Ridgway · FY2021 municipal finance benchmarks

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

Ouray County · Western Slope · home rule municipality · Pop. 1,324 (2025 estimate); FY2021 per-resident figures use 1,216 · Census finance data FY2016, FY2021

Latest Census Bureau finance data for Ridgway: 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

Ridgway collected $3,618 per resident (including city-run utilities), 46% above the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year, 22% above its peers. Tax revenue per resident sits 25% above its peers, and 92% above the state median. Debt per resident runs 74% below peers.

Regional hub: sales tax per resident is 1.8× the Colorado median.

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)

$3,618

22% above peers

Includes city-owned utilities

Peer median: $2,975
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 73% of the 227 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars: +8.8%/yr

How Colorado compares on revenue per resident

Expenditures per resident (definition)

$2,481

15% above peers

Includes city-owned utilities

Peer median: $2,158
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 60% of the 220 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars: +5.0%/yr

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

$2,053

25% above peers

Peer median: $1,639
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 82% of the 201 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars: +8.7%/yr

Debt per resident (definition)

$1,371

74% below peers

Peer median: $5,312
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 49% of the 199 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars: +12.1%/yr

How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident · $3,618

Reported by the city to the Census Bureau

1Metric
$3,618 Total revenue divided by population
= Total revenue ÷ population
Full definition: Revenue per resident
2Inputs
Total revenue $4.4M ÷ population 1,216 (2021 estimate)
3Census line items
- A61 Parks & recreation charges
- A80 Sewer charges
- A89 General government (other) charges
- 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.)
- T19 Selective sales taxes (lodging, utilities, etc.)
- T20 Licenses & permits
- T24 Licenses & permits
- T28 Licenses & permits
- T29 Licenses & permits
- U11 Sale of property
- U20 Interest earnings
- U30 Fines & forfeits
- U40 Rents
- U50 Private donations
- 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

Ridgway runs city-owned utilities, which add 15.7% 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
With about 1,216 residents, small changes in Ridgway'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 Ridgway; the gold tick is the peer median. How categories work

Regional hub: sales tax per resident is 1.8× the Colorado median.

Sales tax per resident is high, which usually means many non-residents shop, stay or work here. Per-resident figures divide citywide totals by residents only, so they overstate what residents themselves pay and use.

The biggest difference from peers is Parks, libraries & community: $303 per resident, 79% below the peer median. On the revenue side, sales tax is 21% above peers.

Money in

Revenue

$3,618

per resident22% above peers

Money in: Ridgway 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
	$1,553	$1,286	21% above peerspeers $1,286	43%

General sales tax $1,553 · peers $1,286 General sales and use tax. Census line items T09 General sales tax
	$568	$528	8% above peerspeers $528	16%

Water utility charges $568 · peers $523 Revenue of city-owned water, electric, gas and transit systems. Census line items A91 Water utility charges
	$519	$364	43% above peerspeers $364	14%

State aid $498 · peers $90 Local government aid $21 · peers $139 Grants and shared revenue from federal, state and local governments. Census line items C89 State aid D89 Local government aid
	$392	$422	7% below peerspeers $422	11%

Sewer charges $264 · peers $298 General government (other) charges $127 · peers $0 Parks & recreation charges $2 · peers $0 Charges for services such as sewer, trash, recreation, parking and airports. Census line items A61 Parks & recreation charges A80 Sewer charges A89 General government (other) charges
	$299	$229	31% above peerspeers $229	8%

Property tax $299 · peers $229 Property tax levied by the municipality. Census line items T01 Property tax
	$201	$140	44% above peerspeers $140	6%

Selective sales taxes (lodging, utilities, etc.) $155 · peers $100 Licenses & permits $46 · peers $51 Lodging, utility, tobacco and other selective sales taxes, licenses and permits, and other taxes. Census line items 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
	$85	$77	10% above peerspeers $77	2%

Private donations $38 · peers $0 Fines & forfeits $25 · peers $16 Miscellaneous $8 · peers $26 Rents $7 · peers $0 Sale of property $5 · peers $0 Interest earnings $2 · peers $3 Interest earnings, fines, rents, special assessments, donations and sales of property. Census line items U11 Sale of property U20 Interest earnings U30 Fines & forfeits U40 Rents U50 Private donations U99 Miscellaneous

Peer median of 4 peers · Colorado median of 227 reporting

Money out

Spending

$2,481

per resident15% above peers

Money out: Ridgway 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
	$913	$385	2.4× peerspeers $385	37%

Central staff services $382 · peers $13 incl. $1 construction General government (other) $315 · peers $331 Financial administration $178 · peers $5 incl. $2 construction Judicial & legal $21 · peers $0 General public buildings $16 · peers $0 incl. $2 construction Administration, finance, legal and courts, public buildings and other general government. Census line items E23 Financial administration E25 Judicial & legal E29 Central staff services E31 General public buildings E89 General government (other) F23 Financial administration F29 Central staff services M89 General government (other)
	$574	$879	35% below peerspeers $879	23%

Water utility $287 · peers $465 incl. $48 construction Sewer $181 · peers $252 incl. $47 construction Solid waste $80 · peers $162 incl. $77 construction Natural resources $26 · peers $0 incl. $172 construction Water, sewer, solid waste, electric and gas utilities, and natural resources. Census line items E59 Natural resources E80 Sewer E81 Solid waste E91 Water utility F80 Sewer F81 Solid waste F91 Water utility
	$361	$462	22% below peerspeers $462	15%

Police $313 · peers $462 Protective inspection & regulation $48 · peers $0 Police, fire protection, inspection and corrections. Census line items E62 Police E66 Protective inspection & regulation
	$303	$1,425	79% below peerspeers $1,425	12%

Parks & recreation $287 · peers $1,425 incl. $80 construction Housing & community development $16 · peers $0 incl. $80 construction Parks and recreation, libraries, housing and community development. Census line items E50 Housing & community development E61 Parks & recreation F61 Parks & recreation
	$229	$0	No peer comparisonpeers $0	9%

Streets & highways $229 · peers $0 incl. $32 construction incl. $32 construction Streets and highways, transit, parking and airports. Census line items E44 Streets & highways F44 Streets & highways
	$50	$0	No peer comparisonpeers $0	2%

Commercial activities (other) $50 · peers $0 Commercial activities and functions outside the categories above. Census line items E03 Commercial activities (other)
	$42	$111	62% below peerspeers $111	2%

Interest on debt $42 · peers $111 Interest paid on the municipality's debt. Census line items I89 Interest on debt I91 Interest on debt
	$10	$0	No peer comparisonpeers $0	<1%

Health $9 · peers $0 Public welfare (other) $1 · peers $0 Health, hospitals and public welfare. Census line items E32 Health E79 Public welfare (other)

Peer median of 3 peers · Colorado median of 220 reporting

Ridgway 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

Ridgway compared with its peer municipalities, FY2021, per resident
Municipality	Revenue	Expenditures	Tax revenue	Sales tax	Debt
RidgwayUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 15.7% 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 1.8× the Colorado median.	$3,618	$2,481	$2,053	$1,553	$1,371
ParachuteUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 10.5% 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.Regional hub: Sales tax per resident is 1.7× the Colorado median.	$3,247	Withheld Parachute · Expenditures per resident · FY2021 Reason: Expenditures per resident is 33% of the peer median We don't publish figures that fail our quality checks until they're verified against the city's audited financial report.	$2,053	$1,490	$175
MancosUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 9.3% 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.	$2,703	$2,158	$1,226	$1,081	Not reported for this year
OurayUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 8.5% 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.Regional hub: Sales tax per resident is 3.9× the Colorado median.	$10,701	$9,219	$4,883	$3,327	$7,982
PaoniaUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 29.2% 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.	$2,448	$1,774	$901	$726	$2,642
Peer median	$2,975	$2,158	$1,639	$1,490	$5,312

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

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	$2,373	$2,763	$1,746 (224 reporting)
FY2021	$3,618	$2,975	$2,476 (227 reporting)

Expenditures 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

Expenditures per resident by fiscal year
Year	This city	Peer median	Colorado median
FY2016	$1,940	$2,307	$1,749 (196 reporting)
FY2021	$2,481	$2,158	$2,208 (220 reporting)

Tax revenue per resident

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Show data table

Tax revenue per resident by fiscal year
Year	This city	Peer median	Colorado median
FY2016	$1,352	Benchmark unavailable	$705 (193 reporting)
FY2021	$2,053	$1,639	$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	$775	$864	$1,072 (220 reporting)
FY2021	$1,371	$5,312	$1,411 (199 reporting)

Questions about Ridgway’s finances

How much revenue does Ridgway collect per resident?: Ridgway collected $3,618 per resident in FY2021, 46% above the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. See the figure
How does Ridgway's spending per resident compare with similar cities?: Ridgway spent $2,481 per resident in FY2021, 15% above the median of its peers: Parachute, Mancos, Ouray and Paonia. See the figure
How much debt does Ridgway have per resident?: Ridgway carried $1,371 of debt per resident in FY2021, 74% below its peers' median. See the figure
Which cities is Ridgway compared with?: Ridgway is compared with Parachute, Mancos, Ouray and Paonia: 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): +5.0%/yr; 2021 estimate
Median household income: $63.8K; 2021 estimate
Poverty rate: 12.8%; 2021 estimate
Median home value: $470.2K; 2021 estimate
Housing vacancy rate: 11.7%; 2021 estimate

Explore further

Also in Western Slope

Parachute$3,247 · FY2021
Paonia$2,448 · FY2021
Hotchkiss$2,602 · FY2021
Ouray$10,701 · FY2021
Olathe$1,276 · FY2021
Nucla$1,311 · FY2021
Naturita$2,797 · FY2021
De Beque

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: Ridgway, 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

Parks, libraries & community is Ridgway’s largest difference from its peers (79% 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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Ridgway · 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

Ridgway and its peers

Trends

Questions about Ridgway’s finances

Community context

Explore further

Also in Western Slope

Sources

Parks, libraries & community is Ridgway’s largest difference from its peers (79% below the peer median in FY2021). See how that line moves month to month in your own budget-vs-actual.