Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 4.0How is Cortez run?
Cortez’s city government spent $22.3 million on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, about $2,481 per resident. Water and other utilities ($2.8 million) and the airport ($687,000) are counted separately.
What stands out about how Cortez is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
The typical homeowner pays $701 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 0.26% of the home’s value, vs 0.48% across Colorado.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Cortez’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Cortez’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Cortez →
About $2,481 per resident a year, or $6.80 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: administration & buildings, at 34%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
$1,709 per resident in 2022, close to the middle of similar cities
Cortez’s day-to-day spending in 2022 ($1,709 per resident, hospital and utilities left out) against 54 Colorado cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools: the median was $1,506, and the middle half spent $1,045–$2,154. Cortez spent more than 61% of them.
Includes sewer and trash ($1.2 million), as the Census Bureau counts them. Later years come from a Census sample, so the comparison stays on 2022. How Town Hall compares budgets →
Colorado cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools, 2022 Census of Governments (every government counted that year; Cortez itself left out).
Day-to-day spending is up 50% since 2022
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Cortez reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2022: $1,709 · 2023: $1,970 · 2024: $2,481.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
Who’s in charge in Cortez
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Cortez’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on cityofcortez.com ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 67 residents
On the payroll in March 2022, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll (a Census estimate). Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (8,999).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2022
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1
Cortez’s K–12 school district. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $13,869 per pupil, $6,493 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Colorado districts overall: 55% local, 37% state, 8% federal.
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Cortez’s votes are counted by county
Colorado reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Cortez alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Montezuma County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican59.3%8,972 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat38.3%5,793 votesOthers: 2.5% (374 votes).
Most votes in Montezuma County: Donald J Trump
Colorado: Harris 54.1%, Trump 43.1%
100% of Cortez lies in Montezuma County. Every 2024 race in Montezuma County is on the county’s page.
Montezuma County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Cortez.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: cityofcortez.com ↗
- 2Colorado HouseState representatives
- 3Colorado SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Colorado
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
Reach Cortez’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Cortez’s government
How much does Cortez spend per resident?
About $2,481 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to December 31, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau. In 2022, the last full count, its $1,709 was more than 61% of 54 Colorado cities of 2,500–9,999 that don’t run their own schools.
What is the property tax rate in Cortez?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $701 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 0.26% of the typical home’s value, vs 0.48% across Colorado. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see cityofcortez.com.
Who runs Cortez’s government?
See cityofcortez.com for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Cortez yet.
How did Cortez vote in 2024?
Colorado counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Cortez alone. Montezuma County, where 100% of Cortez lies, voted Trump 59.3%, Harris 38.3% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Cortez?
135 full-time and 58 part-time employees in March 2022, with a March payroll of $739,455 (about $8.9M a year if every month were the same); Census Bureau estimates.
Who represents Cortez in the state legislature?
State Senate District 6 (Cleave Simpson) and State House District 59 (Katie Stewart). The House district also covers seven other towns. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Cortez’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →