Lakewood, CO vs Fort Collins, CO

Fort Collins, CO outspends Lakewood, CO by a wide margin per resident — $26,163 versus $10,295, a 154% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.

Lakewood, CO holds the stronger Fiscal Health Score, 56/100 (grade C) against 44/100 (grade D) for Fort Collins, CO — a 12-point spread that puts the two in different grade territory.

On debt, Lakewood, CO carries the lighter load at $1 per resident versus $318 for Fort Collins, CO. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Lakewood, CO leads with parks and recreation at $2,250 per resident, while Fort Collins, CO leads with highways and roads at $2,411.

They also fund themselves differently: other revenue is the largest single revenue source in Lakewood, CO at 167% of total revenue, whereas Fort Collins, CO relies most on intergovernmental transfers at 100%.