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Fort Morgan · FY2023 municipal finance benchmarks

Morgan County · Eastern Plains · home rule municipality · Pop. 11,841 (2025 estimate); FY2023 per-resident figures use 11,716 · Census finance data FY2016, FY2018, FY2019, FY2020, FY2021, FY2022, FY2023

Latest Census Bureau finance data for Fort Morgan: 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

Fort Morgan collected $6,061 per resident (including city-run utilities), 69% above the median of the 97 Colorado municipalities reporting that year, 49% above its peers. Tax revenue per resident sits 86% above its peers, and 10% above the state median. Debt per resident runs 31% below 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)

$6,061
49% above peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$4,081
CO median · 97 with a published figure
$3,580
Position
Higher than 74% of the 97 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+3.8%/yr
How Colorado compares on revenue per resident

Expenditures per resident (definition)

$6,336
64% above peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$3,852
CO median · 91 with a published figure
$3,680
Position
Higher than 79% of the 91 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+5.2%/yr

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

$1,900
86% above peers
Peer median
$1,023
CO median · 90 with a published figure
$1,726
Position
Higher than 60% of the 90 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+12.2%/yr

Debt per resident (definition)

$1,383
31% below peers
Peer median
$2,015
CO median · 91 with a published figure
$2,130
Position
Higher than 31% of the 91 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+5.4%/yr
How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident · $6,061
Reported by the city to the Census Bureau

  1. 1Metric

    $6,061 Total revenue divided by population

    = Total revenue ÷ population

    Full definition: Revenue per resident

  2. 2Inputs

    Total revenue $71M ÷ population 11,716 (2023 estimate)

  3. 3Census line items

    • A01 Airport charges
    • A03 Commercial activities (other) charges
    • A61 Parks & recreation charges
    • A80 Sewer charges
    • A81 Solid waste charges
    • A89 General government (other) charges
    • A91 Water utility charges
    • A92 Electric utility charges
    • A93 Gas 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
    • U40 Rents
    • U50 Private donations
    • U99 Miscellaneous

  4. 4Source file

What the numbers mean

  • Fort Morgan runs city-owned utilities, which add 53.7% 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, FY2023. Bars show Fort Morgan; the gold tick is the peer median. How categories work

The biggest difference from peers is Transportation: $2,608 per resident, 9.5× the peer median. On the revenue side, utility & transit charges is 59% above peers.

Money in

Revenue

$6,061
per resident49% above peers
Money in: Fort Morgan revenue per resident by category, FY2023, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$3,25259% abovepeers $2,049
$1,22460% abovepeers $768
$55624% abovepeers $448
$4805.2×peers $92
$305in line withpeers $294
$19568% abovepeers $116
$4880% belowpeers $241
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 97 reporting

Money out

Spending

$6,336
per resident65% above peers
Money out: Fort Morgan spending per resident by category, FY2023, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$2,6089.5×peers $274
$1,773in line withpeers $1,861
$64952% abovepeers $427
$62129% abovepeers $483
$5792.6×peers $220
$634.0×peers $16
$4031% belowpeers $58
$4No peer comparisonpeers $0
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 91 reporting

Fort Morgan 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
Fort Morgan compared with its peer municipalities, FY2023, per resident
MunicipalityRevenueExpendituresTax revenueSales taxDebt
Fort MorganUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 53.7% 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.$6,061$6,336$1,900$1,224$1,383
SterlingUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 19.4% 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.$2,429$2,309$976$767$5,897
LamarUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 56.2% 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.$4,292$4,235$835$708$1,392
La JuntaUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 46.2% 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.$4,464$4,997$1,023$771$2,639
YumaUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 36.5% 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.$3,000$2,609$1,037$735Not reported for this year
BurlingtonUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 50.2% 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.$4,081$3,852$1,130$876$1,375
Peer median$4,081$3,852$1,023$767$2,015

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 $4,784 to FY2023 $6,061.$0$3K$6.1K’16’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $3,081Peer median FY2018: $1,569Peer median FY2019: $2,065Peer median FY2020: $2,052Peer median FY2021: $3,090Peer median FY2022: $2,927Peer median FY2023: $4,081Colorado median FY2016: $1,746 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,476 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $4,784FY2018: $5,020FY2019: $5,150FY2020: $5,410FY2021: $5,687FY2022: $5,964FY2023: $6,061

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
Revenue per resident by fiscal year
YearThis cityPeer medianColorado median
FY2016$4,784$3,081$1,746 (224 reporting)
FY2018$5,020$1,569$2,529 (75 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$5,150$2,065$2,694 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$5,410$2,052$2,739 (76 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$5,687$3,090$2,476 (227 reporting)
FY2022$5,964$2,927$3,031 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$6,061$4,081$3,580 (97 reporting, sample year)
Expenditures per resident
FY2016 $4,187 to FY2023 $6,336.$0$3.2K$6.3K’16’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $2,642Peer median FY2018: $1,439Peer median FY2019: $1,635Peer median FY2020: $1,840Peer median FY2021: $2,781Peer median FY2022: $2,356Peer median FY2023: $3,852Colorado median FY2016: $1,749 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,208 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $4,187FY2018: $4,907FY2019: $5,160FY2020: $5,135FY2021: $5,929FY2022: $5,895. Excludes equipment purchases and payments to other governments, which Census stopped reporting after FY2021.FY2023: $6,336. 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, 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$4,187$2,642$1,749 (196 reporting)
FY2018$4,907$1,439$2,387 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$5,160$1,635$2,759 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$5,135$1,840$2,485 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$5,929$2,781$2,208 (220 reporting)
FY2022$5,895$2,356$3,025 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$6,336$3,852$3,680 (91 reporting, sample year)
Tax revenue per resident
FY2016 $795 to FY2023 $1,900.$0$949.9$1.9K’16’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $584Peer median FY2018: $602Peer median FY2019: $722Peer median FY2020: $721Peer median FY2021: $879Peer median FY2022: $862Peer median FY2023: $1,023Colorado median FY2016: $705 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,072 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $795FY2018: $1,068FY2019: $1,137FY2020: $1,642FY2021: $1,853FY2022: $1,883FY2023: $1,900

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
Tax revenue per resident by fiscal year
YearThis cityPeer medianColorado median
FY2016$795$584$705 (193 reporting)
FY2018$1,068$602$1,173 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$1,137$722$1,187 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$1,642$721$1,238 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$1,853$879$1,072 (201 reporting)
FY2022$1,883$862$1,631 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$1,900$1,023$1,726 (90 reporting, sample year)
Debt per resident
FY2016 $1,417 to FY2023 $1,383.$0$1K$2K’16’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $1,926Peer median FY2018: $774Peer median FY2019: $1,345Peer median FY2020: $1,504Peer median FY2021: $1,986Peer median FY2022: $1,172Peer median FY2023: $2,015Colorado median FY2016: $1,072 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,411 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,417FY2018: $1,063FY2019: $886FY2020: $842FY2021: $850FY2022: $760FY2023: $1,383

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$1,417$1,926$1,072 (220 reporting)
FY2018$1,063$774$1,644 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$886$1,345$1,627 (69 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$842$1,504$1,798 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$850$1,986$1,411 (199 reporting)
FY2022$760$1,172$2,068 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$1,383$2,015$2,130 (91 reporting, sample year)

Questions about Fort Morgan’s finances

How much revenue does Fort Morgan collect per resident?
Fort Morgan collected $6,061 per resident in FY2023, 69% above the median of the 97 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. See the figure
How does Fort Morgan's spending per resident compare with similar cities?
Fort Morgan spent $6,336 per resident in FY2023, 64% above the median of its peers: Sterling, Lamar, La Junta, Yuma and Burlington. See the figure
How much debt does Fort Morgan have per resident?
Fort Morgan carried $1,383 of debt per resident in FY2023, 31% below its peers' median. See the figure
Which cities is Fort Morgan compared with?
Fort Morgan is compared with Sterling, Lamar, La Junta, Yuma and Burlington: 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)
+0.6%/yr
2023 estimate
Median household income
$59.1K
2023 estimate
Poverty rate
15.5%
2023 estimate
Median home value
$259.9K
2023 estimate
Housing vacancy rate
3.4%
2023 estimate

Explore further

Also in Eastern Plains

Revenue per resident, latest published year.

Sources

Dataset: Fort Morgan, 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

Transportation is Fort Morgan’s largest difference from its peers (9.5× the peer median in FY2023). See how that line moves month to month in your own budget-vs-actual.

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