Our northern neighbor: comparing the economies of Utah and Idaho.

• Author: Gochnour, Natalie
• Position: Economic Insight

I love the state of Idaho. I love the spectacular mountains, the rivers and the farmlands. I enjoy visiting the small towns and view Boise as an up-and-coming metropolitan area with an urban vibe. I love Sun Valley in the winter or summer and always welcome the chance to take my family there for a getaway. Mostly, I appreciate the people of Idaho for their friendliness, hardiness and industrious spirit. We are fortunate in Utah to have such a wonderful neighbor to the north.

I've watched with interest over the past few years as Utah businesses have expanded their reach into Idaho. Zions Bank has a beautiful headquarters building in the new Eighth & Main 18-story high rise in Boise. Several Utah-based insurance companies have expanded their portfolios into the Idaho market, and Utah construction companies frequently build projects there. Indeed, the economic connections between Idaho and Utah are deepening, creating more and more opportunity for businesses in both states. I think this is a positive trend.

Interestingly, a review of the economic and demographic data reveals a few surprises about Utah and Idaho.

Measuring differences

In Utah we talk a lot about our strong economy, but Idaho's is actually growing faster than ours. From September 2015 to September 2016 (the most recent data available), Idaho ranked third fastest in the country in terms of job growth, while Utah tied for fifth. No wonder the Idaho economy is attracting Utah businesses--there are opportunities for growth there.

Most Utahns know Utah's population is larger than Idaho's, but the magnitude may surprise you. Idaho's current population of 1.7 million people is closer in size to Nebraska, Hawaii or West Virginia than it is to Utah. In fact, Idaho's current population is the same size as Utah's was 30 years ago! I didn't realize there was such a large difference.

Similarly, Utah's economy weighs in much larger than the Idaho economy. Personal income is one of the best measures of total economic activity at the state level, similar to gross domestic product at the national level. Utah's personal income of $118 billion tallies 85 percent larger than Idaho's $64 billion. And if you look at job counts, Utah has twice as many non-agricultural jobs.

I took a quick look at Colorado's economic data as a comparison and noticed a pattern. In economic and demographic size, Utah is to Idaho what Colorado is to Utah.

The differing sizes of Utah...