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Dolores · FY2021 municipal finance benchmarks

Montezuma County · Southwest · statutory town · Pop. 933 (2025 estimate); FY2021 per-resident figures use 913 · Census finance data FY2016, FY2021, FY2023

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

Dolores collected $2,150 per resident (including city-run utilities), 13% below the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. Tax revenue per resident sits 21% below its peers, but in line with the state median. Debt per resident runs 59% 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)

$2,150
17% below peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$2,602
CO median · 227 with a published figure
$2,476
Position
Higher than 39% of the 227 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+17.3%/yr
How Colorado compares on revenue per resident

Expenditures per resident (definition)

$1,698
in line with peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$1,726
CO median · 220 with a published figure
$2,208
Position
Higher than 36% of the 220 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+9.3%/yr

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

$1,100
21% below peers
Peer median
$1,392
CO median · 201 with a published figure
$1,072
Position
Higher than 52% of the 201 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
Not enough history for a 5-year change

Debt per resident (definition)

$313
59% below peers
Peer median
$761
CO median · 199 with a published figure
$1,411
Position
Higher than 14% of the 199 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
−15.7%/yr
How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident · $2,150
Reported by the city to the Census Bureau

  1. 1Metric

    $2,150 Total revenue divided by population

    = Total revenue ÷ population

    Full definition: Revenue per resident

  2. 2Inputs

    Total revenue $2M ÷ population 913 (2021 estimate)

  3. 3Census line items

    • A61 Parks & recreation charges
    • A80 Sewer charges
    • A89 General government (other) charges
    • A91 Water utility charges
    • B89 Federal aid
    • C89 State aid
    • T01 Property tax
    • T09 General sales tax
    • T20 Licenses & permits
    • T24 Licenses & permits
    • T28 Licenses & permits
    • T29 Licenses & permits
    • T99 Other taxes
    • U20 Interest earnings
    • U30 Fines & forfeits
    • U50 Private donations
    • U99 Miscellaneous

  4. 4Source file

What the numbers mean

  • Dolores runs city-owned utilities, which add 12.6% 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 913 residents, small changes in Dolores'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 Dolores; the gold tick is the peer median. How categories work

The biggest difference from peers is Utilities & environment: $246 per resident, 49% below the peer median. On the revenue side, sales tax is 30% below peers.

Money in

Revenue

$2,150
per resident17% below peers
Money in: Dolores revenue per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$89630% belowpeers $1,276
$49425% abovepeers $394
$2729% belowpeers $298
$25443% belowpeers $448
$1105.5×peers $20
$949% belowpeers $104
$3110% belowpeers $34
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 227 reporting

Money out

Spending

$1,698
per residentin line with peers
Money out: Dolores spending per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$55312% abovepeers $495
$484in line withpeers $471
$24649% belowpeers $483
$230No peer comparisonpeers $0
$1739.3×peers $19
$1147% belowpeers $21
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 220 reporting

Dolores 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
Dolores compared with its peer municipalities, FY2021, per resident
MunicipalityRevenueExpendituresTax revenueSales taxDebt
DoloresUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 12.6% 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.$2,150$1,698$1,100$896$313
HotchkissUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 20.0% 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.$2,602$1,736$1,072$948$342
AntonitoUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 10.2% 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.$2,932$1,726$1,712$1,605$3,664
La JaraUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 14.5% 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.$1,548$1,020$831$691$789
ManassaUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 22.0% 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.$704$737$734
IgnacioUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 15.2% 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 2.6× the Colorado median.$5,129$4,332$2,333$2,261Not reported for this year
Peer median$2,602$1,726$1,392$1,276$761

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 $966 to FY2023 $2,484.$0$6.9K$13.8K’16’21’23Peer median FY2016: $3,543Peer median FY2021: $2,602Peer median FY2023: $13,790Colorado median FY2016: $1,746 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,476 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $966FY2021: $2,150FY2023: $2,484

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$966$3,543$1,746 (224 reporting)
FY2021$2,150$2,602$2,476 (227 reporting)
FY2023$2,484$13,790$3,580 (97 reporting, sample year)
Expenditures per resident
FY2016 $1,088 to FY2021 $1,698. 1 year withheld.$0$1.2K$2.3K’16’21’23Peer median FY2016: $2,306Peer median FY2021: $1,726Colorado median FY2016: $1,749 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,208 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,088FY2021: $1,698FY2023: withheld — Expenditures per resident is 15% 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.

  • FY2023 withheld: Expenditures per resident is 15% of the peer median

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$1,088$2,306$1,749 (196 reporting)
FY2021$1,698$1,726$2,208 (220 reporting)
FY2023Withheld (Expenditures per resident is 15% of the peer median)Benchmark unavailable$3,680 (91 reporting, sample year)
Tax revenue per resident
FY2021 $1,100. 2 years withheld.$0$695.9$1.4K’16’21’23Peer median FY2021: $1,392Colorado median FY2016: $705 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,072 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2021: $1,100FY2016: withheld — Tax revenue per resident is 28% of this city's typical level in other yearsFY2023: withheld — Tax revenue per resident is 16% of the peer median

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

  • FY2016 withheld: Tax revenue per resident is 28% of this city's typical level in other years
  • FY2023 withheld: Tax revenue per resident is 16% of the peer median
Show data table
Tax revenue per resident by fiscal year
YearThis cityPeer medianColorado median
FY2016Withheld (Tax revenue per resident is 28% of this city's typical level in other years)Benchmark unavailable$705 (193 reporting)
FY2021$1,100$1,392$1,072 (201 reporting)
FY2023Withheld (Tax revenue per resident is 16% of the peer median)Benchmark unavailable$1,726 (90 reporting, sample year)
Debt per resident
FY2016 $735 to FY2023 $245.$0$12.7K$25.5K’16’21’23Peer median FY2016: $2,165Peer median FY2021: $761Peer median FY2023: $25,474Colorado median FY2016: $1,072 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,411 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $735FY2021: $313FY2023: $245

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$735$2,165$1,072 (220 reporting)
FY2021$313$761$1,411 (199 reporting)
FY2023$245$25,474$2,130 (91 reporting, sample year)

Questions about Dolores’s finances

How much revenue does Dolores collect per resident?
Dolores collected $2,150 per resident in FY2021, 13% below the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. See the figure
How does Dolores's spending per resident compare with similar cities?
Dolores spent $1,698 per resident in FY2021, in line with the median of its peers: Hotchkiss, Antonito, La Jara, Manassa and Ignacio. See the figure
How much debt does Dolores have per resident?
Dolores carried $313 of debt per resident in FY2021, 59% below its peers' median. See the figure
Which cities is Dolores compared with?
Dolores is compared with Hotchkiss, Antonito, La Jara, Manassa and Ignacio: 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)
−0.8%/yr
2021 estimate
Median household income
$24.7K
2021 estimate
Poverty rate
19.3%
2021 estimate
Median home value
$172.8K
2021 estimate
Housing vacancy rate
15.7%
2021 estimate

Explore further

Also in Southwest

Revenue per resident, latest published year.

Sources

Dataset: Dolores, 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 Dolores’s largest difference from its peers (49% below the peer median in FY2021). See how that line moves month to month in your own budget-vs-actual.

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