St. Louis

Jobs & economy

Healthcare, bioscience, aerospace — and the nation's geospatial hub.

The St. Louis economy is anchored by an unusually deep bench of major employers for a midsize metro. BJC HealthCare (30,000+ employees) and Washington University (approximately 45,000 employees) are the region's top two employers. ClearPointHCO · WashU HR Boeing employs approximately 16,000 in defense aerospace at its Defense, Space & Security headquarters, though this employment is subject to defense budget cycles and contract awards, introducing periodic uncertainty. WashU Careers, 2025 · PNC

The metro is home to 8 Fortune 500 headquarters — including Centene (top 25 nationally), Emerson Electric, Graybar, and Edward Jones — plus 17 Fortune 1000 firms. KCUR, 2026 · Greater St. Louis Inc. St. Louis has the second-highest concentration of financial securities brokerage firms among the 25 largest U.S. metros, and Edward Jones alone employs over 8,000 home-office associates in fintech, AI, and cybersecurity roles. EDC St. Charles County · Edward Jones Careers

The NGA's new $1.7 billion West campus anchors a geospatial ecosystem that supports over 10,000 regional jobs. NGA · Missouri Partnership The Cortex Innovation District's 200-acre campus now houses over 150 bioscience and tech startups, and BioGenerator plans to launch two nonprofit venture capital studios in 2026. Cortex, 2025 39 North, anchored by the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center (the world's largest independent nonprofit plant science institute), houses Bayer Crop Science and supports dozens of agtech startups. Greater St. Louis Inc.

Regional unemployment has held between 3.5% and 3.8%, at or below the national average. PNC, September 2026 Construction job growth ranked second in the nation in mid-2026, fueled by massive public infrastructure projects. PNC, September 2026

St. Louis does not currently offer a city-sponsored cash incentive for remote workers to relocate, though a proposal to pay remote workers $10,000 to move downtown has been publicly debated. St. Louis Magazine The International Institute of St. Louis runs Move2STL, a non-cash initiative to attract and support U.S. citizens and green card holders relocating to the region. IISTL

Caveats: Job growth, while steady at 1.0–1.5%, lags behind fast-growing Sun Belt metros; a large share of openings stem from replacement needs rather than new job creation, reflecting an aging labor pool. PNC, September 2026 · STLCC The startup ecosystem faces a persistent venture capital gap — local founders report difficulty finding consistent investment. St. Louis Public Radio, 2025 NGA and many aerospace/defense jobs require U.S. citizenship and security clearances, limiting accessibility. NGA