Location Profile: Missouri's St. Louis Region

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Gateway to Financial Markets
In 1764, French fur trader Pierre Laclede made a prescient statement as he established his trading post on the high bluff above the Mississippi River. He said, “I have found a situation where I am going to form a settlement which might become, hereafter, one of the finest cities in America – so many advantages are embraced in its site, by its locality and central position, for forming settlements.”
Laclede’s observation is as true today as the day he made it. The St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association has boiled it down: “Perfectly Centered. Remarkably Connected.” At the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, St. Louis became the gateway to westward expansion. Today, the St. Louis region is also the confluence of four major interstate highways (I-44, I-55, I-64 and I-70) and six class-one railroads, making St. Louis the third largest rail center in the United States. Lambert St. Louis International Airport serves 20 airlines and offers non-stop service to 68 cities.

The St. Louis region is a financial services powerhouse between east and west coasts, with headquarters or service centers for Edward Jones, Scottrade, Stifel Nicolaus, Wachovia, and MasterCard. Twenty-one Fortune 1000 companies call St. Louis home.

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Missouri's St. Louis Region

Slideshow: Missouri By The Numbers

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Plant and food science occupy a signifi cant portion of this 18th-largest US metro area. Monsanto, Bunge, Ralcorp and Solae are headquartered here. The Danforth Plant Science Center conducts world-class research aimed at meeting world demand for food, fuel and fiber. Pfizer maintains a major R&D facility in suburban St. Louis.

Twenty-eight universities, including Washington University, St. Louis University, and the University of Missouri - St. Louis, enroll 110,000 students and turn out 25,000 graduates each year. Pierre Laclede would be proud of how his little trading post has progressed.

St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Assocation
Steve Johnson
One Metropolitan Square, Suite 1300
St. Louis, MO 63102
314.231.5555
www.gotostlouis.org

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Missouri's St. Louis Region

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