Provo, Ogden, Salt Lake in top 20 of Forbes' list of best places for business

By Laura Hancock - Deseret News April 14, 2010

The magazine "factored in quality-of-life issues like crime, cultural and recreational opportunities, as well as net migration patterns," said Forbes writer Kurt Badenhausen. "Lastly, we examined the percentage of subprime mortgages handed out over a three-year stretch and the number of highly ranked four-year colleges in the area, per our annual college rankings."

Provo, home of Brigham Young University, ranked highly in the number of people ages 25 and older with bachelor's degrees or higher.

Ogden ranked No. 11 overall and was noted for a relatively low unemployment rate of 5.9 percent. Forbes said the city is poised for job growth of about 1.4 percent in the next three years.

Salt Lake City, which Forbes described as having a metro population of 1.1 million, ranked No. 20, just after Portland, Ore., and before Asheville, N.C.

Salt Lake City's median home price is $219,500, and 13.6 percent of mortgages are considered subprime, according to Forbes. The median household income is $63,813.