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Wheat Ridge · FY2021 municipal finance benchmarks

Jefferson County · Denver Metro · home rule municipality · Pop. 32,081 (2025 estimate); FY2021 per-resident figures use 32,337 · Census finance data FY2016–FY2023

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

Wheat Ridge collected $2,285 per resident, 8% below the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. Tax revenue per resident sits 21% above its peers. Debt per resident runs 7% 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)

$2,285
6% below peers
Peer median
$2,426
CO median · 227 with a published figure
$2,476
Position
Higher than 43% of the 227 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+16.3%/yr
How Colorado compares on revenue per resident

Expenditures per resident (definition)

$1,858
8% below peers
Peer median
$2,021
CO median · 220 with a published figure
$2,208
Position
Higher than 41% of the 220 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+5.5%/yr

Tax revenue per resident (definition)

$1,390
21% above peers
Peer median
$1,145
CO median · 201 with a published figure
$1,072
Position
Higher than 65% of the 201 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+9.0%/yr

Debt per resident (definition)

$2,167
7% above peers
Peer median
$2,022
CO median · 199 with a published figure
$1,411
Position
Higher than 68% of the 199 reporting
5-year changenominal dollars
+287.4%/yr
How Colorado compares on debt per resident

How this number was calculated

Revenue per resident · $2,285
Reported by the city to the Census Bureau

  1. 1Metric

    $2,285 Total revenue divided by population

    = Total revenue ÷ population

    Full definition: Revenue per resident

  2. 2Inputs

    Total revenue $73.9M ÷ population 32,337 (2021 estimate)

  3. 3Census line items

    • A44 Streets & highways charges
    • A61 Parks & recreation charges
    • A89 General government (other) charges
    • B89 Federal aid
    • C89 State aid
    • D89 Local government aid
    • T01 Property tax
    • T09 General sales tax
    • T11 Selective sales taxes (lodging, utilities, etc.)
    • T15 Selective sales taxes (lodging, utilities, etc.)
    • T19 Selective sales taxes (lodging, utilities, etc.)
    • T20 Licenses & permits
    • T21 Licenses & permits
    • T24 Licenses & permits
    • T28 Licenses & permits
    • U11 Sale of property
    • U20 Interest earnings
    • U30 Fines & forfeits
    • U40 Rents
    • U99 Miscellaneous

  4. 4Source file

What the numbers mean

No structural factors stand out in the data. The peer comparison below is a fair starting point.

Where the money comes from and where it goes

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

The biggest difference from peers is Utilities & environment: none reported, against a peer median of $694 per resident. On the revenue side, intergovernmental is 4.9× peers.

Money in

Revenue

$2,285
per resident6% below peers
Money in: Wheat Ridge revenue per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$1,11830% abovepeers $861
$7694.9×peers $156
$18177% abovepeers $102
$9379% belowpeers $449
$9255% belowpeers $203
$3371% belowpeers $114
None reported · peers $215$0None reported
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 227 reporting

Money out

Spending

$1,858
per resident8% below peers
Money out: Wheat Ridge spending per resident by category, FY2021, against the peer median. Open a category for its lines and Census item codes.
CategoryPer residentvs peers
$60888% abovepeers $324
$5576.8×peers $82
$446in line withpeers $463
$20919% belowpeers $257
$3738% belowpeers $59
None reported · peers $694$0None reported
Peer median of 5 peers · Colorado median of 220 reporting

Wheat Ridge 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
Wheat Ridge compared with its peer municipalities, FY2021, per resident
MunicipalityRevenueExpendituresTax revenueSales taxDebt
Wheat Ridge$2,285$1,858$1,390$1,118$2,167
EnglewoodUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 10.7% 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.$3,095$2,642$1,590$1,055$1,156
LafayetteUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 15.1% 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.$2,720$2,021$1,145$778$2,022
Fountain$1,228$2,288$979$789$4,141
NorthglennUtilities: City-owned utilities (water, electric, gas, transit) brought in 8.9% 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.$2,426$1,441$1,044$861$2,330
Littleton$1,859$1,622$1,215$878$234
Peer median$2,426$2,021$1,145$861$2,022

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 $1,072 to FY2023 $2,104.$0$1.6K$3.2K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $1,890Peer median FY2017: $2,278Peer median FY2018: $2,474Peer median FY2019: $2,118Peer median FY2020: $2,396Peer median FY2021: $2,426Peer median FY2022: $2,725Peer median FY2023: $3,162Colorado median FY2016: $1,746 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,476 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,072FY2017: $1,205FY2018: $1,415FY2019: $1,557FY2020: $1,659FY2021: $2,285FY2022: $2,721FY2023: $2,104

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2017, FY2018. 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$1,072$1,890$1,746 (224 reporting)
FY2017$1,205$2,278$2,694 (35 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$1,415$2,474$2,529 (75 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$1,557$2,118$2,694 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$1,659$2,396$2,739 (76 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$2,285$2,426$2,476 (227 reporting)
FY2022$2,721$2,725$3,031 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$2,104$3,162$3,580 (97 reporting, sample year)
Expenditures per resident
FY2016 $1,418 to FY2023 $2,189.$0$1.5K$3K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $1,748Peer median FY2017: $1,974Peer median FY2018: $2,028Peer median FY2019: $2,154Peer median FY2020: $2,090Peer median FY2021: $2,021Peer median FY2022: $2,212Peer median FY2023: $2,981Colorado median FY2016: $1,749 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $2,208 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $1,418FY2017: $1,247FY2018: $1,168FY2019: $2,008FY2020: $1,869FY2021: $1,858FY2022: $2,456. Excludes equipment purchases and payments to other governments, which Census stopped reporting after FY2021.FY2023: $2,189. 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. 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$1,418$1,748$1,749 (196 reporting)
FY2017$1,247$1,974$2,663 (35 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$1,168$2,028$2,387 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$2,008$2,154$2,759 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$1,869$2,090$2,485 (74 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$1,858$2,021$2,208 (220 reporting)
FY2022$2,456$2,212$3,025 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$2,189$2,981$3,680 (91 reporting, sample year)
Tax revenue per resident
FY2016 $905 to FY2023 $1,495.$0$815.7$1.6K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $913Peer median FY2017: $1,047Peer median FY2018: $1,133Peer median FY2019: $1,046Peer median FY2020: $1,103Peer median FY2021: $1,145Peer median FY2022: $1,338Peer median FY2023: $1,368Colorado median FY2016: $705 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,072 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $905FY2017: $924FY2018: $1,207FY2019: $1,110FY2020: $1,184FY2021: $1,390FY2022: $1,631FY2023: $1,495

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2017, FY2018. 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$905$913$705 (193 reporting)
FY2017$924$1,047$1,098 (34 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$1,207$1,133$1,173 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$1,110$1,046$1,187 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$1,184$1,103$1,238 (72 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$1,390$1,145$1,072 (201 reporting)
FY2022$1,631$1,338$1,631 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$1,495$1,368$1,726 (90 reporting, sample year)
Debt per resident
FY2016 $2 to FY2023 $1,888.$0$1.1K$2.2K’16’17’18’19’20’21’22’23Peer median FY2016: $1,559Peer median FY2017: $1,315Peer median FY2018: $961Peer median FY2019: $1,126Peer median FY2020: $656Peer median FY2021: $2,022Peer median FY2022: $954Peer median FY2023: $1,496Colorado median FY2016: $1,072 (all 224 municipalities reporting)Colorado median FY2021: $1,411 (all 227 municipalities reporting)FY2016: $2FY2017: $872FY2018: $1,187FY2019: $1,026FY2020: $913FY2021: $2,167FY2022: $2,052FY2023: $1,888

Fiscal year · nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation

Peer group changed in FY2017, FY2018. 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$2$1,559$1,072 (220 reporting)
FY2017$872$1,315$1,482 (34 reporting, sample year)
FY2018$1,187$961$1,644 (70 reporting, sample year)
FY2019$1,026$1,126$1,627 (69 reporting, sample year)
FY2020$913$656$1,798 (71 reporting, sample year)
FY2021$2,167$2,022$1,411 (199 reporting)
FY2022$2,052$954$2,068 (73 reporting, sample year)
FY2023$1,888$1,496$2,130 (91 reporting, sample year)

Questions about Wheat Ridge’s finances

How much revenue does Wheat Ridge collect per resident?
Wheat Ridge collected $2,285 per resident in FY2021, 8% below the median of the 227 Colorado municipalities reporting that year. See the figure
How does Wheat Ridge's spending per resident compare with similar cities?
Wheat Ridge spent $1,858 per resident in FY2021, 8% below the median of its peers: Englewood, Lafayette, Fountain, Northglenn and Littleton. See the figure
How much debt does Wheat Ridge have per resident?
Wheat Ridge carried $2,167 of debt per resident in FY2021, 7% above its peers' median. See the figure
Which cities is Wheat Ridge compared with?
Wheat Ridge is compared with Englewood, Lafayette, Fountain, Northglenn and Littleton: 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)
+0.3%/yr
2021 estimate
Median household income
$73.2K
2021 estimate
Poverty rate
12.1%
2021 estimate
Median home value
$459.5K
2021 estimate
Housing vacancy rate
5.6%
2021 estimate

Explore further

Also in Denver Metro

Revenue per resident, latest published year.

Sources

Dataset: Wheat Ridge, 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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