Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development -Gary R. Herbert

What Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development -Gary R. Herbert does

The Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) is a state government agency operating under the Office of the Governor of Utah that administers Utah's portfolio of economic development programs. Its core functions include the Business Recruitment & Expansion team, which evaluates and recommends post-performance tax credits under the Economic Development Tax Increment Financing (EDTIF) and Rural EDTIF (REDTIF) programs — capped at 30% of new state tax revenue in urban areas and 50% in rural areas — disbursed only after companies meet job creation, wage, capital expenditure, and tax benchmarks. The office also runs the APEX Accelerator (seven regional offices across Utah's 29 counties) for government contracting assistance, the Center for International Business & Diplomacy hosting 40+ diplomatic visits annually in partnership with World Trade Center Utah, the Center for Rural Development, Workforce Services, the Utah Office of Tourism, the Utah Film Commission, the Utah Center for Global Talent, the Utah Office of Regulatory Relief, and the Startup State Initiative.

Following H.B. 68 from the 2026 General Legislative Session, the Division of Housing and Community Development was integrated into GOED effective July 1, 2026, expanding the agency's scope into statewide housing programs. GOED's customer base spans Utah businesses seeking expansion incentives, out-of-state and international companies being recruited (including Adobe, Amazon, Northrop Grumman, Microsoft, Texas Instruments, and Rincon Research), all 29 rural counties, and targeted-industry firms in Aerospace & Defense, FinTech, Tech (AI, Quantum, Blockchain), Life Sciences & Healthcare, and Energy & Minerals. Funding comes from state legislative appropriations, with no pricing for direct services. As of 2026, Utah ranked #1 in ALEC's Rich States Poor States economic outlook for the 19th consecutive year, recorded $17.4 billion in goods exports in 2023 supporting 430,000+ jobs, and posted national rankings including #1 Best State (U.S. News), #1 Most Charitable State (WalletHub), and #1 Cheapest State to Start a Business (CNBC).

Name

Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development -Gary R. Herbert

Legal name

Governor's Office of Economic Development - State of Utah

Website

https://business.utah.gov

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) is a state agency administering business recruitment, post-performance tax credits (EDTIF/REDTIF), government contracting assistance (APEX Accelerator), rural development, international trade, tourism, film, and housing programs for Utah businesses, relocating companies, and all 29 counties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Salt Lake City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. State Legislative Appropriations: The Utah State Legislature allocates funding to GOED for grants and economic development programs. The office publishes annual reports covering the previous fiscal year.
2. Economic Development Tax Increment Financing (EDTIF): Post-performance tax credits for companies creating new high-paying jobs. Tax credits are limited to sales, corporate, and withholding taxes paid to the state over the project life. Up to 30% for urban areas and up to 50% for rural areas.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

GOED is the State of Utah's lead economic development agency that administers tax credit programs (EDTIF/REDTIF), grants, and business assistance services to recruit companies to Utah and help existing Utah businesses expand. It operates specialized divisions including APEX Accelerator (government contracting), Center for International Business & Diplomacy, Center for Rural Development, Utah Film Commission, Utah Office of Tourism, Utah Center for Global Talent, and Workforce Services.

Product overview

The Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) is a government agency providing a comprehensive portfolio of economic development programs and services rather than a unified software product. The core offerings include APEX Accelerator for government contracting assistance, Business Recruitment & Expansion with EDTIF/REDTIF tax incentives, Center for International Business & Diplomacy for trade expansion, Center for Rural Development for rural economic support, Community Initiatives for housing and transit development, Workforce Services connecting talent with employers, and the Startup State Initiative for entrepreneurship support. Additional services include the Utah Film Commission, Utah Office of Tourism, Utah Center for Global Talent for immigrant workforce integration, UPSTART early childhood education, Utah Small Business Credit Initiative, and Utah Office of Regulatory Relief. These programs operate as independent initiatives administered through the GOED umbrella organization, with most requiring manual application processes through the agency's website rather than automated platform delivery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Utah Elevated: State's unified economic vision to be the place of unmatched opportunity and livability
• One Utah Summit
• Utah Employer Child Care Tax Credits
• Utah Elevated

Products and services

• APEX Accelerator

Quantifiable outcome

• Utah ranked #1 for best economic outlook for 19 consecutive years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Envision Utah and RCLCO Real Estate ConsultantsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026GOED selected Envision Utah and RCLCO Real Estate Consultants to analyze housing capacity by evaluating land availability, infrastructure constraints, and market projections across Utah to better understand housing prospects.
• The Center for Economic Opportunity and Belonging (CEOB)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025CEOB provides day-to-day operations for the Utah Center for Global Talent's programs, including managing the New Americans Task Force. This partnership leverages CEOB's expertise to advise Utah's leaders on foreign labor challenges and coordinate with organizations to promote economic opportunity for all Utahns.
• Mexico (Joint Utah-Mexico Partnership - JUMP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2023JUMP initiative between GOED, Mexican Consulate in Salt Lake City, and World Trade Center Utah focuses on four strategic areas: trade and business, talent and workforce, tourism and culture, and foreign language acquisition.
• United Kingdom (Trade Minister Nigel Huddleston)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2023MOU signed in June 2023 between Gov. Cox and UK Trade Minister establishing five working groups: procurement and trade barriers, aerospace and defense, academic collaboration and workforce development, and health and life sciences. This is the fifth such arrangement between the UK and a US state.
• Région Sud, France (President Renaud Muselier)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2023Letter of Intent signed in June 2023 formalizing Utah's relationship with France's Région Sud. Follow-up included a French delegation visit to Utah for collaboration across education, film, tourism, and business.
• World Trade Center UtahcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGOED partners with World Trade Center Utah to oversee the state's international business promotion activities. This includes trade missions, trade shows, business workshops, and grant opportunities for Utah companies looking to expand internationally.
• Waterford.orgminorOthersWaterford.org executes the UPSTART Program as a vendor to the state of Utah. UPSTART is an in-home, technology-delivered kindergarten readiness program for preschoolers providing individualized reading, mathematics, and science curriculum.
• National APEX Accelerator Alliance (NAPEX)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGOED is a proud member of the National APEX Accelerator Alliance (NAPEX), a network supporting small business government contracting assistance programs nationwide.
• Utah MEPminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCONNEX is a public-private partnership sponsored by Utah MEP that provides a database to search manufacturing capabilities of Utah and US manufacturers, helping with partnership development and connecting manufacturers.
• GenerusminorOthersGenerus provides tracking services for companies and their employees to fulfill service hour requirements mandated by executive order for incentivized businesses.
• UServeUtahminorOthersUtah's Commission on Service and Volunteerism connects incentivized companies to service opportunities in communities as part of the service hour requirements for tax incentive recipients.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Georgia Department of Economic Development: Georgia's state economic development agency recruits companies through tax credits, workforce, and rural programs; competes with GOED for aerospace, logistics, and tech relocations and operates a comparable global trade footprint.
• North Carolina Department of Commerce: North Carolina's economic development division manages Job Development Investment Grants (JDIG), recruitment, and workforce programs — a near-analog to GOED's post-performance EDTIF credit and workforce alignment strategy.
• Florida Department of Economic Opportunity: Florida's state economic development agency managing business recruitment, workforce, and incentive programs; a frequent head-to-head competitor with GOED for corporate expansions relocating from high-tax states.
• Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development: Tennessee's ECD administers FastTrack infrastructure and job training grants plus recruitment; a peer of comparable size and rural-urban mix to GOED, and a frequent competitor for relocations from coastal states.
• Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT): Colorado's combined economic development and international trade office; offers incentive packages, rural development, and export promotion structurally similar to GOED's combined EDTIF and Center for International Business & Diplomacy functions.
• California Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz): California's state-level economic development office administering tax credits, recruitment, international trade, small business, and innovation programs — the largest US state economic development agency and the most direct functional peer to GOED.
• Texas Economic Development & Tourism Office: Texas's economic development division offering the Texas Enterprise Fund, recruitment, and workforce programs; competes with GOED for major corporate relocations and operates an incentive-driven model closely comparable to Utah's EDTIF.

Regional players

• Arizona Commerce Authority: Arizona's public-private economic development authority administers tax credits and recruitment in a directly adjacent geography to Utah; competes closely with GOED for tech, semiconductor, and aerospace employers considering the Mountain West.
• Nevada Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED): Nevada's state economic development agency operates under the same GOED acronym and delivers comparable tax incentive, workforce, and rural programs — a direct regional peer often competing with Utah for California-leakage relocations.

Others

• World Trade Center Utah: A GOED-affiliated nonprofit partner operating international trade missions, export education, and foreign direct investment programming; functions as both an extension of GOED and an ecosystem peer in the trade-promotion subcategory.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development -Gary R. Herbert