Ogden made the list of the top 20 cities to start a business in America!

Hello Friends,

Our hometown of Ogden made 

Business is booming in Ogden — so much so that CNBC just named the city one of the top 20 metro areas to start a business in America. 

Ogden came in at No. 7, with Provo as No. 2 and Salt Lake City as No. 18. The top spot? Austin, Texas. 

CNBC made its list by using the U.S. Census Bureau’s list of 389 metropolitan statistical areas and pinpointing 107 areas that had a population of 500,000 or more,according to a CNBC report on the project. Then, it used private and government data to look at the key criteria business owners should evaluate before choosing a location. After the data was collected, each criteria was weighted with results of a survey of U.S.-based individuals. 

According to the report, each metropolitan area was assigned points depending on where it ranked within five categories — environment for success, cost of doing business, quality of life, labor force and diversity. There were a total of 1,500 points possible, and Ogden received 852.

“Ogden combines the best of a city and a mountain town,” CNBC says. “The area has access to numerous outdoor activities, including hiking, skiing and biking, and has attracted outdoor recreational companies such as Rossignol, Goode Ski and Amer Sports.”

Chuck Leonhardt, president and CEO of the Ogden Weber Chamber of Commerce, said Ogden provides the ideal location for businesses.

“We have the right economy, workforce, business environment and the right family environment,” he said. “People can work here, live here and play here.”

The infrastructure for support for businesses in the Ogden area is immense, Leonhardt said, especially with Weber State University and the Ogden-Weber Tech College, which both support business efforts.  

“Honestly, there’s a sense of community that I really haven’t captured anywhere else. … There’s something about Ogden that’s like, we're all in this together and we’re all willing to help,” Kylee Hallows, 25, said. Hallows co-owns Lavender Vinyl, a new indie record shop in Ogden, with her friend Blake Lundell. 

Leonhardt said the connections businesses make in Ogden are second to none. 

“It’s very well connected,” he said. “That connection...makes for a really dynamic place to set up a business.”

Ogden also has a lot of supply chain uses, Leonhardt said. 

“It’s also the right location as far as distribution points to get products and services in and out,” he said. “We have a really neat pathway here in this part of the United States.”

According to CNBC’s research on Ogden, the median age of the city’s 84,483 residents is 30. 

“I feel like Ogden is really on the brink of kind of an explosion of a younger generation of people that really take pride in the town and want to see it get better and grow better, and it's really become a really cool place to live,” Hallows said. 

Leonhardt said that not only is Ogden attracting new businesses, but the established ones are also growing. 

“The companies that exist here are thriving,” he said.

Thanks so much,

ERA Skyline Real Estate