Westcliffe · FY2021 municipal finance benchmarks

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

Custer County · Southern Colorado · statutory town · Pop. 488 (2025 estimate); FY2021 per-resident figures use 453 · Census finance data FY2016, FY2021

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

Westcliffe collected $2,311 per resident, 7% below the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year.

Tax revenue per resident withheld: Tax revenue per resident is 11.1x the peer 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)

$2,311

7% below CO median

Peer median: Benchmark unavailable
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 43% of the 227 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars: +27.8%/yr

How Colorado compares on revenue per resident

Expenditures per resident (definition)

$2,166

2.3× peers

Peer median: $926
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 49% of the 220 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars: +46.8%/yr

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

Peer median: Benchmark unavailable
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: Not reported for this year
5-year changenominal dollars: Withheld with this year's value

Debt per resident (definition)

Peer median: Not reported for this year
CO median: Not reported for this year
Position: Not reported for this year
5-year change: Not reported for this year

How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident · $2,311

Reported by the city to the Census Bureau

1Metric
$2,311 Total revenue divided by population
= Total revenue ÷ population
Full definition: Revenue per resident
2Inputs
Total revenue $1M ÷ population 453 (2021 estimate)
3Census line items
- A89 General government (other) 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.)
- T20 Licenses & permits
- T24 Licenses & permits
- T29 Licenses & permits
- U20 Interest earnings
- 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

With about 453 residents, small changes in Westcliffe's budget move per-resident figures a lot. Compare several years, not one.
Too few comparable municipalities reported this year to form a peer group, so comparisons use the Colorado median.

Where the money comes from and where it goes

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

The biggest difference from peers is General government: $1,274 per resident, 6.6× the peer median.

Money in

Revenue

$2,311

per resident

Money in: Westcliffe 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
Peer median unavailable	$205	Peer median unavailable	No peer comparison	9%

Miscellaneous $196 Interest earnings $9 Interest earnings, fines, rents, special assessments, donations and sales of property. Census line items U20 Interest earnings U99 Miscellaneous
Peer median unavailable	$121	Peer median unavailable	No peer comparison	5%

State aid $121 Grants and shared revenue from federal, state and local governments. Census line items C89 State aid
Peer median unavailable	$44	Peer median unavailable	No peer comparison	2%

General government (other) charges $44 Charges for services such as sewer, trash, recreation, parking and airports. Census line items A89 General government (other) charges
None reported	$0	Peer median unavailable	None reported	0%

Westcliffe reported nothing in this category for FY2021. Revenue of city-owned water, electric, gas and transit systems.
	Withheld Westcliffe · Sales tax · FY2021 Reason: Sales tax per resident is 68.2x the peer median; tax revenue per resident is 11.1x the peer median We don't publish figures that fail our quality checks until they're verified against the city's audited financial report.	Peer median unavailable	Withheld	Withheld

General sales tax Withheld Westcliffe · General sales tax · FY2021 Reason: Sales tax per resident is 68.2x the peer median; tax revenue per resident is 11.1x the peer median We don't publish figures that fail our quality checks until they're verified against the city's audited financial report. General sales and use tax. Census line items T09 General sales tax
	Withheld Westcliffe · Property tax · FY2021 Reason: Tax revenue per resident is 11.1x the peer median We don't publish figures that fail our quality checks until they're verified against the city's audited financial report.	Peer median unavailable	Withheld	Withheld

Property tax Withheld Westcliffe · Property tax · FY2021 Reason: Tax revenue per resident is 11.1x the peer median We don't publish figures that fail our quality checks until they're verified against the city's audited financial report. Property tax levied by the municipality. Census line items T01 Property tax
	Withheld Westcliffe · Other taxes · FY2021 Reason: Tax revenue per resident is 11.1x the peer median We don't publish figures that fail our quality checks until they're verified against the city's audited financial report.	Peer median unavailable	Withheld	Withheld

Licenses & permits Withheld Westcliffe · Licenses & permits · FY2021 Reason: Tax revenue per resident is 11.1x the peer median We don't publish figures that fail our quality checks until they're verified against the city's audited financial report. Selective sales taxes (lodging, utilities, etc.) Withheld Westcliffe · Selective sales taxes (lodging, utilities, etc.) · FY2021 Reason: Tax revenue per resident is 11.1x the peer median We don't publish figures that fail our quality checks until they're verified against the city's audited financial report. 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 T29 Licenses & permits

Peer median of 2 peers · Colorado median of 227 reporting

Money out

Spending

$2,166

per resident2.3× peers

Money out: Westcliffe 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
	$1,274	$192	6.6× peerspeers $192	59%

General government (other) $748 · peers $178 incl. $422 construction Central staff services $338 · peers $0 Judicial & legal $126 · peers $0 General public buildings $49 · peers $0 Financial administration $13 · peers $0 incl. $422 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) F89 General government (other)
	$817	$49	16.8× peerspeers $49	38%

Streets & highways $817 · peers $49 incl. $446 construction incl. $446 construction Streets and highways, transit, parking and airports. Census line items E44 Streets & highways F44 Streets & highways
	$75	$8	9.9× peerspeers $8	3%

Parks & recreation $75 · peers $8 Parks and recreation, libraries, housing and community development. Census line items E61 Parks & recreation
None reported · peers $261	$0	$261	None reported	0%

Westcliffe reported nothing in this category for FY2021. Water, sewer, solid waste, electric and gas utilities, and natural resources.
None reported · peers $15	$0	$15	None reported	0%

Westcliffe reported nothing in this category for FY2021. Interest paid on the municipality's debt.

Peer median of 3 peers · Colorado median of 220 reporting

Westcliffe 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

Westcliffe compared with its peer municipalities, FY2021, per resident
Municipality	Revenue	Expenditures	Tax revenue	Sales tax	Debt
Westcliffe	$2,311	$2,166	Withheld Westcliffe · Tax revenue per resident · FY2021 Reason: Tax revenue per resident is 11.1x the peer median We don't publish figures that fail our quality checks until they're verified against the city's audited financial report.	Withheld Westcliffe · Sales tax per resident · FY2021 Reason: Sales tax per resident is 68.2x the peer median We don't publish figures that fail our quality checks until they're verified against the city's audited financial report.	Not reported for this year
RockvaleUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 73.8% 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.	$1,222	$926	Withheld Rockvale · Tax revenue per resident · FY2021 Reason: Tax revenue per resident is 16% 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.	Not reported for this year	$360
WilliamsburgUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 51.0% 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.	$723	$523	Withheld Williamsburg · Tax revenue per resident · FY2021 Reason: Tax revenue per resident is 11% 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.	Withheld Williamsburg · Sales tax per resident · FY2021 Reason: Sales tax per resident is 3% 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.	$876
Peer median	Benchmark unavailable	$926	Benchmark unavailable	Benchmark unavailable	Not reported for this year

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

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Show data table

Revenue per resident by fiscal year
Year	This city	Peer median	Colorado median
FY2016	$679	$501	$1,746 (224 reporting)
FY2021	$2,311	Benchmark unavailable	$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	$318	$466	$1,749 (196 reporting)
FY2021	$2,166	$926	$2,208 (220 reporting)

Tax revenue per resident

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

FY2016 withheld: Tax revenue per resident is 4.1x the peer median
FY2021 withheld: Tax revenue per resident is 11.1x the peer median

Show data table

Tax revenue per resident by fiscal year
Year	This city	Peer median	Colorado median
FY2016	Withheld (Tax revenue per resident is 4.1x the peer median)	Benchmark unavailable	$705 (193 reporting)
FY2021	Withheld (Tax revenue per resident is 11.1x the peer median)	Benchmark unavailable	$1,072 (201 reporting)

Questions about Westcliffe’s finances

How much revenue does Westcliffe collect per resident?: Westcliffe collected $2,311 per resident in FY2021, 7% below the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. See the figure
How does Westcliffe's spending per resident compare with similar cities?: Westcliffe spent $2,166 per resident in FY2021, 2.3× the median of its peers: Rockvale and Williamsburg. See the figure
Which cities is Westcliffe compared with?: Westcliffe is compared with Rockvale and Williamsburg: 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): −6.4%/yr; 2021 estimate
Median household income: $49.5K; 2021 estimate
Poverty rate: 17.7%; 2021 estimate
Median home value: $237.5K; 2021 estimate
Housing vacancy rate: 27.8%; 2021 estimate

Explore further

Also in Southern Colorado

Rockvale$1,222 · FY2021
Coal Creek$735 · FY2016
Boone
Silver Cliff$1,161 · FY2022
Brookside$702 · FY2016
Rye$769 · FY2016
Williamsburg$723 · FY2021
Cokedale$1,079 · FY2021

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: Westcliffe, 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 Westcliffe’s largest difference from its peers (6.6× 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.

See how it works Talk to us

Westcliffe · 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

Westcliffe and its peers

Trends

Questions about Westcliffe’s finances

Community context

Explore further

Also in Southern Colorado

Sources

General government is Westcliffe’s largest difference from its peers (6.6× the peer median in FY2021). See how that line moves month to month in your own budget-vs-actual.