3. Utah

The economy is great in the Beehive State, but it fumbles on education by underfunding its schools.

A snowbird skiing in Utah.
Scott Markewitz | Getty Images
A snowbird skiing in Utah.
Category
Score
2018 Rank
2017 Rank
Grade
Workforce 265 11 18 B+
Infrastructure 246 10 9 B+
Cost of Doing Business 198 23 24 (Tie) B
Economy 251 2 4 A+
Quality of Life 206 12 20 B
Technology & Innovation 133 19 18 (Tie) B-
Education 87 34 34 (Tie) D+
Business Friendliness 103 12 16 B
Access to Capital 64 18 18 (Tie) B-
Cost of Living 29 22 17 C+
Overall 1582 3 8 -

Economic Profile

Governor: Gary Herbert, Republican

Population: 3,101,833

GDP growth (Q4 2017): 2.2 percent

Unemployment rate (May 2018): 3.0 percent

Top corporate tax rate: 5 percent

Top individual income tax rate: 5 percent

Gasoline tax: 29.41 cents/gallon

Bond rating (Moody's/S&P): Aaa, stable/AAA, stable

Major private employers: Intermountain Health Care, Extra Space Storage

Economic profile sources: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federation of Tax Administrators, American Petroleum Institute (excluding 18.40 cent/gallon federal tax), Moody's Investor Service, S&P Global Market Intelligence

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