Small Business Area

You Could Work Here!

Growing! Growing! Growing!

The Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is comprised of Greene, Christian, Webster, Polk & Dallas counties and has a population of over 390,000 people.

Springfield's area of economic influence reaches 27 counties and 936,502 people.

Since 1990 the metro area's average annual growth rate is 2.2%.

SPRINGFIELD LISTED AS A TOP CITY FOR ENTREPRENEURS

Springfield's rapid business formation and business growth earned it a Top 10 ranking on Entrepreneur Magazine's 2005 Hot Cities list. In the category of cities with less than 20,000 businesses, Springfield was 10th out of 170 similar cities.

The National Policy Research Council, a Washington, DC, think tank, measured the percentage of businesses that started 4 to 14 years ago and the percentage of those young businesses that have experienced rapid growth. Cities that fared best tended to have pleasant climates, good universities and vibrant airports, according to the Entrepreneur article.

The Springfield metro workforce has grown more than 16% in the past 10 years and in 2004 accounted for more than one-third of Missouri's total job growth. The area unemployment rate has been below 4.5% for over ten years. Approximately 92% of all area employers have fewer than 25 employees. The health care industry employs 25,000 people (15% of the total workforce) with a multi-billion dollar economic impact. Springfield's economic output (gross metro product) doubled in the past decade--fastest growing in MO, top 50 in the US. The manufacturing sector provides a major economic impact and provides well-paying jobs for over 20,000 people. Annual retail sales in Springfield have been over $3 billion and well over $6 billion for the metropolitan area. The cost of living in Springfield stays consistently 10% below the national average.