St. Louis has always enjoyed an advantageous position within the United States. Located at one of the main stopping points along the Missouri River, the city evolved industry in the pioneer days, which created a stable base for what was to follow. Today, the Missouri is less important as a major highway for national traffic, but the city still enjoys many advantages. It is considered the dividing city between America's Eastern and Western halves, and a strong economy has been built up on the foundation laid by the pioneers.
The main strength of the St. Louis economy is that it incorporates strong numbers in a variety of different sectors. Perhaps the most important part of the St. Louis money machine, overall, is the corporate picture.
It may come as a surprise to many, but St. Louis is ranked fourth amongst US cities as far as concentration of Fortune 500 companies. The presence of corporate headquarters such as Energizer, Medicine Shoppe, and Edward Jones all ensure high-end employment for motivated individuals, as well as a wealth of outside money coming in. These companies also advance the innovation side of St. Louis, running all the latest information technology from software development project management to video conferencing tools.
Of course, that corporate picture hints at a very wide range of individual sectors. Obviously, the presence of Edward Jones and other brokerages suggests the city as a major player on the financial scene. You'll find that many companies from a wide range of countries operate in the city; a registered Canadian trade mark does not mean that a business must continue to operate in that nation!
Manufacturing was once a keystone part of the St. Louis economic landscape, although that has changed as the St. Louis economy has evolved into one more focused on services. Once home to factories that created everything from aquarium test kits to cars, the manufacturing sector in St. Louis is mostly defunct today.
Of course, the manufacturers left in the city are notable ones indeed. Perhaps most prominent is Boeing, which has focused its military and research and development operations in the city.
The wide foundation of corporations bringing in money from outside the city means that St. Louis also enjoys a thriving service sector geared towards the citizens of the town. Individual enterprises often do well (if you are the type to make your own business cards and set up shop, you have as much chance of succeeding here as anywhere else), while the food and hospitality market enjoys a similarly brisk business.
And then, of course, there are the many different opportunities that the Internet Age has created for the citizens of St. Louis. You may be interested in running a women's online clothing store, an information library, or an international trinket site. You can do it all from the suburbs of St. Louis!
In another article on this site, we are going to explore one of the most dynamic of all the economic sectors in St. Louis, that involving medicine. As you can read here, however, the economy of St. Louis is based on many industries, a sign of strength encouraging to all who live or are thinking about moving to the city.
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