Utah offers several programs to encourage job creation and support business growth in rural areas.
Programs like the Rural Employment Development Incentive (REDI) and the Utah Rural Jobs Program provide essential funding to promote economic development in smaller communities across the state.
Rural Employment Development Incentive (REDI)
- Purpose: Encourages job creation in rural Utah communities.
- Eligibility: Businesses creating new high-paying jobs in rural counties or cities/towns with a population of 10,000 or less in Weber, Davis, Utah, and Washington counties.
- Benefit: Up to $6,000 for each new position, with a maximum of $250,000 per business entity each year.
- Application: Through the Utah Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity.
- More info: Jobs can be remote, online, in a satellite office, or located in the same county. Positions must be full-time for at least 12 months, paying at least 100% of the county’s average wage. Businesses in construction, retail, staffing, or public utilities are not eligible.
Utah Rural Jobs Program
- Purpose: Supports small businesses in rural Utah counties.
- Eligibility: Small businesses in rural counties, focusing on industries like aerospace, agribusiness, energy, manufacturing, and software development.
- Benefit: Access to up to $5,000,000 in capital via a loan from an approved rural investment company.
- Application: Directly through approved rural investment companies.
- More info: Businesses must have fewer than 150 employees and less than $10 million in net income in the previous year. At least 60% of employees must be based in Utah within 180 days of receiving the investment.
Rural Business Development Grants
- Purpose: Provides grants for technical assistance to support rural transportation systems.
- Eligibility: Public bodies, federally recognized Indian tribes, or nonprofit entities serving rural areas.
- Benefit: Grants for technical assistance and planning activities.
- Application: Through USDA Rural Development.
- More info: Applications for 2025 are due by February 28, 2025.
List of small business grants
