Tom Harvey
Salt Lake Tribune
When it comes to measuring how well cities nationally and in the region are functioning in today’ challenging
economy, Utah metro areas are among the tops, two new reports show.
The Ogden-to-Provo metropolitan corridor placed three cities in the Top 15 in economic activity among a list of the
nation’s “Best Performing” metro areas, and Logan was the No. 1 small city.
Salt Lake City was No. 6, Provo-Orem No. 9 and Ogden-Clearfield No. 15 on the Milken Institute’s 2011 index
released Thursday.
After Texas, which placed four metro areas in the Top 10, Utah was the only other state with more than one city in
the Top 25. Utah has a diverse technology sector seeded by major universities, a quality lifestyle and low relative
costs, said Kevin Klowden, an economist and director of the Milken Center in California.
“Utah has done a very nice job of establishing itself as capturing the California alternative in terms of tech,” he said.
“In proportion to its population, Utah has done very well. … It’s positioned itself fairly well in terms of what you get for
your money.”
In another measurement, a quarterly report on economic activity in the Intermountain West found that Ogden and
Provo were among the top four cities leading regional growth out of the depths of the Great Recession.
In fact, according to the Mountain Monitor quarterly report on employment conditions, Provo and Ogden led the
region and the nation with employment gains of 4.6 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively.
The Monitor, part of an index of economic measures in the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas compiled by the
Brookings Institution and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said manufacturing and state and local government
jobs accounted for that growth. But Mark Muro, a senior fellow at Brookings, said the state also benefits from the
diversity of its economy.
Salt Lake Tribune
When it comes to measuring how well cities nationally and in the region are functioning in today’ challenging
economy, Utah metro areas are among the tops, two new reports show.
The Ogden-to-Provo metropolitan corridor placed three cities in the Top 15 in economic activity among a list of the
nation’s “Best Performing” metro areas, and Logan was the No. 1 small city.
Salt Lake City was No. 6, Provo-Orem No. 9 and Ogden-Clearfield No. 15 on the Milken Institute’s 2011 index
released Thursday.
After Texas, which placed four metro areas in the Top 10, Utah was the only other state with more than one city in
the Top 25. Utah has a diverse technology sector seeded by major universities, a quality lifestyle and low relative
costs, said Kevin Klowden, an economist and director of the Milken Center in California.
“Utah has done a very nice job of establishing itself as capturing the California alternative in terms of tech,” he said.
“In proportion to its population, Utah has done very well. … It’s positioned itself fairly well in terms of what you get for
your money.”
In another measurement, a quarterly report on economic activity in the Intermountain West found that Ogden and
Provo were among the top four cities leading regional growth out of the depths of the Great Recession.
In fact, according to the Mountain Monitor quarterly report on employment conditions, Provo and Ogden led the
region and the nation with employment gains of 4.6 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively.
The Monitor, part of an index of economic measures in the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas compiled by the
Brookings Institution and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said manufacturing and state and local government
jobs accounted for that growth. But Mark Muro, a senior fellow at Brookings, said the state also benefits from the
diversity of its economy.
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| Utah Economy Still a Cut Above |
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