Orivian

Delta · FY2023 municipal finance benchmarks

Delta County · Western Slope · home rule municipality · Pop. 9,802 (2025 estimate); FY2023 per-resident figures use 9,615 · Census finance data FY2016, FY2018, FY2019, FY2020, FY2021, FY2022, FY2023

Latest Census Bureau finance data for Delta: 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

Delta collected $2,539 per resident (including city-run utilities), 29% below the median of the 97 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. Tax revenue per resident sits 54% below its peers. Debt per resident runs 38% above 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)

$2,539
28% below peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$3,545
CO median · 97 with a published figure
$3,580
Position
Higher than 24% of the 97 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+3.6%/yr
How Colorado compares on revenue per resident

Expenditures per resident (definition)

$2,979
in line with peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$3,005
CO median · 91 with a published figure
$3,680
Position
Higher than 38% of the 91 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+7.5%/yr

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

$838
54% below peers
Peer median
$1,834
CO median · 90 with a published figure
$1,726
Position
Higher than 10% of the 90 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+3.2%/yr

Debt per resident (definition)

$2,567
38% above peers
Peer median
$1,865
CO median · 91 with a published figure
$2,130
Position
Higher than 57% of the 91 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
−2.0%/yr
How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident · $2,539
Reported by the city to the Census Bureau

  1. 1Metric

    $2,539 Total revenue divided by population

    = Total revenue ÷ population

    Full definition: Revenue per resident

  2. 2Inputs

    Total revenue $24.4M ÷ population 9,615 (2023 estimate)

  3. 3Census line items

    • A61 Parks & recreation charges
    • A80 Sewer charges
    • A81 Solid waste charges
    • A91 Water utility charges
    • A92 Electric utility charges
    • B89 Federal aid
    • C89 State aid
    • T09 General sales tax
    • T19 Selective sales taxes (lodging, utilities, etc.)
    • T20 Licenses & permits
    • T24 Licenses & permits
    • T28 Licenses & permits
    • U20 Interest earnings
    • U30 Fines & forfeits
    • U40 Rents

  4. 4Source file

What the numbers mean

  • Delta runs city-owned utilities, which add 38.3% 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
  • Delta relies on sales tax more than most Colorado municipalities. Tourism and regional retail can raise sales tax per resident because non-residents pay it.

Where the money comes from and where it goes

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

The biggest difference from peers is General government: $170 per resident, 79% below the peer median. On the revenue side, sales tax is 40% below peers.

Money in

Revenue

$2,539
per resident28% below peers
Money in: Delta revenue per resident by category, FY2023, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$97149% abovepeers $652
$81140% belowpeers $1,341
$52334% belowpeers $787
$13745% belowpeers $249
$7079% belowpeers $337
$2781% belowpeers $141
None reported · peers $83$0None reported
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 97 reporting

Money out

Spending

$2,979
per residentin line with peers
Money out: Delta spending per resident by category, FY2023, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$1,26430% abovepeers $969
$73970% abovepeers $434
$569in line withpeers $547
$17079% belowpeers $797
$10566% abovepeers $64
$10476% belowpeers $426
$29No peer comparisonpeers $0
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 91 reporting

Delta 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
Delta compared with its peer municipalities, FY2023, per resident
MunicipalityRevenueExpendituresTax revenueSales taxDebt
DeltaUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 38.3% 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.$2,539$2,979$838$811$2,567
AlamosaUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 8.4% 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.$2,698$2,989$1,013$947$1,015
CortezUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 12.7% 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.$3,373$3,005$1,841$1,287Not reported for this year
RifleUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 18.4% 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.$3,545$2,589$1,676$1,485$2,552
Glenwood SpringsUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 24.4% 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.Regional hub: Sales tax per resident is 2.5× the Colorado median.$8,323$8,073$3,584$2,875$1,712
GunnisonUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 32.3% 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.$4,833$4,441$1,834$1,341$2,017
Peer median$3,545$3,005$1,834$1,341$1,865

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 $1,995 to FY2023 $2,539.$0$1.8K$3.5K’16’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $2,617Peer median FY2018: $2,529Peer median FY2019: $2,655Peer median FY2020: $2,146Peer median FY2021: $2,726Peer median FY2022: $2,930Peer median FY2023: $3,545Colorado median FY2016: $1,746 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,476 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,995FY2018: $2,127FY2019: $2,176FY2020: $2,153FY2021: $2,408FY2022: $2,249FY2023: $2,539

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2018, FY2020, 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$1,995$2,617$1,746 (224 reporting)
FY2018$2,127$2,529$2,529 (75 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$2,176$2,655$2,694 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$2,153$2,146$2,739 (76 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$2,408$2,726$2,476 (227 reporting)
FY2022$2,249$2,930$3,031 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$2,539$3,545$3,580 (97 reporting, sample year)
Expenditures per resident
FY2016 $2,079 to FY2023 $2,979.$0$1.5K$3K’16’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $2,402Peer median FY2018: $2,616Peer median FY2019: $2,742Peer median FY2020: $1,942Peer median FY2021: $2,384Peer median FY2022: $2,791Peer median FY2023: $3,005Colorado median FY2016: $1,749 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,208 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $2,079FY2018: $2,072FY2019: $2,120FY2020: $2,057FY2021: $2,370FY2022: $2,813. Excludes equipment purchases and payments to other governments, which Census stopped reporting after FY2021.FY2023: $2,979. 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 FY2018, FY2020, 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$2,079$2,402$1,749 (196 reporting)
FY2018$2,072$2,616$2,387 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$2,120$2,742$2,759 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$2,057$1,942$2,485 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$2,370$2,384$2,208 (220 reporting)
FY2022$2,813$2,791$3,025 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$2,979$3,005$3,680 (91 reporting, sample year)
Tax revenue per resident
FY2016 $641 to FY2023 $838.$0$916.8$1.8K’16’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $1,221Peer median FY2018: $1,213Peer median FY2019: $1,276Peer median FY2020: $1,212Peer median FY2021: $1,472Peer median FY2022: $1,649Peer median FY2023: $1,834Colorado median FY2016: $705 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,072 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $641FY2018: $715FY2019: $787FY2020: $759FY2021: $1,031FY2022: $828FY2023: $838

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2018, FY2020, 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$641$1,221$705 (193 reporting)
FY2018$715$1,213$1,173 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$787$1,276$1,187 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$759$1,212$1,238 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$1,031$1,472$1,072 (201 reporting)
FY2022$828$1,649$1,631 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$838$1,834$1,726 (90 reporting, sample year)
Debt per resident
FY2016 $3,091 to FY2023 $2,567.$0$1.5K$3.1K’16’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $1,141Peer median FY2018: $2,268Peer median FY2019: $2,036Peer median FY2020: $2,042Peer median FY2021: $1,586Peer median FY2022: $1,761Peer median FY2023: $1,865Colorado median FY2016: $1,072 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,411 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $3,091FY2018: $2,834FY2019: $1,812FY2020: $2,201FY2021: $2,066FY2022: $2,168FY2023: $2,567

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2018, 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$3,091$1,141$1,072 (220 reporting)
FY2018$2,834$2,268$1,644 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$1,812$2,036$1,627 (69 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$2,201$2,042$1,798 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$2,066$1,586$1,411 (199 reporting)
FY2022$2,168$1,761$2,068 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$2,567$1,865$2,130 (91 reporting, sample year)

Questions about Delta’s finances

How much revenue does Delta collect per resident?
Delta collected $2,539 per resident in FY2023, 29% below the median of the 97 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. See the figure
How does Delta's spending per resident compare with similar cities?
Delta spent $2,979 per resident in FY2023, in line with the median of its peers: Alamosa, Cortez, Rifle, Glenwood Springs and Gunnison. See the figure
How much debt does Delta have per resident?
Delta carried $2,567 of debt per resident in FY2023, 38% above its peers' median. See the figure
Which cities is Delta compared with?
Delta is compared with Alamosa, Cortez, Rifle, Glenwood Springs and Gunnison: 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)
+1.6%/yr
2023 estimate
Median household income
$46K
2023 estimate
Poverty rate
19.5%
2023 estimate
Median home value
$238.1K
2023 estimate
Housing vacancy rate
8.3%
2023 estimate

Explore further

Also in Western Slope

Revenue per resident, latest published year.

Sources

Dataset: Delta, 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

General government is Delta’s largest difference from its peers (79% below the peer median in FY2023). See how that line moves month to month in your own budget-vs-actual.

Orivian applies the same sourced, governed approach to your city's own budget-vs-actual data.

See how it worksTalk to us
Book a walkthrough