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Carbondale · FY2021 municipal finance benchmarks

Garfield County · Western Slope · home rule municipality · Pop. 6,762 (2025 estimate); FY2021 per-resident figures use 6,499 · Census finance data FY2016, FY2021

Latest Census Bureau finance data for Carbondale: FY2021. 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

Carbondale collected $2,814 per resident (including city-run utilities), 14% above the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year, 15% below its peers. Tax revenue per resident sits in line with its peers, but 63% above the state median. Debt per resident runs 97% below 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)

$2,814
15% below peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$3,323
CO median · 227 with a published figure
$2,476
Position
Higher than 61% of the 227 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+14.4%/yr
How Colorado compares on revenue per resident

Expenditures per resident (definition)

$2,114
19% below peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$2,611
CO median · 220 with a published figure
$2,208
Position
Higher than 48% of the 220 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+7.5%/yr

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

$1,751
in line with peers
Peer median
$1,688
CO median · 201 with a published figure
$1,072
Position
Higher than 75% of the 201 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+16.0%/yr

Debt per resident (definition)

$90
97% below peers
Peer median
$3,314
CO median · 199 with a published figure
$1,411
Position
Higher than 3% of the 199 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
−34.6%/yr
How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident · $2,814
Reported by the city to the Census Bureau

  1. 1Metric

    $2,814 Total revenue divided by population

    = Total revenue ÷ population

    Full definition: Revenue per resident

  2. 2Inputs

    Total revenue $18.3M ÷ population 6,499 (2021 estimate)

  3. 3Census line items

    • A50 Housing & community development charges
    • A61 Parks & recreation charges
    • A80 Sewer charges
    • A81 Solid waste charges
    • A89 General government (other) charges
    • A91 Water utility charges
    • C89 State aid
    • D89 Local government aid
    • T01 Property tax
    • T09 General sales tax
    • T19 Selective sales taxes (lodging, utilities, etc.)
    • T24 Licenses & permits
    • T28 Licenses & permits
    • T29 Licenses & permits
    • T51 Other taxes
    • U01 Special assessments
    • U11 Sale of property
    • U20 Interest earnings
    • U30 Fines & forfeits
    • U99 Miscellaneous

  4. 4Source file

What the numbers mean

  • Carbondale runs city-owned utilities, which add 9.7% 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 Carbondale; the gold tick is the peer median. How categories work

The biggest difference from peers is Parks, libraries & community: $322 per resident, 37% below the peer median. On the revenue side, intergovernmental is 69% below peers.

Money in

Revenue

$2,814
per resident15% below peers
Money in: Carbondale revenue per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$1,28620% belowpeers $1,615
$504in line withpeers $503
$37251% abovepeers $246
$27431% belowpeers $394
$15669% belowpeers $506
$129in line withpeers $132
$9288% abovepeers $49
Peer median of 4 peers · Colorado median of 227 reporting

Money out

Spending

$2,114
per resident19% below peers
Money out: Carbondale spending per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$72314% belowpeers $840
$43727% belowpeers $601
$33225% belowpeers $440
$32237% belowpeers $510
$28830% belowpeers $410
$9No peer comparisonpeers $0
$396% belowpeers $90
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 220 reporting

Carbondale 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
Carbondale compared with its peer municipalities, FY2021, per resident
MunicipalityRevenueExpendituresTax revenueSales taxDebt
CarbondaleUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 9.7% 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.$2,814$2,114$1,751$1,286$90
New CastleUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 14.3% 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.$1,632$1,394$439$947
AvonUtilities: 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.Regional hub: Sales tax per resident is 2.2× the Colorado median.$6,067$2,611$4,481$1,901$3,314
EagleUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 24.6% 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.$2,854$2,274$1,409$1,114$3,660
SalidaUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 14.7% 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.Regional hub: Sales tax per resident is 1.9× the Colorado median.$3,792$3,352$1,688$1,615$2,102
Peer median$3,323$2,611$1,688$1,615$3,314

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)
Revenue per resident
FY2016 $1,433 to FY2021 $2,814.$0$1.7K$3.3K’16’21Peer median FY2016: $2,617Peer median FY2021: $3,323Colorado median FY2016: $1,746 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,476 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,433FY2021: $2,814

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2021. 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$1,433$2,617$1,746 (224 reporting)
FY2021$2,814$3,323$2,476 (227 reporting)
Expenditures per resident
FY2016 $1,476 to FY2021 $2,114.$0$1.3K$2.6K’16’21Peer median FY2016: $1,973Peer median FY2021: $2,611Colorado median FY2016: $1,749 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,208 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,476FY2021: $2,114

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2021. 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$1,476$1,973$1,749 (196 reporting)
FY2021$2,114$2,611$2,208 (220 reporting)
Tax revenue per resident
FY2016 $834 to FY2021 $1,751.$0$1K$2.1K’16’21Peer median FY2016: $2,097Peer median FY2021: $1,688Colorado median FY2016: $705 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,072 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $834FY2021: $1,751

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2021. 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$834$2,097$705 (193 reporting)
FY2021$1,751$1,688$1,072 (201 reporting)
Debt per resident
FY2016 $755 to FY2021 $90.$0$1.7K$3.3K’16’21Peer median FY2016: $1,318Peer median FY2021: $3,314Colorado median FY2016: $1,072 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,411 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $755FY2021: $90

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2021. 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$755$1,318$1,072 (220 reporting)
FY2021$90$3,314$1,411 (199 reporting)

Questions about Carbondale’s finances

How much revenue does Carbondale collect per resident?
Carbondale collected $2,814 per resident in FY2021, 14% above the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. See the figure
How does Carbondale's spending per resident compare with similar cities?
Carbondale spent $2,114 per resident in FY2021, 19% below the median of its peers: New Castle, Avon, Eagle and Salida. See the figure
How much debt does Carbondale have per resident?
Carbondale carried $90 of debt per resident in FY2021, 97% below its peers' median. See the figure
Which cities is Carbondale compared with?
Carbondale is compared with New Castle, Avon, Eagle and Salida: 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)
−0.4%/yr
2021 estimate
Median household income
$86.3K
2021 estimate
Poverty rate
12.1%
2021 estimate
Median home value
$638K
2021 estimate
Housing vacancy rate
7.9%
2021 estimate

Explore further

Also in Western Slope

Revenue per resident, latest published year.

Sources

Dataset: Carbondale, 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 Carbondale’s largest difference from its peers (37% below the peer median in FY2021). See how that line moves month to month in your own budget-vs-actual.

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