When looking at Utah’s economic trajectory, downtown Salt Lake City offers one of the clearest indicators of where we’re headed. As the economic and cultural heart of the state, what happens downtown has a meaningful impact far beyond city boundaries.
The newly released Downtown Economic Benchmark Report provides a snapshot of who is spending time downtown, how they’re engaging and what that tells us about broader shifts in the way people live, work and do business across Utah. The Downtown Alliance, one of the Salt Lake Chamber teams, released the latest Benchmark Report — our most comprehensive picture yet of the people, energy and investment fueling our capital city.
The data confirms what many of us have sensed — downtown is gaining further momentum. One of the clearest indicators of downtown’s momentum is the steady rise in customer activity. In 2024, downtown Salt Lake City experienced 20.9 million total customer days, representing a 3.6% increase over the previous year. This growth was driven by a healthy mix of engagement across key groups:
- 13.1 million visitor days (+1.5%) — individuals coming downtown for events, dining, shopping and cultural experiences.
- 6.2 million worker days (+10.5%) — professionals contributing to the daily rhythm of our business core.
- 1.6 million resident days (+27.5%) — people choosing to live downtown, reflecting a growing demand for urban living.
This activity reflects more than movement — it reflects confidence. Confidence in downtown as a destination for investment, for lifestyle and for long-term opportunity. And the momentum doesn’t stop there.
Downtown venues sold over 4 million tickets in 2024, an 18.4% increase year-over-year. Demographic shifts show that residents are increasingly young, highly educated and often car-free — underscoring emerging trends in modern urban living. Commercial activity is strengthening, and our downtown workforce is growing.
None of this is accidental. It’s the result of long-term planning, deliberate partnerships and aligned public-private investment. It’s also part of our broader economic framework: Utah Rising. Through this initiative, we’ve launched the Capital City Renaissance, a signature project focused on enhancing downtown’s connectivity, vibrancy and livability.
We’re seeing this transformation take shape through catalytic projects already in motion, like the Power District, the Sports, Entertainment, Culture & Convention District, Intermountain Health’s new hospital campus and the University of Utah’s downtown expansion. These are not isolated projects — they are interconnected investments shaping the next chapter of our capital city.
If you haven’t reviewed the Downtown Economic Benchmark Report yet, I encourage you to do so. It’s not just a set of numbers — it’s a strategic tool for understanding where our economy is headed and how we can all play a role in building what comes next.
Let’s keep building — together.
