Kit Carson · FY2021 municipal finance benchmarks

Name: Kit Carson, CO municipal finance benchmarks
Creator: Orivian
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Cheyenne County · Eastern Plains · statutory town · Pop. 250 (2025 estimate); FY2021 per-resident figures use 254 · Census finance data FY2016, FY2021

Latest Census Bureau finance data for Kit Carson: FY2021. Retrieved Oct 2026. Newer years are added when the Census Bureau publishes them. Why the lag?

City website (opens in a new tab)

Fiscal yearCompare

FY2021 in brief

Kit Carson collected $1,091 per resident (including city-run utilities), 56% below the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year, in line with its peers.

Tax revenue per resident withheld: Tax revenue per resident is 3.3x the peer median

Generated from the figures below. Every number links to its Census source.

Compared with

Nearest on population, household income and region

Revenue per resident (definition)

$1,091

in line with peers

Includes city-owned utilities

Peer median: $1,135
CO median · 227 with a published figure Median of the 227 Colorado municipalities with FY2021 Census finance data. In FY2016 and FY2021 the Census covers every municipality; in other years it surveys a sample, mostly larger cities.: $2,476
Position: Higher than 9% of the 227 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars: −22.8%/yr

How Colorado compares on revenue per resident

Expenditures per resident (definition)

$461

65% below peers

Includes city-owned utilities

Peer median: $1,319
CO median · 220 with a published figure Median of the 220 Colorado municipalities with FY2021 Census finance data. In FY2016 and FY2021 the Census covers every municipality; in other years it surveys a sample, mostly larger cities.: $2,208
Position: Higher than 1% of the 220 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars: −34.9%/yr

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

Peer median: Benchmark unavailable
CO median · 201 with a published figure Median of the 201 Colorado municipalities with FY2021 Census finance data. In FY2016 and FY2021 the Census covers every municipality; in other years it surveys a sample, mostly larger cities.: $1,072
Position: Not reported for this year
5-year changenominal dollars: Withheld with this year's value

Debt per resident (definition)

Peer median: Not reported for this year
CO median: Not reported for this year
Position: Not reported for this year
5-year change: Not reported for this year

How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident · $1,091

Reported by the city to the Census Bureau

1Metric
$1,091 Total revenue divided by population
= Total revenue ÷ population
Full definition: Revenue per resident
2Inputs
Total revenue $277K ÷ population 254 (2021 estimate)
3Census line items
- A80 Sewer charges
- A91 Water utility charges
- T01 Property tax
- T09 General sales tax
4Source file
- Annual Survey of State & Local Government Finances 2022 - Individual Unit File
  Value for
  FY2021
  Survey file
  2022
  The 2022 Census survey covers fiscal years ending July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022, so a fiscal year ending December 31, 2021 is FY2021.
  Retrieved October 12, 2026 · View source: Annual Survey of State & Local Government Finances 2022 - Individual Unit File (opens in a new tab)
- Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 - incorporated places
  Value for
  FY2021
  Source year
  2025
  Retrieved October 7, 2026 · View source: Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 - incorporated places (opens in a new tab)

What the numbers mean

Kit Carson runs city-owned utilities, which add 52.0% 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 254 residents, small changes in Kit Carson'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 Kit Carson; the gold tick is the peer median. How categories work

The biggest difference from peers is Utilities & environment: $228 per resident, 77% below the peer median. On the revenue side, utility & transit charges is 64% above peers.

Money in

Revenue

$1,091

per residentin line with peers

Money in: Kit Carson revenue per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
Category	Per resident	Peer median	vs peers	Share of revenue
	$567	$345	64% above peerspeers $345	52%

Water utility charges $567 · peers $345 Revenue of city-owned water, electric, gas and transit systems. Census line items A91 Water utility charges
	$189	$366	48% below peerspeers $366	17%

Sewer charges $189 · peers $216 Charges for services such as sewer, trash, recreation, parking and airports. Census line items A80 Sewer charges
None reported · peers $176	$0	$176	None reported	0%

Kit Carson reported nothing in this category for FY2021. Grants and shared revenue from federal, state and local governments.
None reported · peers $34	$0	$34	None reported	0%

Kit Carson reported nothing in this category for FY2021. Lodging, utility, tobacco and other selective sales taxes, licenses and permits, and other taxes.
None reported · peers $29	$0	$29	None reported	0%

Kit Carson reported nothing in this category for FY2021. Interest earnings, fines, rents, special assessments, donations and sales of property.
	Withheld Kit Carson · Property tax · FY2021 Reason: Tax revenue per resident is 3.3x the peer median We don't publish figures that fail our quality checks until they're verified against the city's audited financial report.	$76	Withheldpeers $76	Withheld

Property tax Withheld Kit Carson · Property tax · FY2021 Reason: Tax revenue per resident is 3.3x the peer median We don't publish figures that fail our quality checks until they're verified against the city's audited financial report. · peers $76 Property tax levied by the municipality. Census line items T01 Property tax
	Withheld Kit Carson · Sales tax · FY2021 Reason: Tax revenue per resident is 3.3x the peer median We don't publish figures that fail our quality checks until they're verified against the city's audited financial report.	$0	Withheldpeers $0	Withheld

General sales tax Withheld Kit Carson · General sales tax · FY2021 Reason: Tax revenue per resident is 3.3x the peer median We don't publish figures that fail our quality checks until they're verified against the city's audited financial report. · peers $0 General sales and use tax. Census line items T09 General sales tax

Peer median of 4 peers · Colorado median of 227 reporting

Money out

Spending

$461

per resident65% below peers

Money out: Kit Carson spending per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
Category	Per resident	Peer median	vs peers	Share of spending
	$228	$993	77% below peerspeers $993	50%

Water utility $106 · peers $533 Sewer $79 · peers $134 Solid waste $43 · peers $172 Water, sewer, solid waste, electric and gas utilities, and natural resources. Census line items E80 Sewer E81 Solid waste E91 Water utility
	$130	$267	51% below peerspeers $267	28%

Central staff services $122 · peers $103 Judicial & legal $8 · peers $2 Administration, finance, legal and courts, public buildings and other general government. Census line items E25 Judicial & legal E29 Central staff services
	$79	$58	36% above peerspeers $58	17%

Police $79 · peers $0 Police, fire protection, inspection and corrections. Census line items E62 Police
	$24	$18	29% above peerspeers $18	5%

Parks & recreation $24 · peers $18 Parks and recreation, libraries, housing and community development. Census line items E61 Parks & recreation
None reported · peers $47	$0	$47	None reported	0%

Kit Carson reported nothing in this category for FY2021. Streets and highways, transit, parking and airports.
None reported · peers $19	$0	$19	None reported	0%

Kit Carson reported nothing in this category for FY2021. Interest paid on the municipality's debt.

Peer median of 4 peers · Colorado median of 220 reporting

Kit Carson 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

Kit Carson compared with its peer municipalities, FY2021, per resident
Municipality	Revenue	Expenditures	Tax revenue	Sales tax	Debt
Kit CarsonUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 52.0% 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.	$1,091	$461	Withheld Kit Carson · Tax revenue per resident · FY2021 Reason: Tax revenue per resident is 3.3x the peer median We don't publish figures that fail our quality checks until they're verified against the city's audited financial report.	$217	Not reported for this year
IliffUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 36.1% 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.	$837	Withheld Iliff · Expenditures per resident · FY2021 Reason: Expenditures per resident is 31% of this city's typical level in other years We don't publish figures that fail our quality checks until they're verified against the city's audited financial report.	$78	Not reported for this year	Not reported for this year
CherawUtilities: 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.	$1,687	$1,687	$112	Not reported for this year	Not reported for this year
MerinoUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 35.0% 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.	$1,106	$951	$176	Not reported for this year	$894
HillroseUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 39.0% 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.	$1,163	$879	$101	Not reported for this year	$1,569
Peer median	$1,135	$1,319	Benchmark unavailable	Benchmark unavailable	Not reported for this year

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

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Show data table

Revenue per resident by fiscal year
Year	This city	Peer median	Colorado median
FY2016	$3,988	Benchmark unavailable	$1,746 (224 reporting)
FY2021	$1,091	$1,135	$2,476 (227 reporting)

Expenditures per resident

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

Expenditures per resident by fiscal year
Year	This city	Peer median	Colorado median
FY2016	$3,938	$4,706	$1,749 (196 reporting)
FY2021	$461	$1,319	$2,208 (220 reporting)

Tax revenue per resident

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

FY2016 withheld: Tax revenue per resident is 13.5x the peer median
FY2021 withheld: Tax revenue per resident is 3.3x the peer median

Show data table

Tax revenue per resident by fiscal year
Year	This city	Peer median	Colorado median
FY2016	Withheld (Tax revenue per resident is 13.5x the peer median)	Benchmark unavailable	$705 (193 reporting)
FY2021	Withheld (Tax revenue per resident is 3.3x the peer median)	Benchmark unavailable	$1,072 (201 reporting)

Debt per resident

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Show data table

Debt per resident by fiscal year
Year	This city	Peer median	Colorado median
FY2016	$1,604	$1,368	$1,072 (220 reporting)
FY2021	—	—	—

Questions about Kit Carson’s finances

How much revenue does Kit Carson collect per resident?: Kit Carson collected $1,091 per resident in FY2021, 56% below the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. See the figure
How does Kit Carson's spending per resident compare with similar cities?: Kit Carson spent $461 per resident in FY2021, 65% below the median of its peers: Iliff, Cheraw, Merino and Hillrose. See the figure
Which cities is Kit Carson compared with?: Kit Carson is compared with Iliff, Cheraw, Merino and Hillrose: 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): +1.1%/yr; 2021 estimate
Median household income: $51.7K; 2021 estimate
Poverty rate: 14.2%; 2021 estimate
Median home value: $105.6K; 2021 estimate
Housing vacancy rate: 34.2%; 2021 estimate

Explore further

Also in Eastern Plains

Iliff$941 · FY2023
Ovid$1,447 · FY2021
Sugar City$935 · FY2016
Eckley$2,745 · FY2023
Merino$1,106 · FY2021
Cheraw$1,687 · FY2021
Olney Springs$919 · FY2023
Arriba$1,182 · FY2021

Revenue per resident, latest published year.

Sources

American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2017-2021 · 2021
U.S. Census Bureau
Retrieved October 7, 2026View source: American Community Survey 5-year estimates 2017-2021 (opens in a new tab)
Annual Survey of State & Local Government Finances 2022 - Individual Unit File · 2022 survey file
U.S. Census Bureau
Retrieved October 12, 2026View source: Annual Survey of State & Local Government Finances 2022 - Individual Unit File (opens in a new tab)
Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 - incorporated places · 2025
U.S. Census Bureau
Retrieved October 7, 2026View source: Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025 - incorporated places (opens in a new tab)

Dataset: Kit Carson, 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 Kit Carson’s largest difference from its peers (77% below 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.

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Kit Carson · FY2021 municipal finance benchmarks

FY2021 in brief

FY2021 headline figures

Revenue per resident (definition)

Expenditures per resident (definition)

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

Debt per resident (definition)

How this number was calculated

What the numbers mean

Where the money comes from and where it goes

Money in

Money out

Kit Carson and its peers

Trends

Questions about Kit Carson’s finances

Community context

Explore further

Also in Eastern Plains

Sources

Utilities & environment is Kit Carson’s largest difference from its peers (77% below the peer median in FY2021). See how that line moves month to month in your own budget-vs-actual.