Missouri Partnership — Discover the Competitive Advantages of Missouri

Located in the center of the United States, Missouri offers numerous competitive advantages in terms of proximity to markets and resources. In addition, a strong, stable, and diverse economy enables businesses to thrive. In fact, Missouri is continually recognized as one of the best places to do business in the nation.

Lower Operating Costs
Tax reforms; abundant, affordable energy; and aggressive tax incentives to encourage economic development have helped keep operating costs for Missouri businesses low. In fact, Missouri has one of the lowest business tax burdens per worker in the United States, and the Tax Foundation of Washington, D.C., ranked Missouri’s tax climate more business-friendly than 35 other states in the nation in 2008.

With the fifth-lowest cost of living in the United States, Missouri provides an affordable place to live and operate a business. In addition to low taxes and housing costs, Missourians enjoy a temperate, four-season climate, numerous state parks and historic sites, and countless other recreational options. In 2007, Worldwide ERC and Primacy Relocation ranked Kansas City third and St. Louis ninth in Best Cities for Relocating Families.

Proximity to Resources, Distribution Networks, and Markets
Proximity to resources, distribution centers, and markets in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and beyond is key to business prosperity in the state. Missouri neighbors eight other states: Iowa, Arkansas, Tennessee, Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma.

As the population center of the United States, Missouri is located within 500 miles of 43 percent of the U.S. population. Missouri is also located within 500 miles of 41 percent of the total U.S. effective buying income, 44 percent of total U.S. wholesale trade, and 44 percent of total U.S. manufacturing establishments.

Missouri’s central geographic location provides strategic access via air, road, rail, and water to the rest of the country. The state’s two major metropolitan areas, Kansas City and St. Louis, are both served by major commercial airports — Lambert St. Louis International and Kansas City International. Missouri travelers can reach most cities in the United States and Canada in under three hours by air.

The sixth-largest highway system in the nation and four class-one railroads provide inexpensive and efficient shipping from Missouri to anywhere in the country. Two of the largest rail terminals in the United States are located in Kansas City and St. Louis, linking over 4,000 miles of track throughout the state.

The Mississippi and Missouri rivers provide more than 1,000 miles of navigable waterways in Missouri. Missouri has 15 ports, including the nation’s second largest inland port in St. Louis. On top of transportation benefits, Missouri has three foreign-trade zones and the fifth-most-diversified economy in the United States, making it the perfect location for both domestic and international business, particularly those in the areas of plant and animal sciences, human health and medicine, financial services, logistics and defense.

Where Global Corporations Prosper
Many industry giants have selected Missouri for their corporate headquarters, including Anheuser-Busch, Hallmark, H&R Block, Monsanto Company, American Century, Leggett & Platt, and Express Scripts. Missouri is also a strategic production, service and distribution location for other large companies, including Unilever, General Motors, The Boeing Company, Tyson Foods, Wal-Mart, Procter & Gamble, Pfizer, 3M, and Ford Motor Company.

The success that U.S. companies have experienced in Missouri is also enjoyed by companies headquartered outside the United States. International companies with operations in Missouri include Novus International, a Japanese-owned company that supplies nutritional supplements for commercial animal feed producers; BASF, a major chemical company headquartered in Germany; and Reuters, one of the world’s largest providers of news and financial information.

The following pages will tell you more about some of the regional opportunities throughout the state.