Orivian

Fairplay · FY2021 municipal finance benchmarks

Park County · Central Mountains & Resort · statutory town · Pop. 743 (2025 estimate); FY2021 per-resident figures use 734 · Census finance data FY2016, FY2021

Latest Census Bureau finance data for Fairplay: 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

Fairplay collected $5,213 per resident (including city-run utilities), 2.1× the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year, 8% below its peers. Debt per resident runs 70% above peers.

Regional hub: sales tax per resident is 3.0× the Colorado median.

  • Tax revenue per resident withheld: Tax revenue per resident is 3.6x the peer median

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)

$5,213
8% below peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$5,685
CO median · 227 with a published figure
$2,476
Position
Higher than 87% of the 227 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+20.0%/yr
How Colorado compares on revenue per resident

Expenditures per resident (definition)

$3,948
58% below peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$9,407
CO median · 220 with a published figure
$2,208
Position
Higher than 81% of the 220 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
Not enough history for a 5-year change

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

Peer median
Benchmark unavailable
CO median · 201 with a published figure
$1,072
Position
Not reported for this year
5-year changenominal dollars
Withheld with this year's value

Debt per resident (definition)

$4,005
70% above peers
Peer median
$2,352
CO median · 199 with a published figure
$1,411
Position
Higher than 86% of the 199 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+86.7%/yr
How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident · $5,213
Reported by the city to the Census Bureau

  1. 1Metric

    $5,213 Total revenue divided by population

    = Total revenue ÷ population

    Full definition: Revenue per resident

  2. 2Inputs

    Total revenue $3.8M ÷ population 734 (2021 estimate)

  3. 3Census line items

    • 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
    • T20 Licenses & permits
    • T28 Licenses & permits
    • T29 Licenses & permits
    • T99 Other taxes
    • U20 Interest earnings
    • U30 Fines & forfeits
    • U40 Rents
    • U99 Miscellaneous

  4. 4Source file

What the numbers mean

  • Fairplay runs city-owned utilities, which add 10.6% 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 734 residents, small changes in Fairplay'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 Fairplay; the gold tick is the peer median. How categories work

Regional hub: sales tax per resident is 3.0× the Colorado median.

Sales tax per resident is high, which usually means many non-residents shop, stay or work here. Per-resident figures divide citywide totals by residents only, so they overstate what residents themselves pay and use.

The biggest difference from peers is General government: $1,114 per resident, 63% below the peer median. On the revenue side, fees & charges is 2.9× peers.

Money in

Revenue

$5,213
per resident8% below peers
Money in: Fairplay revenue per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$1,1422.9×peers $399
$55339% belowpeers $912
$29056% belowpeers $662
$1542.2×peers $71
Withheld
Withheld
Withheld
Peer median of 4 peers · Colorado median of 227 reporting

Money out

Spending

$3,948
per resident58% below peers
Money out: Fairplay spending per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$1,13624% abovepeers $918
$1,11463% belowpeers $3,040
$65718% abovepeers $558
Peer median unavailable$480No peer comparison
$42547% belowpeers $799
$13685% abovepeers $74
Peer median of 3 peers · Colorado median of 220 reporting

Fairplay 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
Fairplay compared with its peer municipalities, FY2021, per resident
MunicipalityRevenueExpendituresTax revenueSales taxDebt
FairplayUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 10.6% 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.Regional hub: Sales tax per resident is 3.0× the Colorado median.$5,213$3,948$2,591$4,005
Central CityUtilities: 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.Regional hub: Sales tax per resident is 1.5× the Colorado median.$11,511$9,407$1,317$101,531
Oak CreekUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 53.3% 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.$4,009$3,126$1,856
Mt. Crested ButteRegional hub: Sales tax per resident is 3.9× the Colorado median.$7,360$11,410$6,746$3,317$1,473
Poncha SpringsUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 28.7% 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.$2,456Not reported for this year
Peer median$5,685$9,407Benchmark unavailableBenchmark unavailable$2,352

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 $2,099 to FY2021 $5,213.$0$2.8K$5.7K’16’21Peer median FY2021: $5,685Colorado median FY2016: $1,746 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,476 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $2,099FY2021: $5,213

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Show data table
Revenue per resident by fiscal year
YearThis cityPeer medianColorado median
FY2016$2,099Benchmark unavailable$1,746 (224 reporting)
FY2021$5,213$5,685$2,476 (227 reporting)
Expenditures per resident
FY2021 $3,948. 1 year withheld.$0$4.7K$9.4K’16’21Peer median FY2021: $9,407Colorado median FY2016: $1,749 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,208 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2021: $3,948FY2016: withheld — Expenditures per resident is 3.3x the peer median

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

  • FY2016 withheld: Expenditures per resident is 3.3x the peer median
Show data table
Expenditures per resident by fiscal year
YearThis cityPeer medianColorado median
FY2016Withheld (Expenditures per resident is 3.3x the peer median)Benchmark unavailable$1,749 (196 reporting)
FY2021$3,948$9,407$2,208 (220 reporting)
Tax revenue per resident
FY2016 $1,456. 1 year withheld.$0$728.2$1.5K’16’21Colorado median FY2016: $705 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,072 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,456FY2021: withheld — Tax revenue per resident is 3.6x the peer median

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

  • FY2021 withheld: Tax revenue per resident is 3.6x the peer median
Show data table
Tax revenue per resident by fiscal year
YearThis cityPeer medianColorado median
FY2016$1,456Benchmark unavailable$705 (193 reporting)
FY2021Withheld (Tax revenue per resident is 3.6x the peer median)Benchmark unavailable$1,072 (201 reporting)
Debt per resident
FY2016 $177 to FY2021 $4,005.$0$2K$4K’16’21Peer median FY2016: $1,207Peer median FY2021: $2,352Colorado median FY2016: $1,072 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,411 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $177FY2021: $4,005

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$177$1,207$1,072 (220 reporting)
FY2021$4,005$2,352$1,411 (199 reporting)

Questions about Fairplay’s finances

How much revenue does Fairplay collect per resident?
Fairplay collected $5,213 per resident in FY2021, 2.1× the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. See the figure
How does Fairplay's spending per resident compare with similar cities?
Fairplay spent $3,948 per resident in FY2021, 58% below the median of its peers: Central City, Oak Creek, Mt. Crested Butte and Poncha Springs. See the figure
How much debt does Fairplay have per resident?
Fairplay carried $4,005 of debt per resident in FY2021, 70% above its peers' median. See the figure
Which cities is Fairplay compared with?
Fairplay is compared with Central City, Oak Creek, Mt. Crested Butte and Poncha Springs: 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
$75.2K
2021 estimate
Poverty rate
7.3%
2021 estimate
Median home value
$301.4K
2021 estimate
Housing vacancy rate
24.0%
2021 estimate

Explore further

Also in Central Mountains & Resort

Revenue per resident, latest published year.

Sources

Dataset: Fairplay, 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 Fairplay’s largest difference from its peers (63% below the peer median in FY2021). See how that line moves month to month in your own budget-vs-actual.

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