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

Location
Utah Rising Statewide

Utah Rising is a statewide, collaborative effort between chambers of commerce throughout Utah. Scroll over this interactive map to view and learn more about the visions and efforts of chambers across the state that will ensure a prosperous future for all Utahns.

Workforce & Education

Utahns are healthy, talented, educated and industrious.

Strategic Goal

Become the number one best trained workforce in the nation.

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

Supporting Measures

Utah High School Graduation Rates
2017-2025
Note: The graph is plotted with a non-zero y-axis origin to highlight change.

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, 2019-2025
Note: Data includes only Utah System of Higher Education institutions. The graph is plotted with a non-zero y-axis origin to highlight change.

Source: Utah System of Higher Education

Technical College Enrollment
Total Headcount, Utah, 2018-19 to 2024-25

Source: Utah System of Higher Education

    Transportation

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

    Strategic Goal

    Improve the Journey: Utah will achieve a statewide mobility index (includes measures of delay, reliability and transit ridership) no lower than 85.

    Key Performance Indicators

    Utah Mobility Index
    2017-2025
    Target: Remain
    above an index
    score of 85.0
    Note: UDOT Mobility Index is calculated through three performance measures: delay, reliability, and transit ridership. The graph is plotted with a non-zero y-axis origin to highlight change.

    Source: Utah Department of Transportation

    Supporting Measures

    UTA Passenger Rail Mileage
    FrontRunner, Trax, and Light Rail lines, 1999-2026

    Note: FrontRunner service between the Ogden and Pleasant View stations was suspended in 2018, reducing the total number of rail miles in use.

    Source: Utah Transit Authority

    Corridor Preservation Spending
    FY 2018-FY 2026 YTD
    Note: Spending totals include spending for closed/finalized properties and obligated spending approved by the UDOT Corridor Preservation Advisory Council and UDOT Transportation Commission.

    Source: Utah Department of Transportation

    Cumulative Housing Units by Type within a Quarter-Mile of a Fixed Route Transit Option along the Wasatch Front by Decade
    1990-2020
    Note: Fixed route transit includes Trax/S-line, FrontRunner, and Bus Rapid Transit services. 2020 decadal data includes 2021-2026.

    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% (2,419 to 2,600) by 2027.

      Key Performance Indicators

      Middle Market Companies in Utah
      Nonagricultural Establishments With Employment Ranging From 100 to 999 Employees, 2017-2025Q1
      Target: 3,024 Middle Market Companies by 2034
      Source: Utah Department of Workforce Services, Workforce Research & Analysis, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, First Quarter 2025

      Supporting Measures

      Business Taxes per Employee by State
      State and Local Business Taxes per employee, FY 2024 (Thousands of USD)
      Source: Ernst & Young LLP estimates based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau State and Local Government Finances and Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
      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, 2017-2025
      Note: e=estimate. The graph is plotted with a non-zero y-axis origin to highlight change. State appropriation data includes operating and capital budgets and expendable funds and accounts, not including appropriations to proprietary, fiduciary, and capital projects funds as well as transfers among funds and accounts.
      Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis, Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst, Gardner Institute analysis
      Number of Business Establishments Opening and Closing
      Utah, 2017-2023
      Note: Data are seasonally adjusted.

      Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

      U.S. and Utah Middle Class Population, 1980-2022
      Single-Year Share of Population, Selected Years
      Note: Averages from 2019 and 2021 used to avoid pandemic-related data collection issues in 2020. The graph is plotted with a non-zero y-axis origin to highlight change.
      Source: Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey IPUMS
      U.S. and Utah Cumulative Per Capita
      Personal Income Growth
      2017-2024
      Note: Per capita personal income is total personal income divided by total midyear population. Personal income data adjusted for inflation to 2025 dollars.

      Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

        Housing

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

        Strategic Goal

        Maintain the median housing cost to 30% of the median household income.

        Key Performance Indicators

        U.S. and Utah Housing Price Index
        All-Transactions, January 1975–July 2025
        Note: Index 1980: Q1=100, Not Seasonally Adjusted.
        Source: U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
        Utah Median Multiple, 2017-2024
        Note: The median multiple ratio is a commonly used measure of housing affordability. The ratio measures the severity of housing affordability by dividing the median sales price of a home by the median household income.
        Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; UtahRealEstate.com; Gardner Institute Analysis

          Supporting Measures

          Housing Densities in Metro Counties
          Median New Units per Acre, Select Utah Counties, 2017-2025

          Source: Wasatch Front Regional Council, Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute Analysis

          Number of Deed-Restricted, Affordable Rentals
          Utah, 2017-2025
          Note: The graph is plotted with a non-zero y-axis origin to highlight change.

          Source: Utah Housing Corporation

            Livability

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

            Strategic Goal

            Create and launch Utah’s livability index.

            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

            Miles of Developed Trails
            Utah, 2024-2026

            Note: "Developed" trails include existing, paved shared-use paths and trails.

            Source: UDOT Trails Division, Utah Geospatial Resource Center
            Share of Utah Students Reporting Opportunities for
            Prosocial Involvement at School
            6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th graders, 2018-2025

            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
            2019-2022

            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

              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, November 2025 (Cents per Kilowatt hour)
              State Commercial State Residential State Industrial
              North Dakota 11.93 North Dakota 7.4 New Mexico 5.37
              Idaho 12.25 Texas 8.19 Louisiana 5.88
              Nebraska 12.52 Nebraska 8.56 Oklahoma 6.13
              Louisiana 12.74 Oklahoma 8.65 Iowa 6.36
              Montana 12.82 Nevada 9.13 Tennessee 6.43
              Utah 13.07 Idaho 9.41 Arkansas 6.53
              Missouri 13.12 Wyoming 9.47 Texas 6.63
              Arkansas 13.22 Utah 9.62 South Carolina 6.71
              Oklahoma 13.34 Missouri 9.97 Georgia 6.83
              Tennessee 13.47 Virginia 10.28 Washington 6.84

              Note: Values for 2025 are preliminary estimates based on a cutoff model sample. Utah ranked 21st nationally in average electricity prices for the industrial end-use sector in 2025.

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

              Utah's Average Duration of Power Outages per Customer
              System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI), All Events,
              2017-2024
              Note: SAIDI, or System Average Interruption Duration Index, is the minutes of non-momentary electric interruptions, per year, that the average customer experienced. SAIDI calculations utilize IEEE reliability indices and factors.
              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 Basin covers Cache and Rich counties; Weber River Basin covers Davis, Weber, and Morgan counties; Kanab Creek/Virgin River Basin covers Washington County and part of Kane County. The graph is plotted with a non-zero y-axis to highlight change.

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

              Real Cash Receipts of Agricultural Products Sold per Acre-Foot of Water Used
              Utah, 2017-2024
              Source: Farm Income and Wealth Statistics Report, U.S. Department of Agriculture; Utah Water Budget 2024, Utah Division of Water Resources
              Great Salt Lake Elevation Level Compared to Target Range
              Elevation of Great Salt Lake North and South Arms, Water-Year End, 1903-2025
              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

              Number of Days in Select Utah Counties Exceeding National Poor Air Quality Standards
              Daily Air Quality Index Values, 2017-2025
              Note: The U.S. Air Quality Index (AQI) is the EPA's index for reporting air quality. When AQI values are above 100, air quality is unhealthy. Data represents the number of days when AQI values exceeded 100 at any monitoring site within the geographic area. Air pollution levels measured at a particular monitoring site are not necessarily representative of the air quality for an entire county or urban area. Data may not be suitable for rank ordering geographic areas.
              Source: United States Environmental Protection Agency Air Quality Index Report

                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
                2017-2024

                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

                Value of Commercial and Industrial Water Use
                GDP per Acre-Foot of Commercial and Industrial Water Use, Utah, 2017-2024
                Source: Division of Water Resources, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Gardner Policy Institute analysis
                Secondary Water Use
                Utah, 2017-2024
                Source: Municipal and Industrial Water Use Data, Utah Division of Water Resources
                Cumulative Annual Water Savings Through
                Agriculture Water Optimization Projects
                Utah, FY 2019 - FY 2024
                Note: Savings calculated by comparing pre-project baseline water flow data against actual flow meter measurements post-project.
                Source: Agricultural Water Optimization Program, Utah Department of Agriculture and Food
                Water Dedicated and Delivered to Great Salt Lake
                2021-2025

                Note: Acre-feet is a unit of volume used to measure water capacity. Dedications/deliveries for 2025 are preliminary and are expected to increase upon final calculation.

                Source: Great Salt Lake Distribution Accounting Tool, Utah Division of Water Rights

                Percent of Secondary Residential Connections that are Metered in the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District
                2019-2024

                Source: Utah Division of Water Rights