This is the number one state to do business, period.

Salt Lake City has emerged as one of America's top business and tech hubs, boasting one of the hottest job and housing markets in America, a thriving professional sports and ski scene, and a rapidly expanding population.

And a lot of its success can be traced back to one major event, the 2002 Olympics.

Big economic growth needs a catalyst like that.

Ours was the gas.

But some real hurdles could stunt further growth, like climate change, which threatens Salt Lake's greatest resources, or a worsening affordable housing crisis on the horizon, and the lack of diversity.

CNBC visited Salt Lake City to learn more about what's behind the city's massive transformation and how it is uniquely positioned for future success.

In July 2024, Salt Lake City was confirmed as the Winter Olympics host again for the 2034 Games.

Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Olympics are both a point of pride and a massive economic driver to the region.

The state's GDP is estimated to rise by $3.9 billion, a total economic impact of $6.6 billion.

The city already invested $287 million on infrastructure for the 2002 Games, which means that spending will be significantly less this time around.

It was the 2002 Winter Olympics that many see as the catalyst for Salt Lake's rise.

Former Utah Governor Mike Leavitt was key in securing the bid then. 17 days of the Games, very important.

But it's what happens in the seven or eight years in advance and what happens in the 10 years after that ultimately make the Games a worthwhile experience, both economically and culturally.

A total of 10 facilities were used for the 2002 Games.

All of them continued to serve the community and attract major events.

The light rail system and major highways like I-15 and I-80 were upgraded too and still benefit the city decades later.

Tourism revenues skyrocketed up until the pandemic and have since recovered.

And unlike the many cities that have incurred significant debt from hosting the Olympics, Salt Lake City has managed to turn a profit.

But perhaps the most important legacy was establishing Salt Lake City as a tech hub.

Until the early 90s, the economy primarily relied on agriculture and defense.

But then Governor Leavitt asked Salt Lake City native and Adobe co-founder John Warnock how it could build a tech community ahead of the Olympics.

And he kind of stared at the floor for a few minutes and then kind of shouted at me, you want me to come to Utah?

If you want to come to Utah, I need engineers.

Leavitt invested in engineering and science programs at Utah's colleges and universities, successfully doubling the number of graduates over the past 20 years.

It was the combination of a clear vision, dramatically ratcheting up the number of engineers we were educating and having the Olympics and a place they wanted to live.

All of that came together into what's become one of the most robust economies in the country around technology.

Just 30 minutes north of Salt Lake City, in the city of Lehigh, lies the Silicon Slopes ecosystem, a thriving network of startups and tech companies.

Adobe created the foundation for the tech scene to grow, becoming the first company to put down roots in 2009.

We're very proud of that sort of pioneer heritage that we have, particularly in building what is now the Silicon Slopes ecosystem.

Businesses have capitalized on the area's in-house talent, a strong healthcare system and good infrastructure.

Now there are 1,000 companies within Silicon Slopes, including tech giants Microsoft and Oracle.

According to a CBRE report, the city recorded a 12.9 percent growth in tech jobs between 2018 and 2023, adding nearly 6,600 workers to the workforce and solidifying its ranking at No. 12 in North America, up four spots from the previous year.

It's not at the size and scale yet of Silicon Valley, and maybe it never will reach that size and scale, but in terms of the passion, the energy, the innovativeness of the people, I think it absolutely is.

And it's not only tech.

Utah is home to a majority of America's industrial banks.

With 15 of the nation's 23 located in Salt Lake County, the banks control over $200 billion in assets within Utah, representing 20 percent of the state's total financial assets.

Plus, the sector supports over 93,000 jobs in Salt Lake County, a 40 percent growth since 2012.

Even major players like Goldman Sachs, which opened an office in 2000, have expanded from 600 to nearly 3,200 employees today.

I would argue it's gotten much bigger, much more successful than anybody would have envisioned in the year 2000.

We got there early.

We did very well.

Other people have followed.

So it's competitive.

So now we're seeing more companies that are building bigger presence in the state of Utah, largely in Salt Lake.

So the talent market is more competitive.

Wages are definitely going up.

That's a good thing for the state of Utah and for the residents of Utah.

For employers, that's a more challenging marketplace.

Construction has grown significantly to match Salt Lake's booming population.

Mixed-use developments like this one, a 100-acre neighborhood called the Power District, are gaining traction.

I think that our community is excited to be able to showcase what this can be in the future.

So with the Power District development, we're going to bring this to life.

Between 2019 and 2024, close to 30,000 multifamily apartment units were delivered in the county.

That's substantially higher than in the previous five years.

The majority of these, however, would not be considered affordable housing.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' influence is unquestionable.

It funded part of City Creek Center, a $1.6 billion mixed-use shopping complex that includes offices and apartments.

Mall developer Taubman Centers is its partner on the project.

There's no question that City Creek stabilized a part of downtown that was in decline and was an engine for rejuvenating the overall downtown.

And we saw the church being involved as a definite positive because they had a very long-term perspective like we did.

The LDS church attracts around 5 million tourists a year and owns about a quarter of the downtown's $9.8 billion worth of land and buildings, according to a recent analysis by the Salt Lake Tribune.

And it has plenty of capital to continue shaping the city's future.

An SEC filing from November 2024 reveals the church's investment arm, Ensign Peak, has stock holdings valued at more than $56.8 billion.

Its largest stakes, NVIDIA and Apple, each valued at $3.3 billion and $3.2 billion in Microsoft.

Salt Lake City's ski scene sets it apart from other metros.

Eleven of Utah's 15 ski resorts are located within an hour drive of Salt Lake City, contributing to the state's $2.7 billion a year snow economy.

Out-of-state skiers infused almost $2 billion, while local residents spent just under $700 million during the 2022 and 2023 season.

The cash spent to ski here contributed nearly $200 million to state and local tax revenue.

Several investors are looking to boost Salt Lake's sports profile beyond snow, like Starks, who is also the former president of the Utah Jazz.

He's pitching the city for a major league baseball expansion team and envisions a new stadium on the riverfront.

We've studied the best sports-anchored mixed-use developments in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., other sites, and we want to apply all those best practices to this site.

Billionaire Ryan Smith and his wife Ashley purchased the Utah Jazz for $1.6 billion in 2020 and shelled out another $1.2 billion to bring the NHL to Salt Lake for the first time.

We want to bring a Stanley Cup to Utah, obviously.

And the duo's big bet on sports is paying off.

The valuation of the Utah Jazz has nearly doubled in just a few years.

Ryan is now on a mission to reimagine Salt Lake's downtown with plans for a jaw-dropping $3 billion entertainment and sports district.

Nearly a billion of that is covered by taxpayers.

It's a huge opportunity.

There's not an acre tenant like sports.

It can make a whole city.

If we go plop a sports team in a vacant lot somewhere where they've never, it will thrive.

This is why it's so important that it stays in the capital city downtown because that will constantly keep that going.

It'll always have hope.

But Salt Lake City also faces some challenges, namely preparing for the Olympics, improving transportation and existing facilities, and downtown upgrades could cost the city up to $31 million.

The availability of affordable housing is another obstacle.

The median Salt Lake City home is more than 25 percent higher than the national average.

Affordable housing is a tough nut to crack everywhere because any place that starts off affordable isn't after a while, right?

We're not here just for a short time.

This is a marathon for us.

Now that the city has the Olympics to kind of put as a benchmark, that sort of timeline where you're seeing all these things starting to churn and happen.

Climate change is another.

The Great Salt Lake is a major moneymaker for the local economy beyond just tourism.

It's a huge player in the salt production industry and an important source for the world's magnesium.

Valued at $500 million each year, it also plays a role in the fish feed industry.

But it's been shrinking for decades, hitting a record low in 2022.

Experts believe extreme weather could reduce the lake's water level for good.

Warning temperatures also threaten the Utah ski industry.

Though resorts like Park City are investing in renewable energy initiatives, while conservation groups keep pushing for strong water efficiency policies.

The LDS church's influence is another issue.

A majority of state legislators are Mormon, giving the church massive control over politics and social issues, anything from liquor laws to education.

It also owns a newspaper and a TV station.

Beyond that, while key industries like business and tech are booming, diversity there remains limited.

Only 2% of Utah's population is Black, one of the lowest in the nation.

A few entrepreneurs are trying to change that.

Like Ashley Bell, who, with the help of Dr. Bernice King, is trying to open the first Black-owned bank in the Rockies.

It would be the 19th in the country overall if approved by regulators.

Utah is the highest ROA.

The return on assets for banks in Utah outpaces the rest of the country.

So if you can find a bank in Utah, there's no question you go there first.

Salt Lake City also has one of the lowest proportions of woman-owned businesses in the country.

There are, however, some efforts to change that as well.

We have a high-demand religion here.

It's been a male-dominated field in the past.

And so anytime I think you have those two things, you have walls you have to knock down, you have ceilings you have to break, and I've had to do a lot of that.

The city is constantly evolving.

And its support will continue to fuel success across the community.

I love how it feels like we're all in it together.