Salt Lake City has become a thriving metropolis with a booming population and plenty of job opportunities in banking and tech.
Many residents, like former Gov. Michael Leavitt, point to the 2002 Winter Olympics as the catalyst for the city’s transformation.
“A lot of good things came together at the right time. We had a growing population. Tech was becoming — it was in its infancy and was expanding. A startup culture was important,” Leavitt said. “We were in the position to be able to educate a lot of engineers at the right time, and then to be able to close that in the art, in the brand of the Olympics, that was a good combination.”
Salt Lake City is also a major draw for finance, with one of the highest concentrations of industrial banks in the U.S.; 15 of the nation’s 23 industrial banks are located in the county.
The metro’s snow economy sets it apart from other cities and will once again help boost Salt Lake City’s profile on an international stage when it hosts the Winter Olympic Games in 2034.
Yet some real challenges are ahead. Climate change and a lack of diversity, for example, could affect the city’s future.
Watch the video to learn more.
Disclosure: Comcast Ventures and NBCUniversal, CNBC’s parent company, are investors in Acorns.
Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2036.
