Vision & Guiding Principles

Utah Rising

 - A Free Enterprise Vision for Utah’s Economy
The Salt Lake Chamber, in collaboration with chambers of commerce throughout Utah, presents Utah Rising: A Free Enterprise Vision for Utah’s Economy. This vision includes a statewide, business-led plan to ensure a prosperous future for all Utahns. Successful implementation of the plan will require a model partnership between the business community and the public sector to develop the workforce, support the business environment, enhance livability, optimize natural resources and the environment, and achieve signature projects.

Vision

Become and remain the top performing economy in the nation.

Mission

Lead private sector efforts and collaborate with public sector partners to secure statewide prosperity.

Guiding principles

Common ground and collaboration for a shared vision of sustainable growth and statewide prosperity.

Bold vision and pragmatic action to harness market forces and achieve results that reimagine the possible.

Quality of life and upward mobility that creates opportunity for all Utahns.

Culture of service and community building that gives Utah a distinct competitive advantage.

Private sector innovation and public sector support to unleash the power of free enterprise.

Utah's Private Sector Comprises Nearly Nine of Every Ten Dollars in the Utah Economy
Utah gross domestic product, 2023

State Total

$272.6B

89.5%

Private Sector 
($243.9B)

10.5%

Government
($28.7B)

Source:  U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

Focus Areas

Workforce

Utahns are healthy, talented, educated and industrious.

Strategic Goal

Part one: Utah will have the best-trained workforce in the country in 2034 by increasing the percentage of young adults (25-34-years old) with a post-secondary degree or certificate by 10 percentage points.

Part two: Utah will have the mentally healthiest workforce in the nation by 2034 by decreasing the share of young adults (ages 25-34) with poor mental health by 15 percentage points.

Key Performance Indicators

Share of Utah Young Adults (ages 25-34) with a
Post-Secondary Degree or Certificate
Target: 70.6%

Note: 2020 data is unreliable due to sampling issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic and is thus excluded from this graph.

Source: Lumina Foundation

Share of Utah Young Adults (ages 25-34)
Reporting Poor Mental Health
Target: 18.4%
Note: 7 or more days, not good mental health in the last 30 days.

Source: Utah Department of Health and Human Services

Utah Suicide Rates for Males (Ages 45-64)
Per 100,000 Population

Source: Division of Vital Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS),
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (US DHHS).

    Supporting Measures

    Utah High School Graduation Rates
    2018-2023

    Source: Utah State Board of Higher Education

    Utah Higher Education Completion Rates
    Share of Entering Students who Complete their Programs within 150% of Expected Time

    Source: Utah System of Higher Education

    Technical College Enrollment
    Total Headcount, Utah, 2018-19 to 2022-23

    Source: Utah System of Higher Education

    Share of High Mental Health Needs
    Among Utah Sixth Graders

    Note: SHARP survey conducted every other year.
    Source: Utah Student Health and Risk Prevention:
    Prevention Needs Assessment Survey, 2015-2023

    Share of High Mental Health Needs
    Among Utah 12th Graders

    Note: SHARP survey conducted every other year.
    Source: Utah Student Health and Risk Prevention:
    Prevention Needs Assessment Survey, 2015-2023

    Share of Utah Males (ages 45-64)
    Reporting Social Isolation

    Note: Share of respondents that noted "always" or "usually" when responding
    to the question "How often do you feel socially isolated from others?"
    Source: Utah Department of Health and Human Services Behavioral Risk
    Factor Surveillance System

      Transportation

      Utah is the Crossroads of the West and becoming the Crossroads of the World.

      Strategic Goal

      Utah will maintain a statewide transportation mobility index (includes measures of delay, mobility, and transit ridership) no lower than 85.0.

      Key Performance Indicators

      Utah Mobility Index
      Target: Remain
      above an index
      score of 85.0

      Note: UDOT Mobility Index is calculated through three performance measures: delay, reliability, and transit ridership.

      Source: Utah Department of Transportation

      Supporting Measures

      UTA Passenger Rail Mileage
      FrontRunner, Trax, and Light Rail lines, 1999-2024

      Source: Utah Transportation Authority

      Corridor Preservation Spending
      2019-2024 YTD

      Source: Utah Department of Transportation

      Housing Units by Type Within a Quarter-Mile of a Fixed Route Transit Option Along the Wasatch Front by Decade
      Note: Fixed route transit includes Trax/S-Line, FrontRunner, and Bus Rapid Transit

      Source: Utah Housing Inventory Explorer, Wasatch Front Regional Council

        Business Environment

        Utah has a diverse private sector that is entrepreneurial, supported by efficient government that is business-friendly.

        Strategic Goal

        Grow the number of middle market (100 to 999 employees) Utah companies by 25% by 2034.

        Key Performance Indicators

        Middle Market Companies in Utah
        Nonagricultural Establishments With Employment Ranging From 100 to 999 Employees
        Target: 3,024 Middle Market Companies by 2034

        Note: The graph is plotted with a non-zero y-axis origin to highlight change.

        Source: Utah Department of Workforce Services, Workforce Research & Analysis, Utah Employers, Employment, and Wages by Size, 2023.

        Supporting Measures

        Business Taxes per Employee by State
        State and Local Business Taxes per employee, FY 2022 (Thousands of USD)

        Source: Ernst & Young LLP and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

        Utah’s Regulatory Framework
        State-Level Regulatory Restrictions, 2023

        Note: Regulatory restrictions refer to the sum of regulatory restrictions in a state’s regulatory text. Regulatory counts for Arkansas and West Virginia are omitted due to limitations in analysis.

        Source: Patrick A. McLaughlin, Jonathan Nelson, Thurston Powers, Walter Stover, and Stephen Strosko, State RegData 4.0 (dataset), QuantGov, Mercatus Center at George Mason University, Arlington, VA, 2020

        State Spending per $1,000 of Personal Income
        Utah, 2018-2023
        Note: The graph is plotted with a non-zero y-axis origin to highlight change. Federal funds are included in state spending totals.

        Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst, Gardner Institute Analysis

        Number of Business Establishments Opening and Closing
        Utah, 2018-2023

        Source: Utah System of Higher Education

        U.S. and Utah Middle Class Population, 1980-2022
        Single-Year Share of Population, Selected Years

        Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

        U.S. and Utah Cumulative Per Capita
        Personal Income Growth

        Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

          Housing

          Utah is a place where all who call it home can have a home.

          Strategic Goal

          Utah will address record housing price appreciation since 2018 through meaningful regulatory/zoning reforms in the 2025 and 2026 legislative sessions.

          Key Performance Indicators

          U.S. and Utah Housing Price Index
          All-Transactions, January 1975–January 2024

          Note: Index 1980: Q1=100, Not Seasonally Adjusted.

          Source: Gardner Institute

          Supporting Measures

          Housing Densities in Metro Counties
          New Units per Acre, Select Utah Counties, 2018-2022

          Source: Gardner Institute Analysis

          Number of Deed-Restricted, Affordable Rentals
          Utah, 2018-2024

          Source: Utah Housing Corporation

            Livability

            Utah provides opportunity for individuals, families and communities to thrive.

            Strategic Goal

            Utah’s livability index (which includes amenities, safety, and convenience) will increase by 2034.

            Key Performance Indicators

            Utah Livability Index (Conceptual Only)
            2018-2023

            Notes: The Utah livability index was developed by Gardner Institute analysts. It was created by accounting for how Utah scores in three areas that contribute to livability: amenities, safety, and convenience.

            Source: Gardner Institute

            Supporting Measures

            Share of Utah Students Reporting Opportunities for
            Prosocial Involvement at School
            6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th graders, 2019-2023

            Note: The graph is plotted with a non-zero y-axis origin to highlight change. The SHARP survey is conducted every other year.

            Source: Utah Student Health and Risk Prevention Survey

            Share of Utah Population Reporting Social Isolation
            2019-2023

            Note: Share of respondents that noted "always" or "usually" when responding to the question
            "How often do you feel socially isolated from others?"

            Source: Utah Department of Health and Human Services Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

            Average Utah Commute Times
            2018-2023

            Note: The graph is plotted with a non-zero y-axis origin to highlight change.

            Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Commuter Survey. 2018-2022 from
            PUMS; 2023 from Table S0801.

            Miles of Developed Trails
            2024

            Source: UDOT Trails Division analysis of Utah Trails and Pathways GIS data

              Natural Resources

              Utahns are wise stewards of our environment and natural beauty.

              Strategic Goal

              Utah will maintain energy affordability and reliability, reduce per capita water consumption, and improve air quality in the years leading up to 2034.

              Key Performance Indicators

              Utah Electricity Prices Compared to Other States
              Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector,
              10 lowest states, May 2024 (cents per kilowatt hour)
                     
              State Commercial State Residential State Industrial
              North Dakota 7.3 Utah 11.01 Louisiana 5.26
              Oklahoma 8.04 Louisiana 11.49 Oklahoma 5.26
              Nebraska 8.28 Idaho 11.55 Tennessee 5.85
              Utah 8.43 Oklahoma 11.70 Arkansas 5.91
              Texas 8.73 Washington 12.16 New Mexico 5.99
              Wyoming 9.12 Nebraska 12.22 Washington 6.17
              Idaho 9.19 Arkansas 12.27 Utah 6.21
              Missouri 9.46 Tennessee 12.46 Kentucky 6.22
              Virginia 9.55 Missouri 12.62 Iowa 6.26
              Louisiana 10.03 Wyoming 12.81 Texas 6.28

              Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Electric Power Industry Report

              Average Duration of Power Outages per Customer
              System Average Interruption Duration Index, All Events,
              Utah, 2018-2022

              Note: SAIDI = System Average Interruption Duration Index, or the minutes of non-momentary electric interruptions per year the average customer experienced.

              Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Monthly Electric Power Industry Report
              Residential Potable Gallons Per Capita Per Day
              Select Utah Basins, 2017-2022

              Note: Jordan River basin covers Salt Lake County; Bear River covers Cache and Rich counties;
              Weber River covers Davis, Weber, Summit, and Morgan counties; Kanab Creek/Virgin River
              covers Washington County and part of Kane County

              Source: Municipal and Industrial Water Use Data, Utah Division of Water Resources

              Market Value of Agricultural Products Sold per Acre-Foot of Water Used
              2018-2022

              Note: The Census of Agriculture is released every four years. The market value of agriculture products between 2018 and 2022 was linearly interpolated.

              Source: 2022 Census of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture; Utah Water Budget 2022, Utah Division of Water Resources

              Number of Days in Select Utah Counties Exceeding National Poor Air Quality Standards
              Daily Air Quality Index Values, 2018-2023
              Note: The U.S. AQI is the EPA's index for reporting air quality. When AQI values are above 100, air quality is unhealthy.
              Source: U. S. Environmental Protection Agency Air Quality Index Report
              Great Salt Lake Surface Elevation
              North and South Arm, 1966-2023
              Target: 4,198 - 4,205 ft

              From 1903-1959, daily elevation was collected once a month. In 1960, the elevation was collected twice monthly. Starting in 1990, the data were collected daily. Recently, data are collected multiple times a day but averaged for a single daily average value

              Source: US Geological Survey Historical Elevation at Saltair Boat Harbor and Saline, UT

                Supporting Measures

                Relative Economic Efficiency of State Energy Regulations
                2014

                Source: 50 State Index of Energy Regulation; Pacific Research Institute

                Annual Net Capacity Factor for Utah Power Plants
                2018-2022

                Note: The net capacity factor of a power plant is the ratio of its actual output over a period of time to its potential output if it were possible for the plant to operate at full capacity continuously over the same period of time

                Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Utah Geological Survey

                Commercial and Industrial Water Use
                GDP per Acre-Foot of Commercial and Industrial Water Use, Utah, 2018-2022

                Source: Commercial and Industrial Water Use, Utah Division of Water Resources

                Secondary Water Use
                Utah, 2018-2022
                Source: Municipal and Industrial Water Use Data, Utah Division of Water Resources
                Estimated Annual Water Savings from Agriculture
                Optimization Projects Funded by the State
                Utah, 2022-2024

                Note: Utah Department of Agriculture and Food provides funding.

                Source: Great Salt Lake Strategic Plan, Utah Division of Water Resources; Agricultural Water Optimization Task Force

                Thousands of Acre-Feet Dedicated to Great Salt Lake
                Great Salt Lake Watershed Enhancement Trust Water Transactions, 2023 and 2024
                Note: KAF, or thousand acre-feet, is a unit of volume used to measure water capacity. The Watershed Enhancement Trust is the primary tool for dedicating water to Great Salt Lake. 2024 is the baseline amount and does not include additional water purchased by the Trust or dedicated by other users through the Trust. Data are on a diversion basis.

                Source: Great Salt Lake Water Trust

                Percent of Secondary Residential Connections that are Metered in the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District
                2019-2023

                Source: Utah Division of Water Rights