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Steamboat Springs · FY2021 municipal finance benchmarks

Routt County · Central Mountains & Resort · home rule municipality · Pop. 13,557 (2025 estimate); FY2021 per-resident figures use 13,387 · Census finance data FY2016–FY2023

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

Steamboat Springs collected $5,682 per resident (including city-run utilities), 2.3× the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. Tax revenue per resident sits 3.0× its peers, and 3.7× the state median. Debt per resident runs 35% above peers.

Regional hub: sales tax per resident is 3.0× the Colorado median.

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)

$5,682
2.3× peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$2,512
CO median · 227 with a published figure
$2,476
Position
Higher than 88% of the 227 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+5.0%/yr
How Colorado compares on revenue per resident

Expenditures per resident (definition)

$5,324
2.2× peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$2,460
CO median · 220 with a published figure
$2,208
Position
Higher than 89% of the 220 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+7.2%/yr

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

$4,019
3.0× peers
Peer median
$1,343
CO median · 201 with a published figure
$1,072
Position
Higher than 93% of the 201 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+8.8%/yr

Debt per resident (definition)

$2,550
35% above peers
Peer median
$1,895
CO median · 199 with a published figure
$1,411
Position
Higher than 72% of the 199 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
−8.1%/yr
How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident · $5,682
Includes Census estimates for 100% of revenue

  1. 1Metric

    $5,682 Total revenue divided by population

    = Total revenue ÷ population

    Full definition: Revenue per resident

  2. 2Inputs

    Total revenue $76.1M ÷ population 13,387 (2021 estimate)

  3. 3Census line items

    • A01 Airport charges
    • A50 Housing & community development charges
    • A61 Parks & recreation charges
    • A80 Sewer charges
    • A89 General government (other) charges
    • A91 Water utility charges
    • A94 Transit charges
    • C89 State aid
    • T01 Property tax
    • T09 General sales tax
    • T15 Selective sales taxes (lodging, utilities, etc.)
    • T19 Selective sales taxes (lodging, utilities, etc.)
    • T29 Licenses & permits
    • T99 Other taxes
    • U01 Special assessments
    • U20 Interest earnings
    • U30 Fines & forfeits
    • U50 Private donations
    • U99 Miscellaneous

  4. 4Source file

What the numbers mean

  • Steamboat Springs runs city-owned utilities, which add 4.2% 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
  • Part of Steamboat Springs's FY2021 revenue is a Census Bureau estimate, not a reported figure. How estimates are handled

Where the money comes from and where it goes

Per resident, FY2021. Bars show Steamboat Springs; the gold tick is the peer median. How categories work

Regional hub: sales tax per resident is 3.0× 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 General government: $1,829 per resident, 5.7× the peer median. On the revenue side, sales tax is 2.4× peers.

Money in

Revenue

$5,682
per resident2.3× peers
Money in: Steamboat Springs revenue per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$2,5922.4×peers $1,075
$1,0357.0×peers $148
$80248% abovepeers $544
$3923.7×peers $105
$34715% abovepeers $301
$2762.7×peers $101
$23717% belowpeers $285
Peer median of 4 peers · Colorado median of 227 reporting

Money out

Spending

$5,324
per resident2.2× peers
Money out: Steamboat Springs spending per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$1,8295.7×peers $320
$1,4502.7×peers $530
$7342.4×peers $301
$6932.6×peers $267
$46237% abovepeers $337
$1263.0×peers $42
$30No peer comparisonpeers $0
None reported · peers $9$0None reported
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 220 reporting

Steamboat Springs 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
Steamboat Springs compared with its peer municipalities, FY2021, per resident
MunicipalityRevenueExpendituresTax revenueSales taxDebt
Steamboat SpringsUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 4.2% 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.Regional hub: Sales tax per resident is 3.0× the Colorado median.$5,682$5,324$4,019$2,592$2,550
Fruita$1,512$1,102$659$473$1,895
GypsumUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 6.2% 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.$2,252$1,221$1,215$849$471
RifleUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 15.5% 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 1.5× the Colorado median.$2,773$2,460$1,472$1,301$3,076
Glenwood SpringsUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 22.0% 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.Regional hub: Sales tax per resident is 2.8× the Colorado median.$6,400$6,064$2,856$2,413$5,718
Peer median$2,512$2,460$1,343$1,075$1,895

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 $4,451 to FY2023 $8,437.$0$4.2K$8.4K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $3,536Peer median FY2017: $3,579Peer median FY2018: $3,714Peer median FY2019: $4,129Peer median FY2020: $2,146Peer median FY2021: $2,512Peer median FY2022: $2,927Peer median FY2023: $5,785Colorado median FY2016: $1,746 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,476 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $4,451FY2017: $4,476FY2018: $4,867FY2019: $5,109FY2020: $5,229FY2021: $5,682FY2022: $6,054FY2023: $8,437

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2017, FY2018, FY2019, FY2020, 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$4,451$3,536$1,746 (224 reporting)
FY2017$4,476$3,579$2,694 (35 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$4,867$3,714$2,529 (75 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$5,109$4,129$2,694 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$5,229$2,146$2,739 (76 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$5,682$2,512$2,476 (227 reporting)
FY2022$6,054$2,927$3,031 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$8,437$5,785$3,580 (97 reporting, sample year)
Expenditures per resident
FY2016 $3,765 to FY2023 $5,902.$0$3.4K$6.7K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $3,107Peer median FY2017: $3,846Peer median FY2018: $3,098Peer median FY2019: $3,937Peer median FY2020: $1,927Peer median FY2021: $2,460Peer median FY2022: $3,227Peer median FY2023: $5,312Colorado median FY2016: $1,749 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,208 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $3,765FY2017: $4,532FY2018: $4,533FY2019: $4,977FY2020: $5,002FY2021: $5,324FY2022: $6,716. Excludes equipment purchases and payments to other governments, which Census stopped reporting after FY2021.FY2023: $5,902. Excludes equipment purchases and payments to other governments, which Census stopped reporting after FY2021.

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.

Peer group changed in FY2017, FY2018, FY2019, FY2020, 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$3,765$3,107$1,749 (196 reporting)
FY2017$4,532$3,846$2,663 (35 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$4,533$3,098$2,387 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$4,977$3,937$2,759 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$5,002$1,927$2,485 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$5,324$2,460$2,208 (220 reporting)
FY2022$6,716$3,227$3,025 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$5,902$5,312$3,680 (91 reporting, sample year)
Tax revenue per resident
FY2016 $2,631 to FY2023 $5,636.$0$2.8K$5.6K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $1,995Peer median FY2017: $1,808Peer median FY2018: $1,647Peer median FY2019: $1,251Peer median FY2020: $1,239Peer median FY2021: $1,343Peer median FY2022: $1,634Peer median FY2023: $2,175Colorado median FY2016: $705 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,072 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $2,631FY2017: $2,918FY2018: $3,203FY2019: $3,409FY2020: $3,579FY2021: $4,019FY2022: $4,262FY2023: $5,636

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2017, 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$2,631$1,995$705 (193 reporting)
FY2017$2,918$1,808$1,098 (34 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$3,203$1,647$1,173 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$3,409$1,251$1,187 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$3,579$1,239$1,238 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$4,019$1,343$1,072 (201 reporting)
FY2022$4,262$1,634$1,631 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$5,636$2,175$1,726 (90 reporting, sample year)
Debt per resident
FY2016 $3,890 to FY2023 $2,128.$0$1.9K$3.9K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $3,224Peer median FY2017: $1,442Peer median FY2018: $3,669Peer median FY2019: $3,062Peer median FY2020: $2,629Peer median FY2021: $1,895Peer median FY2022: $2,821Peer median FY2023: $2,810Colorado median FY2016: $1,072 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,411 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $3,890FY2017: $3,703FY2018: $3,398FY2019: $3,121FY2020: $2,846FY2021: $2,550FY2022: $2,283FY2023: $2,128

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2017, FY2018, FY2019, FY2020, 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$3,890$3,224$1,072 (220 reporting)
FY2017$3,703$1,442$1,482 (34 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$3,398$3,669$1,644 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$3,121$3,062$1,627 (69 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$2,846$2,629$1,798 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$2,550$1,895$1,411 (199 reporting)
FY2022$2,283$2,821$2,068 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$2,128$2,810$2,130 (91 reporting, sample year)

Questions about Steamboat Springs’s finances

How much revenue does Steamboat Springs collect per resident?
Steamboat Springs collected $5,682 per resident in FY2021, 2.3× the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. See the figure
How does Steamboat Springs's spending per resident compare with similar cities?
Steamboat Springs spent $5,324 per resident in FY2021, 2.2× the median of its peers: Fruita, Gypsum, Rifle and Glenwood Springs. See the figure
How much debt does Steamboat Springs have per resident?
Steamboat Springs carried $2,550 of debt per resident in FY2021, 35% above its peers' median. See the figure
Which cities is Steamboat Springs compared with?
Steamboat Springs is compared with Fruita, Gypsum, Rifle and Glenwood Springs: 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
$80.7K
2021 estimate
Poverty rate
9.6%
2021 estimate
Median home value
$628.8K
2021 estimate
Housing vacancy rate
44.5%
2021 estimate

Explore further

Also in Central Mountains & Resort

Revenue per resident, latest published year.

Sources

Dataset: Steamboat Springs, 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 Steamboat Springs’s largest difference from its peers (5.7× 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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