Orivian

Erie · FY2021 municipal finance benchmarks

Boulder, Weld counties · Denver Metro · statutory town · Pop. 40,904 (2025 estimate); FY2021 per-resident figures use 31,565 · 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 Erie: 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

Erie collected $4,027 per resident (including city-run utilities), 63% above the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year, 48% above its peers. Tax revenue per resident sits 14% below its peers, but 12% above the state median. Debt per resident runs 15% 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)

$4,027
48% above peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$2,720
CO median · 227 with a published figure
$2,476
Position
Higher than 79% of the 227 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+10.4%/yr
How Colorado compares on revenue per resident

Expenditures per resident (definition)

$2,721
35% above peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$2,021
CO median · 220 with a published figure
$2,208
Position
Higher than 65% of the 220 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+11.3%/yr

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

$1,199
14% below peers
Peer median
$1,390
CO median · 201 with a published figure
$1,072
Position
Higher than 56% of the 201 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+11.6%/yr

Debt per resident (definition)

$2,320
15% above peers
Peer median
$2,022
CO median · 199 with a published figure
$1,411
Position
Higher than 70% of the 199 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
−8.7%/yr
How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident · $4,027
Reported by the city to the Census Bureau

  1. 1Metric

    $4,027 Total revenue divided by population

    = Total revenue ÷ population

    Full definition: Revenue per resident

  2. 2Inputs

    Total revenue $127.1M ÷ population 31,565 (2021 estimate)

  3. 3Census line items

    • A01 Airport charges
    • A03 Commercial activities (other) charges
    • A61 Parks & recreation charges
    • A80 Sewer charges
    • A89 General government (other) charges
    • A91 Water utility charges
    • C89 State aid
    • D89 Local government aid
    • T01 Property tax
    • T09 General sales tax
    • T15 Selective sales taxes (lodging, utilities, etc.)
    • T29 Licenses & permits
    • U01 Special assessments
    • U11 Sale of property
    • U20 Interest earnings
    • U30 Fines & forfeits
    • U99 Miscellaneous

  4. 4Source file

What the numbers mean

  • Erie 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 Erie; the gold tick is the peer median. How categories work

The biggest difference from peers is Utilities & environment: $1,294 per resident, 2.2× the peer median. On the revenue side, other revenue is 18.7× peers.

Money in

Revenue

$4,027
per resident48% above peers
Money in: Erie revenue per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$1,96418.7×peers $105
$71432% belowpeers $1,055
$39219% abovepeers $331
$38932% belowpeers $572
$31818% abovepeers $269
$167in line withpeers $171
$8368% belowpeers $260
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 227 reporting

Money out

Spending

$2,721
per resident35% above peers
Money out: Erie spending per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$1,2942.2×peers $584
$56468% abovepeers $336
$5218% belowpeers $565
$20651% belowpeers $423
$882.4×peers $37
$4986% belowpeers $337
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 220 reporting

Erie 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
Erie compared with its peer municipalities, FY2021, per resident
MunicipalityRevenueExpendituresTax revenueSales taxDebt
ErieUtilities: 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.$4,027$2,721$1,199$714$2,320
LafayetteUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 15.1% 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.$2,720$2,021$1,145$778$2,022
Wheat Ridge$2,285$1,858$1,390$1,118$2,167
WindsorUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 8.6% 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.$2,595$1,646$1,174$835$611
LouisvilleUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 13.8% 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.$3,177$2,663$1,821$1,176$2,911
EnglewoodUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 10.7% 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.$3,095$2,642$1,590$1,055$1,156
Peer median$2,720$2,021$1,390$1,055$2,022

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 $2,455 to FY2023 $4,614.$0$2.3K$4.6K’16’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $2,989Peer median FY2018: $2,590Peer median FY2019: $2,657Peer median FY2020: $2,396Peer median FY2021: $2,720Peer median FY2022: $2,725Peer median FY2023: $2,399Colorado median FY2016: $1,746 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,476 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $2,455FY2018: $3,256FY2019: $3,213FY2020: $2,873FY2021: $4,027FY2022: $3,968FY2023: $4,614

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2018, FY2019, 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$2,455$2,989$1,746 (224 reporting)
FY2018$3,256$2,590$2,529 (75 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$3,213$2,657$2,694 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$2,873$2,396$2,739 (76 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$4,027$2,720$2,476 (227 reporting)
FY2022$3,968$2,725$3,031 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$4,614$2,399$3,580 (97 reporting, sample year)
Expenditures per resident
FY2016 $1,593 to FY2023 $1,371.$0$1.6K$3.2K’16’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $3,223Peer median FY2018: $2,338Peer median FY2019: $2,219Peer median FY2020: $2,344Peer median FY2021: $2,021Peer median FY2022: $2,894Peer median FY2023: $2,613Colorado median FY2016: $1,749 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,208 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,593FY2018: $1,761FY2019: $1,826FY2020: $1,701FY2021: $2,721FY2022: $2,809. Excludes equipment purchases and payments to other governments, which Census stopped reporting after FY2021.FY2023: $1,371. 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, FY2019, 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$1,593$3,223$1,749 (196 reporting)
FY2018$1,761$2,338$2,387 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$1,826$2,219$2,759 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$1,701$2,344$2,485 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$2,721$2,021$2,208 (220 reporting)
FY2022$2,809$2,894$3,025 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$1,371$2,613$3,680 (91 reporting, sample year)
Tax revenue per resident
FY2016 $692 to FY2023 $1,162.$0$815.7$1.6K’16’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $1,327Peer median FY2018: $1,285Peer median FY2019: $1,222Peer median FY2020: $1,184Peer median FY2021: $1,390Peer median FY2022: $1,631Peer median FY2023: $1,476Colorado median FY2016: $705 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,072 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $692FY2018: $1,017FY2019: $1,028FY2020: $1,022FY2021: $1,199FY2022: $1,247FY2023: $1,162

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2018, FY2019, 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$692$1,327$705 (193 reporting)
FY2018$1,017$1,285$1,173 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$1,028$1,222$1,187 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$1,022$1,184$1,238 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$1,199$1,390$1,072 (201 reporting)
FY2022$1,247$1,631$1,631 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$1,162$1,476$1,726 (90 reporting, sample year)
Debt per resident
FY2016 $3,656 to FY2023 $3,840.$0$1.9K$3.8K’16’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $1,071Peer median FY2018: $1,187Peer median FY2019: $1,026Peer median FY2020: $913Peer median FY2021: $2,022Peer median FY2022: $1,954Peer median FY2023: $1,496Colorado median FY2016: $1,072 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,411 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $3,656FY2018: $2,888FY2019: $2,581FY2020: $2,293FY2021: $2,320FY2022: $2,068FY2023: $3,840

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2018, FY2019, 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$3,656$1,071$1,072 (220 reporting)
FY2018$2,888$1,187$1,644 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$2,581$1,026$1,627 (69 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$2,293$913$1,798 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$2,320$2,022$1,411 (199 reporting)
FY2022$2,068$1,954$2,068 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$3,840$1,496$2,130 (91 reporting, sample year)

Questions about Erie’s finances

How much revenue does Erie collect per resident?
Erie collected $4,027 per resident in FY2021, 63% above the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. See the figure
How does Erie's spending per resident compare with similar cities?
Erie spent $2,721 per resident in FY2021, 35% above the median of its peers: Lafayette, Wheat Ridge, Windsor, Louisville and Englewood. See the figure
How much debt does Erie have per resident?
Erie carried $2,320 of debt per resident in FY2021, 15% above its peers' median. See the figure
Which cities is Erie compared with?
Erie is compared with Lafayette, Wheat Ridge, Windsor, Louisville and Englewood: 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)
+5.6%/yr
2021 estimate
Median household income
$140.4K
2021 estimate
Poverty rate
4.0%
2021 estimate
Median home value
$565.5K
2021 estimate
Housing vacancy rate
2.0%
2021 estimate

Explore further

Also in Denver Metro

Revenue per resident, latest published year.

Sources

Dataset: Erie, 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 Erie’s largest difference from its peers (2.2× the peer median in FY2021). 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