charges
    • A91 Water utility charges
    • A92 Electric utility 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.)
    • T20 Licenses & permits
    • T28 Licenses & permits
    • T29 Licenses & permits
    • T99 Other taxes
    • U01 Special assessments
    • U20 Interest earnings
    • U30 Fines & forfeits
    • U40 Rents
    • U50 Private donations
    • U99 Miscellaneous

  4. 4Source file

What the numbers mean

  • Burlington runs city-owned utilities, which add 53.9% 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
  • With about 3,109 residents, small changes in Burlington'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 Burlington; the gold tick is the peer median. How categories work

The biggest difference from peers is Utilities & environment: $1,930 per resident, 54% above the peer median. On the revenue side, utility & transit charges is 69% above peers.

Money in

Revenue

$3,957
per resident28% above peers
Money in: Burlington revenue per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$2,13169% abovepeers $1,263
$69446% abovepeers $475
$52417% belowpeers $632
$329in line withpeers $320
$12730% belowpeers $181
$982.3×peers $43
$5361% belowpeers $136
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 227 reporting

Money out

Spending

$3,489
per resident25% above peers
Money out: Burlington spending per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$1,93054% abovepeers $1,251
$5473.1×peers $178
$42245% abovepeers $291
$26423% belowpeers $343
$260in line withpeers $263
$663.2×peers $21
None reported · peers $1$0None reported
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 220 reporting

Burlington 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
Burlington compared with its peer municipalities, FY2021, per resident
MunicipalityRevenueExpendituresTax revenueSales taxDebt
BurlingtonUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 53.9% 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.$3,957$3,489$750$524$1,564
YumaUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 35.7% 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.$3,090$2,781$913$647Not reported for this year
WrayUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 41.4% 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.$3,393$3,880$869$631$1,859
HolyokeUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 48.0% 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.$2,631$2,200$492$284Not reported for this year
Las AnimasUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 53.3% 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.$3,867$3,225$844$658$1,408
BrushUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 15.5% 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.$2,212$1,847$879$632$986
Peer median$3,090$2,781$869$632$1,408

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 $2,797 to FY2023 $4,081.$0$2.1K$4.2K’16’21’23Peer median FY2016: $2,838Peer median FY2021: $3,090Peer median FY2023: $4,191Colorado median FY2016: $1,746 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,476 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $2,797FY2021: $3,957FY2023: $4,081

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2021, 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$2,797$2,838$1,746 (224 reporting)
FY2021$3,957$3,090$2,476 (227 reporting)
FY2023$4,081$4,191$3,580 (97 reporting, sample year)
Expenditures per resident
FY2016 $2,386 to FY2023 $3,852.$0$1.9K$3.9K’16’21’23Peer median FY2016: $2,799Peer median FY2021: $2,781Peer median FY2023: $3,845Colorado median FY2016: $1,749 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,208 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $2,386FY2021: $3,489FY2023: $3,852. 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 FY2021, 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$2,386$2,799$1,749 (196 reporting)
FY2021$3,489$2,781$2,208 (220 reporting)
FY2023$3,852$3,845$3,680 (91 reporting, sample year)
Tax revenue per resident
FY2016 $533 to FY2023 $1,130.$0$565$1.1K’16’21’23Peer median FY2016: $714Peer median FY2021: $869Peer median FY2023: $1,023Colorado median FY2016: $705 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,072 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $533FY2021: $750FY2023: $1,130

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2021, 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$533$714$705 (193 reporting)
FY2021$750$869$1,072 (201 reporting)
FY2023$1,130$1,023$1,726 (90 reporting, sample year)
Debt per resident
FY2016 $1,926 to FY2023 $1,375.$0$1K$2K’16’21’23Peer median FY2016: $1,351Peer median FY2021: $1,408Peer median FY2023: $2,015Colorado median FY2016: $1,072 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,411 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,926FY2021: $1,564FY2023: $1,375

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in 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$1,926$1,351$1,072 (220 reporting)
FY2021$1,564$1,408$1,411 (199 reporting)
FY2023$1,375$2,015$2,130 (91 reporting, sample year)

Questions about Burlington’s finances

How much revenue does Burlington collect per resident?
Burlington collected $3,957 per resident in FY2021, 60% above the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. See the figure
How does Burlington's spending per resident compare with similar cities?
Burlington spent $3,489 per resident in FY2021, 25% above the median of its peers: Yuma, Wray, Holyoke, Las Animas and Brush. See the figure
How much debt does Burlington have per resident?
Burlington carried $1,564 of debt per resident in FY2021, 11% above its peers' median. See the figure
Which cities is Burlington compared with?
Burlington is compared with Yuma, Wray, Holyoke, Las Animas and Brush: 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)
−2.9%/yr
2021 estimate
Median household income
$58.5K
2021 estimate
Poverty rate
7.7%
2021 estimate
Median home value
$146.4K
2021 estimate
Housing vacancy rate
11.7%
2021 estimate

Explore further

Also in Eastern Plains

Revenue per resident, latest published year.

Sources

Dataset: Burlington, 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 Burlington’s largest difference from its peers (54% above the peer median in FY2021). See how that line moves month to month in your own budget-vs-actual.

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