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Lafayette · FY2016 municipal finance benchmarks

Boulder County · Denver Metro · home rule municipality · Pop. 30,116 (2025 estimate); FY2016 per-resident figures use 27,454 · Census finance data FY2016–FY2023

You’re viewing FY2016. See the latest view (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

FY2016 in brief

Lafayette collected $2,279 per resident (including city-run utilities), 31% above the median of the 224 Colorado municipalities reporting that year, in line with its peers. Tax revenue per resident sits in line with its peers, but 30% 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

FY2016 headline figures

Revenue per resident (definition)

$2,279
in line with peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$2,311
CO median · 224 with a published figure
$1,746
Position
Higher than 64% of the 224 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
Not enough history for a 5-year change
How Colorado compares on revenue per resident

Expenditures per resident (definition)

$1,744
14% below peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$2,021
CO median · 196 with a published figure
$1,749
Position
Higher than 49% of the 196 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
Not enough history for a 5-year change

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

$913
in line with peers
Peer median
$905
CO median · 193 with a published figure
$705
Position
Higher than 66% of the 193 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
Not enough history for a 5-year change

Debt per resident (definition)

$1,071
31% below peers
Peer median
$1,559
CO median · 220 with a published figure
$1,072
Position
Higher than 50% of the 220 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
Not enough history for a 5-year change
How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident · $2,279
Includes Census estimates for 100% of revenue

  1. 1Metric

    $2,279 Total revenue divided by population

    = Total revenue ÷ population

    Full definition: Revenue per resident

  2. 2Inputs

    Total revenue $62.6M ÷ population 27,454 (2016 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
    • C30 State aid
    • C46 State aid
    • C89 State aid
    • T01 Property tax
    • T09 General sales tax
    • T15 Selective sales taxes (lodging, utilities, etc.)
    • T19 Selective sales taxes (lodging, utilities, etc.)
    • T20 Licenses & permits
    • T24 Licenses & permits
    • T28 Licenses & permits
    • T29 Licenses & permits
    • U01 Special assessments
    • U11 Sale of property
    • U20 Interest earnings
    • U30 Fines & forfeits
    • U50 Private donations
    • U99 Miscellaneous

  4. 4Source file

What the numbers mean

  • Lafayette runs city-owned utilities, which add 13.7% 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
  • Part of Lafayette's FY2016 revenue is a Census Bureau estimate, not a reported figure. How estimates are handled

Where the money comes from and where it goes

Per resident, FY2016. Bars show Lafayette; the gold tick is the peer median. How categories work

The biggest difference from peers is General government: $263 per resident, 36% below the peer median. On the revenue side, other revenue is 8.3× peers.

Money in

Revenue

$2,279
per residentin line with peers
Money in: Lafayette revenue per resident by category, FY2016, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$6228.3×peers $75
$48335% belowpeers $748
$377in line withpeers $383
$311in line withpeers $309
$28098% abovepeers $141
$15014% abovepeers $132
$5623% belowpeers $73
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 224 reporting

Money out

Spending

$1,744
per resident14% below peers
Money out: Lafayette spending per resident by category, FY2016, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$44216% belowpeers $528
$42222% abovepeers $346
$3235% belowpeers $340
$26336% belowpeers $410
$15613% abovepeers $139
$7613% belowpeers $87
$58No peer comparisonpeers $0
$4No peer comparisonpeers $0
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 196 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, FY2016. How peers are chosen

Open in Compare
Lafayette compared with its peer municipalities, FY2016, per resident
MunicipalityRevenueExpendituresTax revenueSales taxDebt
LafayetteUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 13.7% of total revenue in FY2016. Revenue and spending per resident include them, so cities that run their own utilities read higher than cities that don't.$2,279$1,744$913$483$1,071
Wheat Ridge$1,072$1,418$905$748$2
ErieUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 14.0% of total revenue in FY2016. Revenue and spending per resident include them, so cities that run their own utilities read higher than cities that don't.$2,455$1,593$692$346$3,656
FountainUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 60.9% of total revenue in FY2016. Revenue and spending per resident include them, so cities that run their own utilities read higher than cities that don't.$1,770$2,032$583$441$1,686
EnglewoodUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 11.2% of total revenue in FY2016. Revenue and spending per resident include them, so cities that run their own utilities read higher than cities that don't.$2,311$2,021$1,158$825$1,559
GoldenUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 9.2% of total revenue in FY2016. 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 1.6× the Colorado median.$3,369$3,223$1,445$902$1,148
Peer median$2,311$2,021$905$748$1,559

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 $2,279 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 $2,279 per resident in FY2016, 31% above the median of the 224 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. See the figure
How does Lafayette's spending per resident compare with similar cities?
Lafayette spent $1,744 per resident in FY2016, 14% below the median of its peers: Wheat Ridge, Erie, Fountain, Englewood and Golden. See the figure
How much debt does Lafayette have per resident?
Lafayette carried $1,071 of debt per resident in FY2016, 31% below its peers' median. See the figure
Which cities is Lafayette compared with?
Lafayette is compared with Wheat Ridge, Erie, Fountain, Englewood and Golden: 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)
+1.5%/yr
2016 estimate
Median household income
Not reported for this year
Poverty rate
Not reported for this year
Median home value
Not reported for this year
Housing vacancy rate
Not reported for this year

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

General government is Lafayette’s largest difference from its peers (36% below the peer median in FY2016). 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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