Orivian

Lyons · FY2021 municipal finance benchmarks

Boulder County · Denver Metro · statutory town · Pop. 2,119 (2025 estimate); FY2021 per-resident figures use 2,178 · Census finance data FY2016, FY2021, FY2023

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

Lyons collected $7,153 per resident (including city-run utilities), 2.9× the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year, 3.3× its peers. Tax revenue per resident sits 23% above its peers. Debt per resident runs 2.8× peers.

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)

$7,153
3.3× peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$2,178
CO median · 227 with a published figure
$2,476
Position
Higher than 92% of the 227 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
Not enough history for a 5-year change
How Colorado compares on revenue per resident

Expenditures per resident (definition)

$5,472
2.8× peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$1,973
CO median · 220 with a published figure
$2,208
Position
Higher than 90% of the 220 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
Not enough history for a 5-year change

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

$1,332
23% above peers
Peer median
$1,079
CO median · 201 with a published figure
$1,072
Position
Higher than 61% of the 201 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
Not enough history for a 5-year change

Debt per resident (definition)

$2,192
2.8× peers
Peer median
$776
CO median · 199 with a published figure
$1,411
Position
Higher than 68% of the 199 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+65.6%/yr
How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident · $7,153
Reported by the city to the Census Bureau

  1. 1Metric

    $7,153 Total revenue divided by population

    = Total revenue ÷ population

    Full definition: Revenue per resident

  2. 2Inputs

    Total revenue $15.6M ÷ population 2,178 (2021 estimate)

  3. 3Census line items

    • A61 Parks & recreation charges
    • A80 Sewer charges
    • A89 General government (other) charges
    • A91 Water utility charges
    • A92 Electric utility charges
    • C89 State aid
    • T01 Property tax
    • T09 General sales tax
    • T29 Licenses & permits
    • T99 Other taxes
    • U01 Special assessments
    • U20 Interest earnings
    • U30 Fines & forfeits
    • U40 Rents
    • U50 Private donations
    • U99 Miscellaneous

  4. 4Source file

What the numbers mean

  • Lyons runs city-owned utilities, which add 29.3% 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 2,178 residents, small changes in Lyons's budget move per-resident figures a lot. Compare several years, not one.
  • Debt per resident is 2.8× 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 Lyons; the gold tick is the peer median. How categories work

The biggest difference from peers is General government: $2,739 per resident, 5.2× the peer median. On the revenue side, intergovernmental is 9.1× peers.

Money in

Revenue

$7,153
per resident3.3× peers
Money in: Lyons revenue per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$3,0699.1×peers $336
$2,0974.2×peers $497
$85051% abovepeers $563
$46130% abovepeers $356
$382in line withpeers $393
$19323% abovepeers $157
$1009% belowpeers $110
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 227 reporting

Money out

Spending

$5,472
per resident2.8× peers
Money out: Lyons spending per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$2,7395.2×peers $526
$1,6432.6×peers $644
$46639.9×peers $12
$35914% belowpeers $417
$1137% belowpeers $121
$10340.2×peers $3
$5171% abovepeers $30
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 220 reporting

Lyons 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
Lyons compared with its peer municipalities, FY2021, per resident
MunicipalityRevenueExpendituresTax revenueSales taxDebt
LyonsUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 29.3% 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.$7,153$5,472$1,332$850$2,192
NederlandUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 13.6% 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.Regional hub: Sales tax per resident is 1.7× the Colorado median.$3,649$2,463$1,971$1,468$432
Palmer LakeUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 33.2% 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.$1,577$1,777$860$426$868
La SalleUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 17.1% 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.$2,108$1,113$965$392Not reported for this year
AultUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 13.5% 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.$2,178$1,973$1,079$563$733
KeenesburgUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 31.4% 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.$6,132$2,928$1,907$824$820
Peer median$2,178$1,973$1,079$563$776

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
FY2021 $7,153 to FY2023 $5,905. 1 year withheld.$0$3.6K$7.2K’16’21’23Peer median FY2021: $2,178Peer median FY2023: $3,155Colorado median FY2016: $1,746 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,476 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2021: $7,153FY2023: $5,905FY2016: withheld — Revenue per resident is 14% of this city's typical level in other years

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

  • FY2016 withheld: Revenue per resident is 14% of this city's typical level in other years

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
FY2016Withheld (Revenue per resident is 14% of this city's typical level in other years)Benchmark unavailable$1,746 (224 reporting)
FY2021$7,153$2,178$2,476 (227 reporting)
FY2023$5,905$3,155$3,580 (97 reporting, sample year)
Expenditures per resident
FY2021 $5,472 to FY2023 $4,544. 1 year withheld.$0$2.7K$5.5K’16’21’23Peer median FY2021: $1,973Peer median FY2023: $2,952Colorado median FY2016: $1,749 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,208 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2021: $5,472FY2023: $4,544. Excludes equipment purchases and payments to other governments, which Census stopped reporting after FY2021.FY2016: withheld — Expenditures per resident is 4% 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.

  • FY2016 withheld: Expenditures per resident is 4% of this city's typical level in other years

Peer group changed in FY2021, FY2023. 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
FY2016Withheld (Expenditures per resident is 4% of this city's typical level in other years)Benchmark unavailable$1,749 (196 reporting)
FY2021$5,472$1,973$2,208 (220 reporting)
FY2023$4,544$2,952$3,680 (91 reporting, sample year)
Tax revenue per resident
FY2021 $1,332 to FY2023 $1,464. 1 year withheld.$0$974.3$1.9K’16’21’23Peer median FY2021: $1,079Peer median FY2023: $1,949Colorado median FY2016: $705 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,072 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2021: $1,332FY2023: $1,464FY2016: withheld — Tax revenue per resident is 8% of this city's typical level in other years

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

  • FY2016 withheld: Tax revenue per resident is 8% of this city's typical level in other years

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
FY2016Withheld (Tax revenue per resident is 8% of this city's typical level in other years)Benchmark unavailable$705 (193 reporting)
FY2021$1,332$1,079$1,072 (201 reporting)
FY2023$1,464$1,949$1,726 (90 reporting, sample year)
Debt per resident
FY2016 $176 to FY2023 $1,607.$0$1.6K$3.3K’16’21’23Peer median FY2016: $3,252Peer median FY2021: $776Peer median FY2023: $3,058Colorado median FY2016: $1,072 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,411 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $176FY2021: $2,192FY2023: $1,607

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$176$3,252$1,072 (220 reporting)
FY2021$2,192$776$1,411 (199 reporting)
FY2023$1,607$3,058$2,130 (91 reporting, sample year)

Questions about Lyons’s finances

How much revenue does Lyons collect per resident?
Lyons collected $7,153 per resident in FY2021, 2.9× the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. See the figure
How does Lyons's spending per resident compare with similar cities?
Lyons spent $5,472 per resident in FY2021, 2.8× the median of its peers: Nederland, Palmer Lake, La Salle, Ault and Keenesburg. See the figure
How much debt does Lyons have per resident?
Lyons carried $2,192 of debt per resident in FY2021, 2.8× its peers' median. See the figure
Which cities is Lyons compared with?
Lyons is compared with Nederland, Palmer Lake, La Salle, Ault and Keenesburg: 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)
+1.0%/yr
2021 estimate
Median household income
$112K
2021 estimate
Poverty rate
4.6%
2021 estimate
Median home value
$637K
2021 estimate
Housing vacancy rate
1.9%
2021 estimate

Explore further

Also in Denver Metro

Revenue per resident, latest published year.

Sources

Dataset: Lyons, 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 Lyons’s largest difference from its peers (5.2× 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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