Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — In the days leading up to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox speaking at the annual One Utah Summit on Friday, he was at the hospital and then home with his wife, Abby Cox, who is in recovery after undergoing surgery Wednesday morning.
When he took her home, Cox said he was reminded, somewhat unconventionally, of what makes Utah the startup capital of the world and home to the nation's best-performing economy.
"Yesterday I got to take her home, and we get back to the Governor's Mansion, and there's flowers and food everywhere — people who care so deeply who have given us comfort and reached out to us," Cox said.
He acknowledged that some might assume this reception would be typical for a governor but pushed back on the notion, telling a story of 13 years ago when his wife (who wasn't first lady at the time) was on bed rest due to health complications.
"I come home, and there's flowers. There's food everywhere. I wasn't a governor — I was barely anybody. I was just a dad in Fairview trying to get by," Cox said.
To Cox, it's Utah's culture that separates the Beehive State from the rest of the nation.
He referenced a U.S. World and News Report ranking from May 2023 that crowned Utah as the best state in the nation to live in. Additionally, he shouted out Utah as the "startup capital of the world" and highlighted the Wall Street Journal and Moody's Analytics recently ranking Salt Lake City as the area with the hottest job market in the country.
"There's a virtuous cycle where young, highly educated workers are moving into Salt Lake City and bringing in more money to that area," said Adam Kamins, an economist at Moody's Analytics, per the Wall Street Journal.
Cox said these rankings have to do with far more than governmental policies and programs.
"I think the reason so many entrepreneurs are willing to take chances and start businesses here is because they have the support of people around them. They have neighbors, they have communities, they have churches, they have volunteer organizations. They know if something goes wrong, there will be a whole bunch of people there to help them pick up the pieces," Cox said.
How culture can overcome the state's challenges
This culture, Cox said, is the "secret sauce" that makes Utah tick.
He said it will be crucial to strengthen and harness that culture to overcome challenges facing the Beehive State.
Among the challenges Cox said could prevent people from wanting to live in and start businesses in Utah is the rising cost of housing.
"If you can't afford to live here, you're not going to start a business here," Cox said.
To this end, Cox said he's working with the Legislature and the development community to put the right policies and programs in place to build affordable housing units and starter homes with the goal of keeping Utahns in the state while also attracting people from around the nation and world to migrate to Utah.
He also pointed to the "scourge of homelessness" overtaking cities across the nation.
"We put together a package that says, 'We care about those in the margins. We care about people who are struggling. We are compassionate,'" Cox said. "And we are going to offer them opportunities. We're going to offer them housing. We're going to offer them shelter. We're going to help them get jobs. We're going to get them treatment for their mental illness and for their drug addictions, and we're going to hold them accountable."
While Cox said he and his cabinet are working hand in hand with the Legislature to address these issues, he added that politicians can't be relied on to do the culture-building that he thinks makes Utah a great place to live.
"Culture is about every single one of us. It's about what we post on social media today. It's about what we do when we get home from work. It's about how we talk to the people who are here. It's about how we treat people who look different than us and sound different than us and are different than us. That is the secret sauce in Utah, and I'm praying we never lose it," Cox said.
