Pueblo, CO vs Lakewood, CO

Pueblo, CO outspends Lakewood, CO by a wide margin per resident — $16,547 versus $10,295, a 61% difference. A gap this size usually reflects a structurally different service mix or accounting scope rather than a single line item.

Lakewood, CO edges Pueblo, CO on the Fiscal Health Score by 3 points — 56/100 (grade C) to 53/100 (grade C). At a margin this narrow the grade is close enough that the factor-level detail matters more than the composite.

Pueblo, CO reports no outstanding debt per resident in its Census filing, while Lakewood, CO carries $1 per resident. Their budgets diverge on where the largest per-resident dollars go: Pueblo, CO leads with fire protection at $283 per resident, while Lakewood, CO leads with parks and recreation at $2,250.

They also fund themselves differently: intergovernmental transfers is the largest single revenue source in Pueblo, CO at 126% of total revenue, whereas Lakewood, CO relies most on other revenue at 167%.