Orivian

Thornton · FY2021 municipal finance benchmarks

Weld, Adams counties · Northern Front Range · home rule municipality · Pop. 147,766 (2025 estimate); FY2021 per-resident figures use 142,827 · Census finance data FY2016–FY2023

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

Thornton collected $2,522 per resident (including city-run utilities), in line with the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. Tax revenue per resident sits in line with its peers, but 20% above the state median. Debt per resident runs 32% 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)

$2,522
in line with peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$2,570
CO median · 227 with a published figure
$2,476
Position
Higher than 51% of the 227 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+7.9%/yr
How Colorado compares on revenue per resident

Expenditures per resident (definition)

$2,268
6% below peers
Includes city-owned utilities
Peer median
$2,404
CO median · 220 with a published figure
$2,208
Position
Higher than 52% of the 220 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+6.8%/yr

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

$1,290
in line with peers
Peer median
$1,264
CO median · 201 with a published figure
$1,072
Position
Higher than 59% of the 201 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+7.4%/yr

Debt per resident (definition)

$1,753
32% above peers
Peer median
$1,324
CO median · 199 with a published figure
$1,411
Position
Higher than 58% of the 199 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+29.5%/yr
How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident · $2,522
Reported by the city to the Census Bureau

  1. 1Metric

    $2,522 Total revenue divided by population

    = Total revenue ÷ population

    Full definition: Revenue per resident

  2. 2Inputs

    Total revenue $360.3M ÷ population 142,827 (2021 estimate)

  3. 3Census line items

    • A61 Parks & recreation charges
    • A80 Sewer charges
    • A81 Solid waste charges
    • A89 General government (other) 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.)
    • T20 Licenses & permits
    • T24 Licenses & permits
    • T29 Licenses & permits
    • T99 Other taxes
    • U01 Special assessments
    • U11 Sale of property
    • U20 Interest earnings
    • U30 Fines & forfeits
    • U40 Rents
    • U41 Royalties
    • U50 Private donations
    • U99 Miscellaneous

  4. 4Source file

What the numbers mean

  • Thornton runs city-owned utilities, which add 15.3% 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 Thornton; the gold tick is the peer median. How categories work

The biggest difference from peers is General government: $297 per resident, 39% below the peer median. On the revenue side, other revenue is 5.4× peers.

Money in

Revenue

$2,522
per residentin line with peers
Money in: Thornton revenue per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$946in line withpeers $946
$4405.4×peers $81
$38514% belowpeers $448
$23335% belowpeers $357
$20727% belowpeers $286
$17536% belowpeers $271
$1363.4×peers $40
Peer median of 4 peers · Colorado median of 227 reporting

Money out

Spending

$2,268
per resident6% below peers
Money out: Thornton spending per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$73522% abovepeers $601
$57730% abovepeers $444
$355in line withpeers $371
$29739% belowpeers $486
$23711% abovepeers $213
$6752% abovepeers $44
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 220 reporting

Thornton 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
Thornton compared with its peer municipalities, FY2021, per resident
MunicipalityRevenueExpendituresTax revenueSales taxDebt
ThorntonUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 15.3% 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.$2,522$2,268$1,290$946$1,753
Fort CollinsUtilities: 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.$3,396$4,233$1,276$961$1,324
LakewoodUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 0.5% 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.$1,498$1,191$942$736$142
WestminsterUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 16.6% 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.$2,640$2,404$1,531$1,041$2,987
GreeleyUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 18.3% 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.$2,500$2,536$1,252$932$1,370
Peer median$2,570$2,404$1,264$932$1,324

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
FY2016 $1,721 to FY2023 $2,707.$0$1.5K$3.1K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $2,244Peer median FY2017: $2,169Peer median FY2018: $2,416Peer median FY2019: $2,694Peer median FY2020: $2,940Peer median FY2021: $2,570Peer median FY2022: $3,096Peer median FY2023: $3,064Colorado median FY2016: $1,746 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,476 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,721FY2017: $1,728FY2018: $1,553FY2019: $2,530FY2020: $2,485FY2021: $2,522FY2022: $2,967FY2023: $2,707

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2018, 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$1,721$2,244$1,746 (224 reporting)
FY2017$1,728$2,169$2,694 (35 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$1,553$2,416$2,529 (75 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$2,530$2,694$2,694 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$2,485$2,940$2,739 (76 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$2,522$2,570$2,476 (227 reporting)
FY2022$2,967$3,096$3,031 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$2,707$3,064$3,580 (97 reporting, sample year)
Expenditures per resident
FY2016 $1,634 to FY2023 $2,433.$0$1.4K$2.8K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $2,217Peer median FY2017: $2,070Peer median FY2018: $2,719Peer median FY2019: $2,398Peer median FY2020: $2,385Peer median FY2021: $2,404Peer median FY2022: $2,534Peer median FY2023: $2,762Colorado median FY2016: $1,749 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,208 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,634FY2017: $1,685FY2018: $1,759FY2019: $2,312FY2020: $2,476FY2021: $2,268FY2022: $2,185. Excludes equipment purchases and payments to other governments, which Census stopped reporting after FY2021.FY2023: $2,433. 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, 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$1,634$2,217$1,749 (196 reporting)
FY2017$1,685$2,070$2,663 (35 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$1,759$2,719$2,387 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$2,312$2,398$2,759 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$2,476$2,385$2,485 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$2,268$2,404$2,208 (220 reporting)
FY2022$2,185$2,534$3,025 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$2,433$2,762$3,680 (91 reporting, sample year)
Tax revenue per resident
FY2016 $903 to FY2023 $1,432.$0$715.9$1.4K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $1,018Peer median FY2017: $1,109Peer median FY2018: $1,099Peer median FY2019: $1,181Peer median FY2020: $1,174Peer median FY2021: $1,264Peer median FY2022: $1,409Peer median FY2023: $1,424Colorado median FY2016: $705 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,072 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $903FY2017: $919FY2018: $758FY2019: $1,003FY2020: $1,116FY2021: $1,290FY2022: $1,427FY2023: $1,432

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2018, 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$903$1,018$705 (193 reporting)
FY2017$919$1,109$1,098 (34 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$758$1,099$1,173 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$1,003$1,181$1,187 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$1,116$1,174$1,238 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$1,290$1,264$1,072 (201 reporting)
FY2022$1,427$1,409$1,631 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$1,432$1,424$1,726 (90 reporting, sample year)
Debt per resident
FY2016 $482 to FY2023 $1,563.$0$1.1K$2.1K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $624Peer median FY2017: $518Peer median FY2018: $1,540Peer median FY2019: $1,442Peer median FY2020: $1,314Peer median FY2021: $1,324Peer median FY2022: $2,138Peer median FY2023: $1,117Colorado median FY2016: $1,072 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,411 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $482FY2017: $372FY2018: $1,027FY2019: $962FY2020: $1,844FY2021: $1,753FY2022: $1,659FY2023: $1,563

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2018, 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$482$624$1,072 (220 reporting)
FY2017$372$518$1,482 (34 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$1,027$1,540$1,644 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$962$1,442$1,627 (69 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$1,844$1,314$1,798 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$1,753$1,324$1,411 (199 reporting)
FY2022$1,659$2,138$2,068 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$1,563$1,117$2,130 (91 reporting, sample year)

Questions about Thornton’s finances

How much revenue does Thornton collect per resident?
Thornton collected $2,522 per resident in FY2021, in line with the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. See the figure
How does Thornton's spending per resident compare with similar cities?
Thornton spent $2,268 per resident in FY2021, 6% below the median of its peers: Fort Collins, Lakewood, Westminster and Greeley. See the figure
How much debt does Thornton have per resident?
Thornton carried $1,753 of debt per resident in FY2021, 32% above its peers' median. See the figure
Which cities is Thornton compared with?
Thornton is compared with Fort Collins, Lakewood, Westminster and Greeley: 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)
+0.6%/yr
2021 estimate
Median household income
$86.8K
2021 estimate
Poverty rate
8.2%
2021 estimate
Median home value
$376.9K
2021 estimate
Housing vacancy rate
3.2%
2021 estimate

Explore further

Also in Northern Front Range

Revenue per resident, latest published year.

Sources

Dataset: Thornton, 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 Thornton’s largest difference from its peers (39% below the peer median in FY2021). See how that line moves month to month in your own budget-vs-actual.

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