News Release
Gardner Institute Releases First-of-its-Kind Analysis of Utah’s Economic Regions
November 19, 2020 (Salt Lake City) – The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute today released a first-of-its-kind analysis of Utah’s economic regions, which capture local commuting patterns and score well for other measures of economic connection across the state. The report identifies six of these economic regions in Utah: Greater Salt Lake, Uintah Basin, West Central, East Central, Southwest, and Southeast.
“Economic activity does not naturally respect political boundaries,” said Natalie Gochnour, director of the Gardner Institute. “The best example of this is the county boundary that separates Salt Lake and Utah counties. Workers, customers, and suppliers flow seamlessly across these county lines forming a single economic region.”
Key findings from the report include the following:
Six economic regions – The Utah economy organizes functionally into six economic areas that bound much of the economic activity of residents. Decision-makers can use these economic regions to inform public and private investment, planning, and policy decisions.
Greater Salt Lake Area dominates – Utah’s northern metropolitan region casts a long economic reach on the state, comprising 12 of Utah’s 29 counties, 86% of the state’s population, and 88% of the state’s jobs. Salt Lake City is the undisputed economic center of this region and the state, functioning as the center for commerce, finance, transportation, health care, arts, entertainment, and culture, as well as the seat of government.
Regional centers – Each region includes an economic center that serves as the center of commerce. These centers are Salt Lake City, Vernal, Richfield, Price, Moab, and St. George.
Analysts from the Gardner Institute defined these regions by analyzing commuting data that captures labor market activity and movement. They then evaluated these economic connections by examining health care consumption patterns, industry similarity, co-movement of wages, and unemployment rates. The result is a comprehensive picture of how the Utah economy organizes along regionalized county boundaries.