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South Fork · FY2016 municipal finance benchmarks

Rio Grande County · San Luis Valley · statutory town · Pop. 506 (2025 estimate); FY2016 per-resident figures use 430 · Census finance data FY2016, FY2021

You’re viewing FY2016. See the latest view (FY2021). Latest Census Bureau finance data for South Fork: FY2021. 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

South Fork collected $1,730 per resident, in line with the median of the 224 Colorado municipalities reporting that year, 47% below its peers. Tax revenue per resident sits 28% above its peers, and 93% above the state median. Debt per resident runs 94% below peers.

Regional hub: sales tax per resident is 2.2× the Colorado median.

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)

$1,730
47% below peers
Peer median
$3,267
CO median · 224 with a published figure
$1,746
Position
Higher than 49% 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)

$1,456
17% below CO median
Peer median
Benchmark unavailable
CO median · 196 with a published figure
$1,749
Position
Higher than 40% of the 196 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
Not enough history for a 5-year change

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

$1,358
28% above peers
Peer median
$1,059
CO median · 193 with a published figure
$705
Position
Higher than 82% of the 193 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
Not enough history for a 5-year change

Debt per resident (definition)

$126
94% below peers
Peer median
$1,950
CO median · 220 with a published figure
$1,072
Position
Higher than 5% 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 · $1,730
Reported by the city to the Census Bureau

  1. 1Metric

    $1,730 Total revenue divided by population

    = Total revenue ÷ population

    Full definition: Revenue per resident

  2. 2Inputs

    Total revenue $744K ÷ population 430 (2016 estimate)

  3. 3Census line items

    • A89 General government (other) charges
    • C30 State aid
    • C46 State aid
    • D46 Local government aid
    • D89 Local government aid
    • T09 General sales tax
    • T15 Selective sales taxes (lodging, utilities, etc.)
    • T20 Licenses & permits
    • T24 Licenses & permits
    • T28 Licenses & permits
    • T29 Licenses & permits
    • U20 Interest earnings
    • U30 Fines & forfeits
    • U50 Private donations

  4. 4Source file

What the numbers mean

  • With about 430 residents, small changes in South Fork's budget move per-resident figures a lot. Compare several years, not one.
  • South Fork 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, FY2016. Bars show South Fork; the gold tick is the peer median. How categories work

Regional hub: sales tax per resident is 2.2× 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.

On the revenue side, the biggest difference from peers is Utility & transit charges: none reported, against a peer median of $777 per resident.

Money in

Revenue

$1,730
per resident47% below peers
Money in: South Fork revenue per resident by category, FY2016, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$1,23043% abovepeers $861
$27439% abovepeers $197
$12819.4×peers $7
$8845% belowpeers $161
$998% belowpeers $562
None reported · peers $777$0None reported
None reported · peers $187$0None reported
Peer median of 4 peers · Colorado median of 224 reporting

Money out

Spending

$1,456
per resident
Money out: South Fork spending per resident by category, FY2016, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
Peer median unavailable$979No peer comparison
Peer median unavailable$298No peer comparison
Peer median unavailable$130No peer comparison
Peer median unavailable$49No peer comparison
None reported$0None reported
None reported$0None reported
None reported$0None reported
Peer median of 2 peers · Colorado median of 196 reporting

South Fork 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
South Fork compared with its peer municipalities, FY2016, per resident
MunicipalityRevenueExpendituresTax revenueSales taxDebt
South ForkRegional hub: Sales tax per resident is 2.2× the Colorado median.$1,730$1,456$1,358$1,230$126
BlancaUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 20.1% 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.$1,073$344$171$960
Grand LakeUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 19.2% 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 4.9× the Colorado median.$6,163$5,718$3,643$2,743$883
CreedeUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 18.2% 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.$3,786$1,078$751$3,320
Lake CityUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 31.5% 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.$2,747$1,059$861Not reported for this year
Peer median$3,267Benchmark unavailable$1,059$806$1,950

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 $1,730 to FY2021 $2,963.$0$1.6K$3.3K’16’21Peer median FY2016: $3,267Peer median FY2021: $3,272Colorado median FY2016: $1,746 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,476 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,730FY2021: $2,963

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
YearThis cityPeer medianColorado median
FY2016$1,730$3,267$1,746 (224 reporting)
FY2021$2,963$3,272$2,476 (227 reporting)
Expenditures per resident
FY2016 $1,456 to FY2021 $2,039.$0$1.1K$2.2K’16’21Peer median FY2021: $1,686Colorado median FY2016: $1,749 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,208 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,456FY2021: $2,039

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Show data table
Expenditures per resident by fiscal year
YearThis cityPeer medianColorado median
FY2016$1,456Benchmark unavailable$1,749 (196 reporting)
FY2021$2,039$1,686$2,208 (220 reporting)
Tax revenue per resident
FY2016 $1,358 to FY2021 $2,286.$0$1.1K$2.3K’16’21Peer median FY2016: $1,059Peer median FY2021: $1,020Colorado median FY2016: $705 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,072 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,358FY2021: $2,286

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
Tax revenue per resident by fiscal year
YearThis cityPeer medianColorado median
FY2016$1,358$1,059$705 (193 reporting)
FY2021$2,286$1,020$1,072 (201 reporting)
Debt per resident
FY2016 $126.$0$974.9$1.9K’16’21Peer median FY2016: $1,950Colorado median FY2016: $1,072 (all 224 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $126

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Show data table
Debt per resident by fiscal year
YearThis cityPeer medianColorado median
FY2016$126$1,950$1,072 (220 reporting)
FY2021———

Questions about South Fork’s finances

How much revenue does South Fork collect per resident?
South Fork collected $1,730 per resident in FY2016, in line with the median of the 224 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. See the figure
How does South Fork's spending per resident compare with similar cities?
South Fork spent $1,456 per resident in FY2016, 17% below the Colorado median. There was no peer group to compare with that year. See the figure
How much debt does South Fork have per resident?
South Fork carried $126 of debt per resident in FY2016, 94% below its peers' median. See the figure
Which cities is South Fork compared with?
South Fork is compared with Blanca, Grand Lake, Creede and Lake City: 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
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 San Luis Valley

Revenue per resident, latest published year.

Sources

Dataset: South Fork, 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

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