"It's significant that it shows that our ranking over the last three years has improved," Gochnour said, referring to Utah's climb from 13th in 2002. "It shows that policies established by the governor's office and the Legislature are making Utah more competitive."

Gochnour added that there has been an increase in interest toward Utah by out-of-state businesses.

"We're seeing a lot of interest," Gochnour said. "It's picked up significantly in terms of companies looking at the state for corporate expansions and also within the state for companies looking to expand their existing product lines."

Gochnour was somewhat surprised by Utah's low ranking of high-speed broadband lines. The state ranked 33rd in high-speed lines per 1,000 residents.

Utah also received poor marks in:

• State and local taxes per capita: 44th.

• Crime per 100,000 inhabitants: 33rd.

• Rate of nonfederal physicians per 100,000 inhabitants: 44th.

• Toxic release inventory (pounds/1,000 square miles): 31st.

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E-mail: danderton@desnews.com