3 of the 4 best small cities for starting a new business are in southern Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — Anyone thinking about starting a new business may want to consider southwest Utah, because three of the four best small cities for starting a new business are in Washington and Iron counties.

WalletHub ranked St. George as the number one small city in the nation for starting a small business. Cedar City is ranked as the third best and Washington City is ranked as fourth.

Success in St. George

St. George Economic Development Director Chad Thomas said last year, WalletHub ranked them as number two.

He said even though one of the biggest challenges in St. George right now is available space, there’s still a lot of development on the south side of the city.

“Exit 2 is really going to be where a lot of growth and announcements that you’re going to see have already happened or [are] going to continue to happen. Washington County’s second In-N-Out Burger is planned over on exit 2. We opened up a new Smith’s Marketplace off exit 2. And there’s a few other retailers and restaurant groups [that] have announced out there. Down there is our Big Shot, which is like Top Golf.”

Thomas said a lot of their economic success started with golf.

“Really, when you think of economic development in St. George, our story starts with golf. The city invested in golf, you know, back in the 1950s when St. George was really just a stop along the highway to get to Las Vegas. And our community leaders were very forward-thinking and pioneers in their own right to say, ‘How can we get people to stop here?’ And golf was that thing.”

The city now owns four municipal golf courses.

“We’re proud that we’re able to provide a high-quality service for the amount that people pay and, you know, we really tried to make sure that regardless of income or where you live that you can, you know, experience that great amenity.” 

Cedar City’s success

David Johnson is the economic development director for Cedar City and Iron County.

He said, “Collaboration between businesses, city leaders and Southern Utah University is a big part of Cedar City’s success.”

Johnson said Cedar City has a diverse economy.

“We have several manufacturers in food, plastics, aerospace and defense. Not only that, we’ve got our retail … universities and a historic downtown as well, which we can’t forget. And a lot of people know Cedar City for our tourism with the Utah Shakespeare Festival, [a] lot of the national parks. I could go on and on about all the things that make Cedar City a great place as far as quality of life and opportunity to start a business.”

Johnson said one of the secrets of Cedar City’s success is the collaboration between Southern Utah University and Southwest Technical College. 

He said those two institutions of higher education work directly with new businesses to make sure they’re providing a workforce ready to meet the needs of that new business.

They work “with these companies to train people on how to maintain and repair and do some of those programs. And so there’s just this variety, this diversity of economic impact from manufacturing to solar energy, to historic downtown, to tourism that really makes us shine in helping small businesses to large businesses come here and be successful.”

Last year, Cedar City was ranked as the number one best city for starting a new business.

“Down here in southern Utah, Cedar City, St. George, Hurricane, Washington City, a lot of us are always playing a shell game of who’s number one as the small city to start a business in the country.”

Johnson said one of the challenges Cedar City has faced over the years is the loss of children who have to move away to find jobs.

“So often in these historically rural communities, people live and work here and their kids have to move away. And then they work for years to come back. They’re looking for opportunities to come back. And so by creating jobs, we’re giving that opportunity to live here, be educated here and continue to work here throughout those multi-generations.”

”We have the business climate that you want, but the lifestyle that you need’

One thing Thomas and Johnson agree on is that cooperation between these small cities is leading to greater opportunities.

“Well, we’re just seeing a huge interest in our market and we have a really good relationship with our communities here in southern Utah, whether it be Washington City (or) Cedar City. We have great infrastructure here and a great quality of life,” Thomas said. “When [people] come here, I often say ‘We have the business climate that you want, but the lifestyle that you need.'”

Johnson agrees.

“I’ve been working with my peers in Washington County to create and expand the Southern Utah Economic Alliance, which will establish us as a regional market in the western markets out here in the western United States,” Johnson said. “This recognition from WalletHub for Cedar City and some of our neighbors is just a demonstration of what’s happening here in the business climate, the positive business climate in southern Utah that is only going to continue to grow.”

WalletHub studied more than 1,300 cities, ranking them on “18 key metrics.”

Fort Myers, Florida, ranked as the number two best city on the list. A dozen other Utah cities also ranked in the top 100 best small cities for starting a new business.

Follow @KSLdbrinkerhoff