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Lamar · FY2023 municipal finance benchmarks

Prowers County · Eastern Plains · home rule municipality · Pop. 7,588 (2025 estimate); FY2023 per-resident figures use 7,522 · Census finance data FY2016, FY2018, FY2019, FY2020, FY2021, FY2022, FY2023

Latest Census Bureau finance data for Lamar: 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

Lamar collected $4,292 per resident (including city-run utilities), 20% above the median of the 97 Colorado municipalities reporting that year, 5% above its peers. Tax revenue per resident sits 19% below its peers, and 52% below 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)

$4,292
5% above peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$4,081
CO median · 97 with a published figure
$3,580
Position
Higher than 57% of the 97 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+22.3%/yr
How Colorado compares on revenue per resident

Expenditures per resident (definition)

$4,235
10% above peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$3,852
CO median · 91 with a published figure
$3,680
Position
Higher than 61% of the 91 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
Not enough history for a 5-year change

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

$835
19% below peers
Peer median
$1,037
CO median · 90 with a published figure
$1,726
Position
Higher than 9% of the 90 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+3.2%/yr

Debt per resident (definition)

$1,392
31% below peers
Peer median
$2,011
CO median · 91 with a published figure
$2,130
Position
Higher than 32% of the 91 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+44.7%/yr
How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident · $4,292
Reported by the city to the Census Bureau

  1. 1Metric

    $4,292 Total revenue divided by population

    = Total revenue ÷ population

    Full definition: Revenue per resident

  2. 2Inputs

    Total revenue $32.3M ÷ population 7,522 (2023 estimate)

  3. 3Census line items

    • A01 Airport charges
    • A81 Solid waste charges
    • A91 Water utility charges
    • A92 Electric utility charges
    • D89 Local government aid
    • T01 Property tax
    • T09 General sales tax
    • T28 Licenses & permits
    • U20 Interest earnings
    • U30 Fines & forfeits
    • U99 Miscellaneous

  4. 4Source file

What the numbers mean

  • Lamar runs city-owned utilities, which add 56.2% 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
  • Lamar relies on sales tax more than most Colorado municipalities. Tourism and regional retail can raise sales tax per resident because non-residents pay it.

Where the money comes from and where it goes

Per resident, FY2023. Bars show Lamar; the gold tick is the peer median. How categories work

The biggest difference from peers is Utilities & environment: $2,563 per resident, 45% above the peer median. On the revenue side, utility & transit charges is 18% above peers.

Money in

Revenue

$4,292
per resident5% above peers
Money in: Lamar revenue per resident by category, FY2023, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$2,41418% abovepeers $2,049
$7088% belowpeers $771
$51375% abovepeers $294
$30143% belowpeers $525
$230in line withpeers $241
$10124% belowpeers $134
$2679% belowpeers $120
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 97 reporting

Money out

Spending

$4,235
per resident10% above peers
Money out: Lamar spending per resident by category, FY2023, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$2,56345% abovepeers $1,773
$483in line withpeers $488
$42726% belowpeers $580
$37323.8×peers $16
$32218% abovepeers $274
$3736% belowpeers $58
$3092% belowpeers $390
None reported · peers $4$0None reported
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 91 reporting

Lamar 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
Lamar compared with its peer municipalities, FY2023, per resident
MunicipalityRevenueExpendituresTax revenueSales taxDebt
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
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
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$1,037$771$2,011

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 $3,364 to FY2023 $4,292.$0$2.4K$4.7K’16’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $3,089Peer median FY2018: $2,195Peer median FY2019: $2,333Peer median FY2020: $2,250Peer median FY2021: $3,090Peer median FY2022: $2,689Peer median FY2023: $4,081Colorado median FY2016: $1,746 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,476 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $3,364FY2018: $1,569FY2019: $3,815FY2020: $3,701FY2021: $4,702FY2022: $4,264FY2023: $4,292

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2018, 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$3,364$3,089$1,746 (224 reporting)
FY2018$1,569$2,195$2,529 (75 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$3,815$2,333$2,694 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$3,701$2,250$2,739 (76 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$4,702$3,090$2,476 (227 reporting)
FY2022$4,264$2,689$3,031 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$4,292$4,081$3,580 (97 reporting, sample year)
Expenditures per resident
FY2016 $3,585 to FY2023 $4,235. 1 year withheld.$0$2.1K$4.2K’16’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $2,642Peer median FY2019: $2,755Peer median FY2020: $1,840Peer median FY2021: $2,781Peer median FY2022: $2,675Peer median FY2023: $3,852Colorado median FY2016: $1,749 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,208 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $3,585FY2019: $4,042FY2020: $3,655FY2021: $3,440FY2022: $3,873. Excludes equipment purchases and payments to other governments, which Census stopped reporting after FY2021.FY2023: $4,235. Excludes equipment purchases and payments to other governments, which Census stopped reporting after FY2021.FY2018: withheld — Expenditures per resident is 29% of this city's typical level in other years

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.

  • FY2018 withheld: Expenditures per resident is 29% of this city's typical level in other years

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$3,585$2,642$1,749 (196 reporting)
FY2018Withheld (Expenditures per resident is 29% of this city's typical level in other years)Benchmark unavailable$2,387 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$4,042$2,755$2,759 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$3,655$1,840$2,485 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$3,440$2,781$2,208 (220 reporting)
FY2022$3,873$2,675$3,025 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$4,235$3,852$3,680 (91 reporting, sample year)
Tax revenue per resident
FY2016 $603 to FY2023 $835.$0$536$1.1K’16’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $585Peer median FY2018: $602Peer median FY2019: $961Peer median FY2020: $764Peer median FY2021: $911Peer median FY2022: $862Peer median FY2023: $1,037Colorado median FY2016: $705 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,072 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $603FY2018: $712FY2019: $658FY2020: $721FY2021: $747FY2022: $804FY2023: $835

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$603$585$705 (193 reporting)
FY2018$712$602$1,173 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$658$961$1,187 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$721$764$1,238 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$747$911$1,072 (201 reporting)
FY2022$804$862$1,631 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$835$1,037$1,726 (90 reporting, sample year)
Debt per resident
FY2016 $1,161 to FY2023 $1,392.$0$1.1K$2.2K’16’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $1,926Peer median FY2018: $856Peer median FY2019: $1,005Peer median FY2020: $1,003Peer median FY2021: $1,702Peer median FY2022: $866Peer median FY2023: $2,011Colorado median FY2016: $1,072 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,411 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,161FY2018: $219FY2019: $2,173FY2020: $1,629FY2021: $1,553FY2022: $1,172FY2023: $1,392

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2018, FY2019, 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$1,161$1,926$1,072 (220 reporting)
FY2018$219$856$1,644 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$2,173$1,005$1,627 (69 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$1,629$1,003$1,798 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$1,553$1,702$1,411 (199 reporting)
FY2022$1,172$866$2,068 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$1,392$2,011$2,130 (91 reporting, sample year)

Questions about Lamar’s finances

How much revenue does Lamar collect per resident?
Lamar collected $4,292 per resident in FY2023, 20% above the median of the 97 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. See the figure
How does Lamar's spending per resident compare with similar cities?
Lamar spent $4,235 per resident in FY2023, 10% above the median of its peers: La Junta, Fort Morgan, Sterling, Yuma and Burlington. See the figure
How much debt does Lamar have per resident?
Lamar carried $1,392 of debt per resident in FY2023, 31% below its peers' median. See the figure
Which cities is Lamar compared with?
Lamar is compared with La Junta, Fort Morgan, Sterling, 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)
−0.2%/yr
2023 estimate
Median household income
$58.5K
2023 estimate
Poverty rate
20.0%
2023 estimate
Median home value
$137.1K
2023 estimate
Housing vacancy rate
17.4%
2023 estimate

Explore further

Also in Eastern Plains

Revenue per resident, latest published year.

Sources

Dataset: Lamar, 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 Lamar’s largest difference from its peers (45% above the peer median in FY2023). See how that line moves month to month in your own budget-vs-actual.

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