Ranked 19th of 51 states (with the District of Columbia) in the United States, Missouri counts 6.19 million residents. Census figures on income, housing, education and the local business mix, and what they imply for a business advertising here.
Missouri has 8 metropolitan statistical areas centered inside it; the largest is St. Louis, MO-IL with 2.81 million residents. Each has its own page below.
The median household in Missouri earns $70,702 a year, 12 percent below the national figure (the US median is $80,734). The median home value of $230,300 is 31 percent below the national figure. Both figures matter for pricing and for which offers land.
Three quick reads on the people of Missouri. 32.4% of adults over 25 hold a bachelor's degree or higher, 3 points below the US share. Ownership: 68.1% of households own their home, 3 points above the US share. The unemployment rate stands at 4%, 1 points below the US share. Missouri has a median age of 39 (about the same as the national median).
How does that compare with its largest metro? Income in Missouri is 12 percent lower than the St. Louis metro figure, the median home value is 6 percent lower than the St. Louis metro figure, and business density is about the same as the St. Louis metro figure; the full numbers are on the St. Louis, MO-IL page.
The business base: 151,475 establishments with employees. Set against the population that is 24.5 per 1,000 residents, in line with the national figure, against 25 nationally. Contractors in the home-services trades total 7,533, or 5% of the base, about the same as the US share. The table breaks out the categories that spend the most on local advertising; restaurants is the biggest of them at 10,657.
| Trade | Establishments | Per 100,000 residents | vs US mix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and other eating places | 10,657 | 172.1 | 0.95× |
| Physicians' offices | 3,248 | 52.5 | 0.82× |
| Legal services | 3,074 | 49.6 | 0.94× |
| General freight trucking | 2,315 | 37.4 | 1.09× |
| Personal care services (all) | 2,309 | 37.3 | 0.79× |
| Landscaping services | 2,199 | 35.5 | 1.03× |
| Lessors of real estate (all) | 2,088 | 33.7 | 0.84× |
| Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors | 1,915 | 30.9 | 0.95× |
| Dentists | 1,899 | 30.7 | 0.77× |
| General automotive repair | 1,712 | 27.6 | 1.11× |
| Child day care services | 1,463 | 23.6 | 0.98× |
| Electrical contractors | 1,282 | 20.7 | 0.85× |
| Grocery and convenience retailers | 1,257 | 20.3 | 0.69× |
| Beauty salons | 1,236 | 20 | 0.81× |
| Automobile dealers | 1,104 | 17.8 | 1.30× |
| Other specialty trade contractors (paving, asphalt, fencing) | 1,049 | 16.9 | 1.35× |
| Concrete foundation and structure contractors | 585 | 9.4 | 1.38× |
| Roofing contractors | 503 | 8.1 | 1.09× |
| Self-storage facilities | 285 | 4.6 | 0.85× |
| Highway, street and bridge construction | 166 | 2.7 | 0.99× |
Reading the index: 1.00 matches the national mix, 1.50 means half again as common here, 0.50 half as common.
Missouri is dense with concrete contractors, specialty trade contractors and automobile dealers compared with the US pattern. At the top of that list, concrete contractors number 585, 1.4 times the US share. The thin end of the table is grocery stores, dentists, personal care services and beauty salons. With 1,257 locations, grocery stores sit at about 69% of the national share. Roughly where the national mix would put them: plumbing and HVAC contractors, roofing contractors and landscaping services.
Three categories dominate by count: restaurants at 10,657, physicians' offices at 3,248 and legal services at 3,074. Adjusted for population, restaurants are the thickest on the ground (172.1 per 100,000), with physicians' offices and legal services next. By sector, automotive businesses are the most over-represented at 1.2 times the US share; medical and dental practices are the least, at about 80% of.
For concrete contractors, specialty trade contractors and automobile dealers, expect the Google Ads auction to be contested: more advertisers per search means higher cost per click and a real premium on ad relevance, landing-page quality and call tracking that proves which keywords produce jobs. Scarcity in grocery stores, dentists and personal care services cuts the other way: fewer rivals per search, cheaper clicks, and a chance to become the default answer in the map results with a modest, steady effort. Income 12 percent below the national figure puts price front and center; ads that state the offer plainly and make calling easy do best. Residents here are older than the US median (about the same as the national median); they search, read reviews and call, which puts the weight on search, the listing and the phone.
Six places to begin in Missouri; the complete list is one click away.
Measurement that ties spend to phone calls and form fills.
Calls answered when the crew is on a job or the office is closed.
Search campaigns built around the searches people in Missouri actually type, with the geography fenced to where the work is.
Profile upkeep, posts, Q&A and photos on the listing customers see first.
Ranking for the service-and-town searches without paying per click.
A website that loads fast, states the offer and gets the visitor to the phone.
We will look at your Business Profile, your site and your current ads, then say plainly what to fix first.
Data: US Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-year estimates and County Business Patterns 2023.