Palmer Lake · FY2021 municipal finance benchmarks

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

El Paso County · Pikes Peak · statutory town · Pop. 2,591 (2025 estimate); FY2021 per-resident figures use 2,657 · Census finance data FY2016, FY2021

Latest Census Bureau finance data for Palmer Lake: 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

Palmer Lake collected $1,577 per resident (including city-run utilities), 36% below the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. Tax revenue per resident sits 20% below its peers. Debt per resident runs 41% below peers.

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)

$1,577

42% below peers

Includes city-owned utilities

Peer median: $2,711
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 24% of the 227 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars: +11.5%/yr

How Colorado compares on revenue per resident

Expenditures per resident (definition)

$1,777

48% below peers

Includes city-owned utilities

Peer median: $3,418
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 38% of the 220 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars: Not enough history for a 5-year change

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

$860

20% below peers

Peer median: $1,079
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: Higher than 36% of the 201 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars: Not enough history for a 5-year change

Debt per resident (definition)

$868

41% below peers

Peer median: $1,463
CO median · 199 with a published figure Median of the 199 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.: $1,411
Position: Higher than 34% of the 199 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars: +38.2%/yr

How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident · $1,577

Reported by the city to the Census Bureau

1Metric
$1,577 Total revenue divided by population
= Total revenue ÷ population
Full definition: Revenue per resident
2Inputs
Total revenue $4.2M ÷ population 2,657 (2021 estimate)
3Census line items
- A91 Water utility charges
- C89 State aid
- D89 Local government aid
- T01 Property tax
- T09 General sales tax
- T15 Selective sales taxes (lodging, utilities, etc.)
- T29 Licenses & permits
- U20 Interest earnings
- U30 Fines & forfeits
- U99 Miscellaneous
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

Palmer Lake runs city-owned utilities, which add 33.2% 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
With about 2,657 residents, small changes in Palmer Lake'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 Palmer Lake; the gold tick is the peer median. How categories work

The biggest difference from peers is Utilities & environment: $644 per resident, 54% below the peer median. On the revenue side, intergovernmental is 80% below peers.

Money in

Revenue

$1,577

per resident42% below peers

Money in: Palmer Lake 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
	$524	$360	46% above peerspeers $360	33%

Water utility charges $524 · peers $360 Revenue of city-owned water, electric, gas and transit systems. Census line items A91 Water utility charges
	$426	$623	32% below peerspeers $623	27%

General sales tax $426 · peers $623 General sales and use tax. Census line items T09 General sales tax
	$348	$266	31% above peerspeers $266	22%

Property tax $348 · peers $266 Property tax levied by the municipality. Census line items T01 Property tax
	$139	$700	80% below peerspeers $700	9%

State aid $119 · peers $302 Local government aid $19 · peers $11 Grants and shared revenue from federal, state and local governments. Census line items C89 State aid D89 Local government aid
	$85	$100	14% below peerspeers $100	5%

Selective sales taxes (lodging, utilities, etc.) $54 · peers $0 Licenses & permits $32 · peers $66 Lodging, utility, tobacco and other selective sales taxes, licenses and permits, and other taxes. Census line items T15 Selective sales taxes (lodging, utilities, etc.) T29 Licenses & permits
	$55	$157	65% below peerspeers $157	3%

Fines & forfeits $35 · peers $47 Miscellaneous $15 · peers $17 Interest earnings $5 · peers $4 Interest earnings, fines, rents, special assessments, donations and sales of property. Census line items U20 Interest earnings U30 Fines & forfeits U99 Miscellaneous
None reported · peers $455	$0	$455	None reported	0%

Palmer Lake reported nothing in this category for FY2021. Charges for services such as sewer, trash, recreation, parking and airports.

Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 227 reporting

Money out

Spending

$1,777

per resident48% below peers

Money out: Palmer Lake 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
	$644	$1,392	54% below peerspeers $1,392	36%

Water utility $627 · peers $820 incl. $285 construction Natural resources $16 · peers $0 incl. $3 construction incl. $288 construction Water, sewer, solid waste, electric and gas utilities, and natural resources. Census line items E59 Natural resources E91 Water utility F59 Natural resources F91 Water utility
	$526	$430	22% above peerspeers $430	30%

General government (other) $522 · peers $169 incl. $329 construction Financial administration $3 · peers $0 General public buildings $1 · peers $0 incl. $329 construction Administration, finance, legal and courts, public buildings and other general government. Census line items E23 Financial administration E31 General public buildings E89 General government (other) F89 General government (other)
	$437	$344	27% above peerspeers $344	25%

Police $225 · peers $305 Fire protection $212 · peers $0 Police, fire protection, inspection and corrections. Census line items E24 Fire protection E62 Police
	$121	$89	36% above peerspeers $89	7%

Streets & highways $121 · peers $89 Streets and highways, transit, parking and airports. Census line items E44 Streets & highways
	$37	$32	14% above peerspeers $32	2%

Interest on debt $37 · peers $32 Interest paid on the municipality's debt. Includes Census Bureau estimates for this year. Census line items I89 Interest on debt
	$12	$228	95% below peerspeers $228	1%

Parks & recreation $12 · peers $87 Parks and recreation, libraries, housing and community development. Census line items E61 Parks & recreation
None reported · peers $15	$0	$15	None reported	0%

Palmer Lake reported nothing in this category for FY2021. Health, hospitals and public welfare.

Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 220 reporting

Palmer Lake 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

Palmer Lake compared with its peer municipalities, FY2021, per resident
Municipality	Revenue	Expenditures	Tax revenue	Sales tax	Debt
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
PlattevilleUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 11.4% 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.	$2,711	$3,418	$1,003	$623	$446
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
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	$392	Not 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
BennettUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 11.0% 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.	$3,713	$3,924	$1,198	$990	$3,691
Peer median	$2,711	$3,418	$1,079	$623	$1,463

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

Peer group changed in FY2021. Peers are matched each year, so the peer median can step when the group changes.

Show data table

Revenue per resident by fiscal year
Year	This city	Peer median	Colorado median
FY2016	$914	$2,093	$1,746 (224 reporting)
FY2021	$1,577	$2,711	$2,476 (227 reporting)

Expenditures per resident

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

FY2016 withheld: Expenditures per resident is 5% of the peer median

Show data table

Expenditures per resident by fiscal year
Year	This city	Peer median	Colorado median
FY2016	Withheld (Expenditures per resident is 5% of the peer median)	Benchmark unavailable	$1,749 (196 reporting)
FY2021	$1,777	$3,418	$2,208 (220 reporting)

Tax revenue per resident

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

FY2016 withheld: Tax revenue per resident is 9% of 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 9% of the peer median)	Benchmark unavailable	$705 (193 reporting)
FY2021	$860	$1,079	$1,072 (201 reporting)

Debt 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

Debt per resident by fiscal year
Year	This city	Peer median	Colorado median
FY2016	$172	$2,956	$1,072 (220 reporting)
FY2021	$868	$1,463	$1,411 (199 reporting)

Questions about Palmer Lake’s finances

How much revenue does Palmer Lake collect per resident?: Palmer Lake collected $1,577 per resident in FY2021, 36% below the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. See the figure
How does Palmer Lake's spending per resident compare with similar cities?: Palmer Lake spent $1,777 per resident in FY2021, 48% below the median of its peers: Platteville, Lyons, La Salle, Ault and Bennett. See the figure
How much debt does Palmer Lake have per resident?: Palmer Lake carried $868 of debt per resident in FY2021, 41% below its peers' median. See the figure
Which cities is Palmer Lake compared with?: Palmer Lake is compared with Platteville, Lyons, La Salle, Ault and Bennett: 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): −1.3%/yr; 2021 estimate
Median household income: $100.8K; 2021 estimate
Poverty rate: 5.8%; 2021 estimate
Median home value: $352.5K; 2021 estimate
Housing vacancy rate: 5.0%; 2021 estimate

Explore further

Also in Pikes Peak

Cripple Creek$12,052 · FY2023
Calhan$1,748 · FY2021
Manitou Springs$6,486 · FY2023
Green Mountain Falls$1,366 · FY2021
Victor
Ramah$908 · FY2021
Woodland Park$2,268 · FY2021
Monument$1,840 · FY2023

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: Palmer Lake, 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 Palmer Lake’s largest difference from its peers (54% 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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Palmer Lake · 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

Palmer Lake and its peers

Trends

Questions about Palmer Lake’s finances

Community context

Explore further

Also in Pikes Peak

Sources

Utilities & environment is Palmer Lake’s largest difference from its peers (54% below the peer median in FY2021). See how that line moves month to month in your own budget-vs-actual.