Orivian

Centennial · FY2021 municipal finance benchmarks

Arapahoe County · Denver Metro · home rule municipality · Pop. 108,658 (2025 estimate); FY2021 per-resident figures use 106,950 · Census finance data FY2016, FY2018, FY2019, FY2020, FY2021, FY2022, FY2023

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

Centennial collected $684 per resident, 72% below the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. Tax revenue per resident sits 61% below its peers, and 47% below the state median. Debt per resident runs 99% 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)

$684
76% below peers
Peer median
$2,840
CO median · 227 with a published figure
$2,476
Position
Higher than 2% of the 227 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
−3.5%/yr
How Colorado compares on revenue per resident

Expenditures per resident (definition)

$690
73% below peers
Peer median
$2,541
CO median · 220 with a published figure
$2,208
Position
Higher than 2% of the 220 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+0.3%/yr

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

$566
61% below peers
Peer median
$1,451
CO median · 201 with a published figure
$1,072
Position
Higher than 21% of the 201 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
−0.4%/yr

Debt per resident (definition)

$24
99% below peers
Peer median
$2,000
CO median · 199 with a published figure
$1,411
Position
Lowest of the 199 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
−1.4%/yr
How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident · $684
Reported by the city to the Census Bureau

  1. 1Metric

    $684 Total revenue divided by population

    = Total revenue ÷ population

    Full definition: Revenue per resident

  2. 2Inputs

    Total revenue $73.2M ÷ population 106,950 (2021 estimate)

  3. 3Census line items

    • B89 Federal aid
    • C89 State aid
    • T01 Property tax
    • T09 General sales tax
    • T99 Other taxes
    • U20 Interest earnings
    • U30 Fines & forfeits
    • U40 Rents
    • U99 Miscellaneous

  4. 4Source file

What the numbers mean

No structural factors stand out in the data. The peer comparison below is a fair starting point.

Where the money comes from and where it goes

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

The biggest difference from peers is Utilities & environment: none reported, against a peer median of $601 per resident. On the revenue side, Centennial reports no fees & charges; peers collect $534 per resident.

Money in

Revenue

$684
per resident76% below peers
Money in: Centennial revenue per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$44151% belowpeers $904
$11764% belowpeers $321
$6855% belowpeers $150
$5068% belowpeers $157
$896% belowpeers $226
None reported · peers $534$0None reported
None reported · peers $515$0None reported
Peer median of 4 peers · Colorado median of 227 reporting

Money out

Spending

$690
per resident73% below peers
Money out: Centennial spending per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$2632.0×peers $129
$22247% belowpeers $422
$20454% belowpeers $444
$199% belowpeers $70
None reported · peers $601$0None reported
None reported · peers $258$0None reported
None reported · peers $1$0None reported
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 220 reporting

Centennial 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
Centennial compared with its peer municipalities, FY2021, per resident
MunicipalityRevenueExpendituresTax revenueSales taxDebt
Centennial$684$690$566$441$24
LongmontUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 37.1% 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.$3,522$3,114$1,371$436$3,136
BoulderUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 11.3% 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.$3,039$2,541$1,782$934$2,000
WestminsterUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 16.6% 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.$2,640$2,404$1,531$1,041$2,987
Castle RockUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 23.1% 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.$2,554$2,939$1,015$873$1,124
Peer median$2,840$2,541$1,451$873$2,000

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 $816 to FY2023 $638. 1 year withheld.$0$1.6K$3.1K’16’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $2,576Peer median FY2018: $2,963Peer median FY2019: $2,991Peer median FY2020: $3,122Peer median FY2021: $2,840Peer median FY2023: $3,101Colorado median FY2016: $1,746 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,476 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $816FY2018: $939FY2019: $1,000FY2020: $938FY2021: $684FY2023: $638FY2022: withheld — Revenue per resident is 16% of the peer median

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

  • FY2022 withheld: Revenue per resident is 16% of the peer median

Peer group changed in 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$816$2,576$1,746 (224 reporting)
FY2018$939$2,963$2,529 (75 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$1,000$2,991$2,694 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$938$3,122$2,739 (76 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$684$2,840$2,476 (227 reporting)
FY2022Withheld (Revenue per resident is 16% of the peer median)Benchmark unavailable$3,031 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$638$3,101$3,580 (97 reporting, sample year)
Expenditures per resident
FY2016 $680 to FY2021 $690. 2 years withheld.$0$1.6K$3.2K’16’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $2,842Peer median FY2018: $2,719Peer median FY2019: $3,156Peer median FY2020: $2,747Peer median FY2021: $2,541Colorado median FY2016: $1,749 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,208 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $680FY2018: $704FY2019: $753FY2020: $901FY2021: $690FY2022: withheld — Expenditures per resident is 10% of the peer medianFY2023: withheld — Expenditures per resident is 10% of the peer median

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.

  • FY2022, FY2023 withheld: Expenditures per resident is 10% of the peer median

Peer group changed in 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$680$2,842$1,749 (196 reporting)
FY2018$704$2,719$2,387 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$753$3,156$2,759 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$901$2,747$2,485 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$690$2,541$2,208 (220 reporting)
FY2022Withheld (Expenditures per resident is 10% of the peer median)Benchmark unavailable$3,025 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023Withheld (Expenditures per resident is 10% of the peer median)Benchmark unavailable$3,680 (91 reporting, sample year)
Tax revenue per resident
FY2016 $578 to FY2023 $583.$0$861.8$1.7K’16’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $1,065Peer median FY2018: $1,328Peer median FY2019: $1,412Peer median FY2020: $1,362Peer median FY2021: $1,451Peer median FY2022: $1,651Peer median FY2023: $1,724Colorado median FY2016: $705 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,072 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $578FY2018: $652FY2019: $698FY2020: $748FY2021: $566FY2022: $601FY2023: $583

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in 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$578$1,065$705 (193 reporting)
FY2018$652$1,328$1,173 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$698$1,412$1,187 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$748$1,362$1,238 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$566$1,451$1,072 (201 reporting)
FY2022$601$1,651$1,631 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$583$1,724$1,726 (90 reporting, sample year)
Debt per resident
FY2016 $26 to FY2023 $23.$0$1.4K$2.8K’16’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $1,551Peer median FY2018: $2,272Peer median FY2019: $1,637Peer median FY2020: $1,852Peer median FY2021: $2,000Peer median FY2022: $2,805Peer median FY2023: $1,515Colorado median FY2016: $1,072 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,411 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $26FY2018: $25FY2019: $25FY2020: $25FY2021: $24FY2022: $24FY2023: $23

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2018, FY2019, FY2020, 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$26$1,551$1,072 (220 reporting)
FY2018$25$2,272$1,644 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$25$1,637$1,627 (69 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$25$1,852$1,798 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$24$2,000$1,411 (199 reporting)
FY2022$24$2,805$2,068 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$23$1,515$2,130 (91 reporting, sample year)

Questions about Centennial’s finances

How much revenue does Centennial collect per resident?
Centennial collected $684 per resident in FY2021, 72% below the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. See the figure
How does Centennial's spending per resident compare with similar cities?
Centennial spent $690 per resident in FY2021, 73% below the median of its peers: Longmont, Boulder, Westminster and Castle Rock. See the figure
How much debt does Centennial have per resident?
Centennial carried $24 of debt per resident in FY2021, 99% below its peers' median. See the figure
Which cities is Centennial compared with?
Centennial is compared with Longmont, Boulder, Westminster and Castle Rock: 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
2021 estimate
Median household income
$114.4K
2021 estimate
Poverty rate
3.3%
2021 estimate
Median home value
$484.5K
2021 estimate
Housing vacancy rate
2.7%
2021 estimate

Explore further

Also in Denver Metro

Revenue per resident, latest published year.

Sources

Dataset: Centennial, 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

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