The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute today announced volume one of “Utah’s Tech Economy,” a study on the economic impacts, industry trends, occupations and workers of Utah’s technology industry. The report evaluates Utah’s booming tech industry and its significant contributions to Utah in 2018.
Highlights from the new report include:
- Technology companies employ a larger share of Utah’s workforce than nationwide.
- The industry’s generous pay, compared with other sectors, attracts workers.
- Job growth in Utah’s tech industry has been remarkable compared with other sectors and states.
Sample data points:
- In 2018, Utah’s technology industry had an overall economic impact of $29.7 billion and generated over $2.5 billion in tax revenue to help fund schools and government services.
- Technology companies supported one in seven jobs and one-sixth of worker earnings in the state.
- In addition to the 118,600 Utah jobs created in the technology industry in 2018, technology-related firms provided 50,100 jobs that overlapped with aerospace, defense, life sciences and other industries.
- Utah’s average technology compensation in 2018 was $106,100, over 80 percent higher than the $58,500-per-job compensation in other industries.
- Utah County led the state in technology jobs employing 10.2 percent and ranked second among counties for its employment level with over 25,300 jobs in the industry.
“As Utah’s economy continues to soar, so does our technology industry,” said Val Hale, executive director of the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development. “The Utah Tech Economy report will be a great resource and help companies looking at Utah better understand our information technology industry. We look forward to the future impact technology will have on Utah and its economy.”
Levi Pace, a senior research economist at the Gardner Policy Institute, is the lead author of the study. The full report is available on the Gardner Policy Institute’s website , opens in a new tab .