Orivian

Grand Lake · FY2021 municipal finance benchmarks

Grand County · Central Mountains & Resort · statutory town · Pop. 402 (2025 estimate); FY2021 per-resident figures use 410 · Census finance data FY2016, FY2021, FY2023

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

Grand Lake collected $12,210 per resident, 4.9× the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year, 4.2× its peers. Debt per resident runs 8.9× peers.

Regional hub: sales tax per resident is 8.0× the Colorado median.

  • Tax revenue per resident withheld: Tax revenue per resident is 6.6x 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)

$12,210
4.2× peers
Peer median
$2,913
CO median · 227 with a published figure
$2,476
Position
Higher than 97% of the 227 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+14.7%/yr
How Colorado compares on revenue per resident

Expenditures per resident (definition)

Peer median
Benchmark unavailable
CO median · 220 with a published figure
$2,208
Position
Not reported for this year
5-year changenominal dollars
Withheld with this year's value

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)

$13,837
8.9× peers
Peer median
$1,548
CO median · 199 with a published figure
$1,411
Position
Higher than 96% of the 199 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+73.4%/yr
How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident · $12,210
Reported by the city to the Census Bureau

  1. 1Metric

    $12,210 Total revenue divided by population

    = Total revenue ÷ population

    Full definition: Revenue per resident

  2. 2Inputs

    Total revenue $5M ÷ population 410 (2021 estimate)

  3. 3Census line items

    • A03 Commercial activities (other) charges
    • A61 Parks & recreation charges
    • A81 Solid waste charges
    • A89 General government (other) charges
    • C89 State aid
    • D89 Local government aid
    • T01 Property tax
    • T09 General sales tax
    • T24 Licenses & permits
    • T28 Licenses & permits
    • U11 Sale of property
    • U20 Interest earnings
    • U50 Private donations

  4. 4Source file

What the numbers mean

  • With about 410 residents, small changes in Grand Lake's budget move per-resident figures a lot. Compare several years, not one.
  • Debt per resident is 8.9× the peer median. One large bond issue can do this; check the city's annual financial report for what it funded.

Where the money comes from and where it goes

Per resident, FY2021. Bars show Grand Lake; the gold tick is the peer median. How categories work

Regional hub: sales tax per resident is 8.0× 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.

On the revenue side, the biggest difference from peers is Intergovernmental: $2,473 per resident, 7.2× the peer median.

Money in

Revenue

$12,210
per resident4.2× peers
Money in: Grand Lake revenue per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$2,4737.2×peers $342
$83970% abovepeers $494
$73431.7×peers $23
None reported · peers $836$0None reported
Withheldpeers $955
Withheldpeers $159
Withheldpeers $72
Peer median of 4 peers · Colorado median of 227 reporting

Money out

Spending

Categories are withheld with the total until it is verified against Grand Lake’s audited financial report.

Peer median of 4 peers · Colorado median of 220 reporting

Grand Lake 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
Grand Lake compared with its peer municipalities, FY2021, per resident
MunicipalityRevenueExpendituresTax revenueSales taxDebt
Grand LakeRegional hub: Sales tax per resident is 8.0× the Colorado median.$12,210$6,861$13,837
YampaUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 36.6% 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.$1,935$1,640$652$418$1,126
Lake CityUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 18.1% 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.Regional hub: Sales tax per resident is 1.8× the Colorado median.$4,270$1,326$1,807$1,576$1,970
EmpireUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 32.2% 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.$3,292$2,484$1,245$1,062Not reported for this year
NorwoodUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 35.5% 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.$2,535$1,949$1,043$848$469
Peer median$2,913Benchmark unavailableBenchmark unavailable$955$1,548

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 $6,163 to FY2023 $13,561.$0$6.8K$13.6K’16’21’23Peer median FY2021: $2,913Peer median FY2023: $11,161Colorado median FY2016: $1,746 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,476 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $6,163FY2021: $12,210FY2023: $13,561

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$6,163Benchmark unavailable$1,746 (224 reporting)
FY2021$12,210$2,913$2,476 (227 reporting)
FY2023$13,561$11,161$3,580 (97 reporting, sample year)
Expenditures per resident
FY2016 $5,718 to FY2023 $13,333. 1 year withheld.$0$6.7K$13.3K’16’21’23Peer median FY2023: $11,686Colorado median FY2016: $1,749 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,208 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $5,718FY2023: $13,333. Excludes equipment purchases and payments to other governments, which Census stopped reporting after FY2021.FY2021: withheld — Expenditures per resident is 8.5x 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.

  • FY2021 withheld: Expenditures per resident is 8.5x the peer median
Show data table
Expenditures per resident by fiscal year
YearThis cityPeer medianColorado median
FY2016$5,718Benchmark unavailable$1,749 (196 reporting)
FY2021Withheld (Expenditures per resident is 8.5x the peer median)Benchmark unavailable$2,208 (220 reporting)
FY2023$13,333$11,686$3,680 (91 reporting, sample year)
Tax revenue per resident
FY2016 $3,643 to FY2023 $8,681. 1 year withheld.$0$4.3K$8.7K’16’21’23Peer median FY2016: $835Peer median FY2023: $7,600Colorado median FY2016: $705 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,072 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $3,643FY2023: $8,681FY2021: withheld — Tax revenue per resident is 6.6x the peer median

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

  • FY2021 withheld: Tax revenue per resident is 6.6x 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
Tax revenue per resident by fiscal year
YearThis cityPeer medianColorado median
FY2016$3,643$835$705 (193 reporting)
FY2021Withheld (Tax revenue per resident is 6.6x the peer median)Benchmark unavailable$1,072 (201 reporting)
FY2023$8,681$7,600$1,726 (90 reporting, sample year)
Debt per resident
FY2016 $883 to FY2023 $11,368.$0$12.7K$25.5K’16’21’23Peer median FY2016: $2,940Peer median FY2021: $1,548Peer median FY2023: $25,474Colorado median FY2016: $1,072 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,411 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $883FY2021: $13,837FY2023: $11,368

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$883$2,940$1,072 (220 reporting)
FY2021$13,837$1,548$1,411 (199 reporting)
FY2023$11,368$25,474$2,130 (91 reporting, sample year)

Questions about Grand Lake’s finances

How much revenue does Grand Lake collect per resident?
Grand Lake collected $12,210 per resident in FY2021, 4.9× the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. See the figure
How much debt does Grand Lake have per resident?
Grand Lake carried $13,837 of debt per resident in FY2021, 8.9× its peers' median. See the figure
Which cities is Grand Lake compared with?
Grand Lake is compared with Yampa, Lake City, Empire and Norwood: 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)
−2.7%/yr
2021 estimate
Median household income
$72.9K
2021 estimate
Poverty rate
11.5%
2021 estimate
Median home value
$375K
2021 estimate
Housing vacancy rate
78.1%
2021 estimate

Explore further

Also in Central Mountains & Resort

Revenue per resident, latest published year.

Sources

Dataset: Grand Lake, 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

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