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Lafayette · FY2023 municipal finance benchmarks

Boulder County · Denver Metro · home rule municipality · Pop. 30,116 (2025 estimate); FY2023 per-resident figures use 30,508 · Census finance data FY2016–FY2023

Latest Census Bureau finance data for Lafayette: 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

Lafayette collected $3,162 per resident (including city-run utilities), 12% below the median of the 97 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. Tax revenue per resident sits 7% below its peers, and 21% below the state median.

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)

$3,162
7% below peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$3,389
CO median · 97 with a published figure
$3,580
Position
Higher than 43% of the 97 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+5.0%/yr
How Colorado compares on revenue per resident

Expenditures per resident (definition)

$3,810
74% above peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$2,189
CO median · 91 with a published figure
$3,680
Position
Higher than 52% of the 91 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+13.0%/yr

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

$1,368
7% below peers
Peer median
$1,476
CO median · 90 with a published figure
$1,726
Position
Higher than 35% of the 90 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+3.8%/yr

Debt per resident (definition)

$1,856
in line with peers
Peer median
$1,888
CO median · 91 with a published figure
$2,130
Position
Higher than 43% of the 91 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+14.1%/yr
How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident · $3,162
Reported by the city to the Census Bureau

  1. 1Metric

    $3,162 Total revenue divided by population

    = Total revenue ÷ population

    Full definition: Revenue per resident

  2. 2Inputs

    Total revenue $96.5M ÷ population 30,508 (2023 estimate)

  3. 3Census line items

    • 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
    • B89 Federal aid
    • 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
    • U11 Sale of property
    • U20 Interest earnings
    • U30 Fines & forfeits
    • U40 Rents
    • U50 Private donations
    • U99 Miscellaneous

  4. 4Source file

What the numbers mean

  • Lafayette runs city-owned utilities, which add 18.8% 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 Lafayette; the gold tick is the peer median. How categories work

The biggest difference from peers is Utilities & environment: $1,521 per resident, 2.4× the peer median. On the revenue side, utility & transit charges is 57% above peers.

Money in

Revenue

$3,162
per resident7% below peers
Money in: Lafayette revenue per resident by category, FY2023, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$8919% belowpeers $978
$67636% abovepeers $495
$59457% abovepeers $379
$38992% abovepeers $202
$26413% abovepeers $234
$26034% abovepeers $194
$8760% belowpeers $217
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 97 reporting

Money out

Spending

$3,810
per resident74% above peers
Money out: Lafayette spending per resident by category, FY2023, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$1,5212.4×peers $631
$86115% abovepeers $746
$53142% abovepeers $373
$4816% abovepeers $455
$3502.5×peers $139
$6125% belowpeers $82
$6No peer comparisonpeers $0
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 91 reporting

Lafayette 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
Lafayette compared with its peer municipalities, FY2023, per resident
MunicipalityRevenueExpendituresTax revenueSales taxDebt
LafayetteUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 18.8% 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.$3,162$3,810$1,368$891$1,856
Wheat Ridge$2,104$2,189$1,495$1,138$1,888
EnglewoodUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 10.6% 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.$3,580$3,023$1,813$1,260$1,496
ErieUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 25.4% 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.$4,614$1,371$1,162$851$3,840
FountainUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 46.4% 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.$3,389$2,981$1,156$860$3,660
Littleton$2,399$2,069$1,476$978$91
Peer median$3,389$2,189$1,476$978$1,888

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 $2,279 to FY2023 $3,162.$0$1.7K$3.4K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $2,311Peer median FY2017: $1,938Peer median FY2018: $2,628Peer median FY2019: $2,960Peer median FY2020: $2,402Peer median FY2021: $2,595Peer median FY2022: $2,896Peer median FY2023: $3,389Colorado median FY2016: $1,746 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,476 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $2,279FY2017: $2,307FY2018: $2,474FY2019: $2,539FY2020: $2,396FY2021: $2,720FY2022: $2,725FY2023: $3,162

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2017, FY2018, FY2019, FY2020, FY2022. 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$2,279$2,311$1,746 (224 reporting)
FY2017$2,307$1,938$2,694 (35 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$2,474$2,628$2,529 (75 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$2,539$2,960$2,694 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$2,396$2,402$2,739 (76 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$2,720$2,595$2,476 (227 reporting)
FY2022$2,725$2,896$3,031 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$3,162$3,389$3,580 (97 reporting, sample year)
Expenditures per resident
FY2016 $1,744 to FY2023 $3,810.$0$1.9K$3.8K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $2,021Peer median FY2017: $1,825Peer median FY2018: $1,921Peer median FY2019: $2,219Peer median FY2020: $2,261Peer median FY2021: $2,288Peer median FY2022: $2,456Peer median FY2023: $2,189Colorado median FY2016: $1,749 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,208 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,744FY2017: $2,045FY2018: $2,068FY2019: $2,154FY2020: $2,048FY2021: $2,021FY2022: $3,460. Excludes equipment purchases and payments to other governments, which Census stopped reporting after FY2021.FY2023: $3,810. 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 FY2017, FY2018, FY2019, FY2020, FY2022, 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$1,744$2,021$1,749 (196 reporting)
FY2017$2,045$1,825$2,663 (35 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$2,068$1,921$2,387 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$2,154$2,219$2,759 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$2,048$2,261$2,485 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$2,021$2,288$2,208 (220 reporting)
FY2022$3,460$2,456$3,025 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$3,810$2,189$3,680 (91 reporting, sample year)
Tax revenue per resident
FY2016 $913 to FY2023 $1,368.$0$737.8$1.5K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $905Peer median FY2017: $1,025Peer median FY2018: $1,207Peer median FY2019: $1,222Peer median FY2020: $1,036Peer median FY2021: $1,199Peer median FY2022: $1,338Peer median FY2023: $1,476Colorado median FY2016: $705 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,072 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $913FY2017: $1,047FY2018: $1,133FY2019: $1,187FY2020: $1,172FY2021: $1,145FY2022: $1,359FY2023: $1,368

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2017, FY2018, FY2019, FY2020, FY2022. 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$913$905$705 (193 reporting)
FY2017$1,047$1,025$1,098 (34 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$1,133$1,207$1,173 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$1,187$1,222$1,187 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$1,172$1,036$1,238 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$1,145$1,199$1,072 (201 reporting)
FY2022$1,359$1,338$1,631 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$1,368$1,476$1,726 (90 reporting, sample year)
Debt per resident
FY2016 $1,071 to FY2023 $1,856.$0$1.1K$2.2K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $1,559Peer median FY2017: $1,196Peer median FY2018: $1,254Peer median FY2019: $1,126Peer median FY2020: $1,052Peer median FY2021: $2,167Peer median FY2022: $2,052Peer median FY2023: $1,888Colorado median FY2016: $1,072 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,411 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,071FY2017: $1,112FY2018: $961FY2019: $821FY2020: $656FY2021: $2,022FY2022: $1,954FY2023: $1,856

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2017, FY2018, FY2019, FY2020, FY2022. 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$1,071$1,559$1,072 (220 reporting)
FY2017$1,112$1,196$1,482 (34 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$961$1,254$1,644 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$821$1,126$1,627 (69 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$656$1,052$1,798 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$2,022$2,167$1,411 (199 reporting)
FY2022$1,954$2,052$2,068 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$1,856$1,888$2,130 (91 reporting, sample year)

Questions about Lafayette’s finances

How much revenue does Lafayette collect per resident?
Lafayette collected $3,162 per resident in FY2023, 12% below the median of the 97 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. See the figure
How does Lafayette's spending per resident compare with similar cities?
Lafayette spent $3,810 per resident in FY2023, 74% above the median of its peers: Wheat Ridge, Englewood, Erie, Fountain and Littleton. See the figure
How much debt does Lafayette have per resident?
Lafayette carried $1,856 of debt per resident in FY2023, in line with its peers' median. See the figure
Which cities is Lafayette compared with?
Lafayette is compared with Wheat Ridge, Englewood, Erie, Fountain and Littleton: 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)
+1.8%/yr
2023 estimate
Median household income
$110.4K
2023 estimate
Poverty rate
6.1%
2023 estimate
Median home value
$647.6K
2023 estimate
Housing vacancy rate
2.0%
2023 estimate

Explore further

Also in Denver Metro

Revenue per resident, latest published year.

Sources

Dataset: Lafayette, 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 Lafayette’s largest difference from its peers (2.4× the peer median in FY2023). See how that line moves month to month in your own budget-vs-actual.

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