Provo has been one of the brightest spots nationwide for job growth in the past decade, according to a recent report.

Provo ranked No. 1 in total job growth from 2015 to 2025 and landed at or near the top in several factors, the report from the consulting firm Economic Leadership found as it mapped job growth across major metropolitan areas across the country.

In that 10-year period, Provo saw a 41.3 % leap in total job growth. The city also ranked second in growth for the years 2019 to 2025, with a 17.6% increase.

Cody Hill, Provo’s economic development director, attributed “a lot of that economic growth” to entrepreneurship.

“There’s a lot of students that live in Provo and bring their ideas, bring their opportunity, to Provo,” he said.

In 2025, Hill said 382 startup businesses launched in Provo. Students and recent graduates often create startups, Hill said, and the city often can help sponsor them.

According to the report, Provo also ranked high in its growth for white-collar, blue-collar and service-sector jobs, coming in at 48.4%, 54.8% and 26.8%, respectively.

Hill said he wasn’t surprised to see such growth in the blue-collar and service sectors.

“If you live in Utah County or Utah, you really don’t think of Provo as a tourist destination,” Hill said. “But I track the numbers on tourism and get reports every month on visitation, and it definitely is a destination for a lot of people.”

From the Sundance resort and the mountains to Brigham Young University, with its sports scene and a medical school in the works, the city has quite a bit to offer the community for visitors, Hill said.

Those tourists, Hill noted, come from both in and out of the state.

As for blue-collar jobs, Hill said East Bay — an industrial and recreational neighborhood in south Provo — has seen more growth in recent years.

Though job growth has been on the rise, Hill believes that it does not stem from population growth.

According to 2025 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Provo’s estimated population as of July 1 is 114,527 — about 2,000 more than the 112,488 the census counted in 2010.

Though the population hasn’t risen sharply, Hill said Provo is “forward looking” and is adding to its infrastructure. One recent example, he said, is Epic Sports Park, which opened in 2024.

And while the city is still experiencing job growth, residents may not feel those economic benefits.

In the August 2026 consumer price index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the food index increased 2.7% over the past year. The index for gasoline alone rose 3.9% in August, accounting for more than a third of the monthly increase for all items.

Hill noted a possible correlation between the current national economic instability and the number of startups launched in Provo.

During such instability, large companies can be hesitant to hire new employees. People just entering the job market, like young graduates, may react by starting their own entrepreneurial ventures, Hill said.

“They’re going out, and they’re starting their own businesses. They’re starting their own companies,” he said. “They have their own ideas and they’re running with them.”