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Superior · FY2021 municipal finance benchmarks

Boulder, Jefferson counties · Denver Metro · home rule municipality · Pop. 13,637 (2025 estimate); FY2021 per-resident figures use 13,105 · Census finance data FY2016, FY2018, FY2019, FY2020, FY2021, FY2022, FY2023

You’re viewing FY2021. See the latest view (FY2023). Latest Census Bureau finance data for Superior: FY2023. Retrieved Oct 2026. Newer years are added when the Census Bureau publishes them. Why the lag?

Compare

FY2021 in brief

Superior collected $2,592 per resident (including city-run utilities), in line with the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year, 18% below its peers. Tax revenue per resident sits 13% below its peers, but 47% above the state median. Debt per resident runs 25% above 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)

$2,592
18% below peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$3,177
CO median · 227 with a published figure
$2,476
Position
Higher than 54% of the 227 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+3.2%/yr
How Colorado compares on revenue per resident

Expenditures per resident (definition)

$2,349
10% below peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$2,599
CO median · 220 with a published figure
$2,208
Position
Higher than 54% of the 220 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+1.1%/yr

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

$1,577
13% below peers
Peer median
$1,821
CO median · 201 with a published figure
$1,072
Position
Higher than 72% of the 201 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+2.2%/yr

Debt per resident (definition)

$2,477
25% above peers
Peer median
$1,983
CO median · 199 with a published figure
$1,411
Position
Higher than 71% of the 199 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
−13.7%/yr
How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident · $2,592
Reported by the city to the Census Bureau

  1. 1Metric

    $2,592 Total revenue divided by population

    = Total revenue ÷ population

    Full definition: Revenue per resident

  2. 2Inputs

    Total revenue $34M ÷ population 13,105 (2021 estimate)

  3. 3Census line items

    • A59 Natural resources charges
    • A80 Sewer charges
    • A91 Water utility charges
    • B89 Federal aid
    • C89 State aid
    • D89 Local government aid
    • T01 Property tax
    • T09 General sales tax
    • T15 Selective sales taxes (lodging, utilities, etc.)
    • T24 Licenses & permits
    • T29 Licenses & permits
    • T99 Other taxes
    • U20 Interest earnings
    • U30 Fines & forfeits
    • U99 Miscellaneous

  4. 4Source file

What the numbers mean

  • Superior runs city-owned utilities, which add 10.0% 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

Where the money comes from and where it goes

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

The biggest difference from peers is Utilities & environment: $987 per resident, 357.2× the peer median. On the revenue side, other revenue is 15.9× peers.

Money in

Revenue

$2,592
per resident18% below peers
Money in: Superior revenue per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$99515% belowpeers $1,176
$55015.9×peers $35
$4372.7×peers $165
$258No peer comparisonpeers $0
$15431% belowpeers $224
$14515% belowpeers $171
$5383% belowpeers $310
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 227 reporting

Money out

Spending

$2,349
per resident10% below peers
Money out: Superior spending per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$987357.2×peers $3
$603in line withpeers $601
$4974.0×peers $123
$14953% belowpeers $319
$1122.5×peers $45
None reported · peers $382$0None reported
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 220 reporting

Superior 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
Superior compared with its peer municipalities, FY2021, per resident
MunicipalityRevenueExpendituresTax revenueSales taxDebt
SuperiorUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 10.0% 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.$2,592$2,349$1,577$995$2,477
Lone TreeRegional hub: Sales tax per resident is 2.2× the Colorado median.$3,797$2,599$2,231$1,895$1,055
Greenwood VillageRegional hub: Sales tax per resident is 2.6× the Colorado median.$3,883$3,103$3,323$2,252$3,621
Castle Pines$1,479$1,013$914$755Not reported for this year
FrederickUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 45.8% 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.$2,036$1,310$949$712$277
LouisvilleUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 13.8% 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.$3,177$2,663$1,821$1,176$2,911
Peer median$3,177$2,599$1,821$1,176$1,983

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 $2,210 to FY2023 $3,785.$0$2K$3.9K’16’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $2,757Peer median FY2018: $3,256Peer median FY2019: $3,168Peer median FY2020: $2,410Peer median FY2021: $3,177Peer median FY2022: $3,923Peer median FY2023: $2,701Colorado median FY2016: $1,746 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,476 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $2,210FY2018: $1,788FY2019: $1,910FY2020: $2,254FY2021: $2,592FY2022: $2,857FY2023: $3,785

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in 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$2,210$2,757$1,746 (224 reporting)
FY2018$1,788$3,256$2,529 (75 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$1,910$3,168$2,694 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$2,254$2,410$2,739 (76 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$2,592$3,177$2,476 (227 reporting)
FY2022$2,857$3,923$3,031 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$3,785$2,701$3,580 (97 reporting, sample year)
Expenditures per resident
FY2016 $2,227 to FY2023 $3,467.$0$1.8K$3.6K’16’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $3,244Peer median FY2018: $3,590Peer median FY2019: $3,588Peer median FY2020: $2,758Peer median FY2021: $2,599Peer median FY2022: $3,130Peer median FY2023: $3,186Colorado median FY2016: $1,749 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,208 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $2,227FY2018: $1,304FY2019: $1,636FY2020: $1,786FY2021: $2,349FY2022: $2,923. Excludes equipment purchases and payments to other governments, which Census stopped reporting after FY2021.FY2023: $3,467. 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 FY2018, FY2019, FY2020, FY2021, 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$2,227$3,244$1,749 (196 reporting)
FY2018$1,304$3,590$2,387 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$1,636$3,588$2,759 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$1,786$2,758$2,485 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$2,349$2,599$2,208 (220 reporting)
FY2022$2,923$3,130$3,025 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$3,467$3,186$3,680 (91 reporting, sample year)
Tax revenue per resident
FY2016 $1,416 to FY2023 $2,107.$0$1.1K$2.1K’16’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $1,218Peer median FY2018: $1,789Peer median FY2019: $1,775Peer median FY2020: $1,580Peer median FY2021: $1,821Peer median FY2022: $2,124Peer median FY2023: $2,069Colorado median FY2016: $705 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,072 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,416FY2018: $1,061FY2019: $1,164FY2020: $1,404FY2021: $1,577FY2022: $1,688FY2023: $2,107

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in 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$1,416$1,218$705 (193 reporting)
FY2018$1,061$1,789$1,173 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$1,164$1,775$1,187 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$1,404$1,580$1,238 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$1,577$1,821$1,072 (201 reporting)
FY2022$1,688$2,124$1,631 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$2,107$2,069$1,726 (90 reporting, sample year)
Debt per resident
FY2016 $5,176 to FY2023 $1,038.$0$2.6K$5.2K’16’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $1,434Peer median FY2018: $2,401Peer median FY2019: $1,469Peer median FY2020: $1,998Peer median FY2021: $1,983Peer median FY2022: $2,341Peer median FY2023: $551Colorado median FY2016: $1,072 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,411 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $5,176FY2018: $1,964FY2019: $1,967FY2020: $2,810FY2021: $2,477FY2022: $2,337FY2023: $1,038

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2018, FY2019, FY2020, FY2021, 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$5,176$1,434$1,072 (220 reporting)
FY2018$1,964$2,401$1,644 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$1,967$1,469$1,627 (69 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$2,810$1,998$1,798 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$2,477$1,983$1,411 (199 reporting)
FY2022$2,337$2,341$2,068 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$1,038$551$2,130 (91 reporting, sample year)

Questions about Superior’s finances

How much revenue does Superior collect per resident?
Superior collected $2,592 per resident in FY2021, in line with the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. See the figure
How does Superior's spending per resident compare with similar cities?
Superior spent $2,349 per resident in FY2021, 10% below the median of its peers: Lone Tree, Greenwood Village, Castle Pines, Frederick and Louisville. See the figure
How much debt does Superior have per resident?
Superior carried $2,477 of debt per resident in FY2021, 25% above its peers' median. See the figure
Which cities is Superior compared with?
Superior is compared with Lone Tree, Greenwood Village, Castle Pines, Frederick and Louisville: 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)
−0.1%/yr
2021 estimate
Median household income
$131.8K
2021 estimate
Poverty rate
3.4%
2021 estimate
Median home value
$660K
2021 estimate
Housing vacancy rate
2.5%
2021 estimate

Explore further

Also in Denver Metro

Revenue per resident, latest published year.

Sources

Dataset: Superior, 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 Superior’s largest difference from its peers (357.2× the peer median in FY2021). See how that line moves month to month in your own budget-vs-actual.

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