10 Utah cities’ best places to start a business: new report

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Ten Utah cities are ranked as some of the best to start a business. 

WalletHub a personal finance website released its research with data from the US Census Bureau and Department of Labor. 

Washington, Utah, and St. George, Utah rank first and second respectively and Midvale ranked 21st.

ABC4 spoke to Midvale government leaders to see what they think of this achievement and what they’re doing to keep climbing the list.

“We feel great about it,” said Midvale Mayor Marcus Stevenson. “Cities do a lot of hard work to make sure we have thriving small businesses but a lot of that is behind the scenes and unless you are a small business owner you may not always interact in the city that way, so the fact that we have been recognized in that is something we are really proud of.”

Gov. Spencer Cox also tweeted out the poll and said “Once again, Utahns are being recognized for their innovative and entrepreneurial spirits.”

Midvale City has a population of almost 35,000 people with roughly 1,300 businesses. 

WalletHub lists 10 Utah cities in the top 30 small cities across the country to start a business.

Both the Midvale Mayor and Midvale Councilman Dustin Gettel said it’s humbling to receive the recognition but they want to keep improving.

“We are always glad to make that list but of course, we liked our position last year at number seven,” said Midvale Councilman Dustin Gettel. “I noticed this year there are even more Utah cities on the list.”

Mayor Stevenson and Gettel both said his city is welcoming and prides itself on inclusion which is why they think it ranked so high on the list. 

“Midvale really comes from small-town roots and so I think you have the residents who have been living here for generations really want to support our small businesses and then you have younger families who are a little newer to the area like myself and my family who are supporting and starting their own businesses,” said Mayor Stevenson. 

WalletHub used data from the US Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to make the list. 

More than 1,300 cities were surveyed with populations between 25,000 to 100,000. 

The components included the business environment, business costs, and access to resources.

“I think the greatest reason for Midvale is in its name,” said Gettel. “We are in the middle of the valley. We have a very charming small-town feel although our population is growing significantly. We experienced a 30% population increase from 2010-2020.”