Ingram's August 2022

DESTINATION MISSOURI MARKET OVERVIEW

Welcome to Missouri

LIFE, LEISURE, AND BUSINESS IN THE SHOW-ME STATE: A WINNING COMBINATION.

The law of averages breaks down on the west bank of the Mississippi River, where the industrial Midwest transitions into the agricultural Midwest and 69,715 square miles of the thriving state we call Missouri: n With 6.124 million residents, the Show-Me State has a population density of 87 people per square mile, not far off the national average of 93 per square mile. But in how many of those other states will you find the types of urban amenities— restaurants, theater, the visual arts—that you can easily access here, at comparable levels of excellence? n The median household income in the United States is slightly more than $67,000, and that’s roughly $10,000 high er than in Missouri. But how many residents in those higher earning locales enjoy the housing affordability you can find in Missouri, where median homes go for $110,000 less than the national figure of $339,000? n The average one-way commute time in the United States is 27½ minutes, compared to Missouri’s 23½. (Annual differ ence: 17 hours.) No, you can’t recoup that time differential all at once, but really: how many people in urban areas of this country would love to hit the national average, let alone Missouri’s? Flights to the coast? About three hours from either Kansas City International or Lambert International in St. Louis. Com pare that to the all-day slog that is Los Angeles to New York or Miami to Seattle. Shipping and distribution? More than 80

percent of the nation’s population is within a two-day drive from either of those Missouri metro areas; you’re less than 12 hours from a circle whose circumference reaches from Utah to Pittsburgh and central Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Within that space are Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Dallas and Houston, Detroit, and New Orleans. We could go on, but you get the idea.Missouri is in themiddle of it all but by no means middle-tier. Centrality, affordability, an exceptional quality of life, great schools, first-rate health-care facilities, spectacular outdoor settings, and venues all are part of what makes the Show-Me State something to show off. All of those assets work to the advantage of businesses oper ating here because that centrality translates into lower-cost structures. The quality of life and educational possibilities attract and hold employees here, as does the affordability, particularly for those pursuing the American Dream of home ownership. (And with prices and interest rates where they are in mid-2022, that dream is more elusive than ever inmany parts of the country.) Layered over that are world-class performing-arts venues and museums, award-winning restaurants and vibrant entertain ment districts, championship-level sports at the professional, major college and small-college levels, and much, much more. Thestate thatboasts thenation’sNo. 1-ranked lake-lifeasset— the fabulous Lake of the Ozarks—invites you to come on in; the water’s fine. And what’s on dry land isn’t shabby, either.

Regional Publications

Editor-in-Chief and Publisher Joe Sweeney | JSweeney @ Ingrams.com Editorial Director Dennis Boone | DBoone @ Ingrams.com Vice President of Sales Michelle Sweeney | MSweeney @ Ingrams.com Art Director Traci Faulk | Production @ Ingrams.com Copy Editor Nancie Boland | Editorial @ Ingrams.com

Ingrams.com MISSOURI’S DIGITAL BUSINESS MEDIA

Ingram’s (ISSN #1046-9958) is published monthly by Show-Me Publishing, Inc. at 2049 Wyandotte, Kansas City, Missouri, 64108. Price: $44.95 for one-year, $69.95 for 2 years and $99.95 for 3 years. Back issues are $5 each. Periodical postage paid at Kansas City, Missouri, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Please email address changes to JRyan @ Ingrams.com, fax to 816.474.1111 or mail changes to Ingram’s Magazine at 2049 Wyandotte Kansas City, Missouri, 64108.

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