In 2002,
there were 120,438 women-owned
businesses in Missouri, accounting for 27.4 percent of all firms
statewide. (There were a total of 439,487 businesses in the
Show-Me State in 2002.) Between 1997 and 2002, there was a 16.2
percent increase in female-owned firms and a 23.9 percent
increase in gross sales and receipts by these firms.
There were, however, almost twice
as many male- (236,830) as female-owned firms in Missouri, and
67,963 equally owned firms in 2002.
Counties
Women-owned businesses are concentrated in the St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield metropolitan areas: St. Louis County (19.1 percent), Jackson County (12.0 percent), St. Charles County (6.1 percent), St. Louis City (5.8 percent), Greene County (4.4 percent) and Clay County (3.9 percent).
In terms of total sales and receipts, the largest grossing areas are St. Louis County, St. Louis City, Jackson, Clay and Greene counties, in that order.
MSAs
In general, most female-owned businesses in Missouri are located in metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), especially St. Louis and Kansas City and, to a lesser extent, Springfield, Cape Girardeau, Joplin, Columbia, Jefferson City and St. Joseph. This finding is largely consistent with overall 2000 Census numbers on Missouri.
Although Jackson County has more than double the number of female-owned businesses than the City of St. Louis, St. Louis City has more than eight million dollars in sales and receipts than such businesses in Jackson County. This indicates that the area's fewer firms have a larger economic impact in terms of sales and receipts.
Industry
Most women-owned businesses in Missouri are
concentrated in three main industry groups – retail trade (17.7
percent), other services (16.5 percent) and health care and social
assistance (16.0 percent). Other significant sectors include
professional, scientific and technical services (11.0 percent) and administrative
and support and waste management and remediation services (8.7
percent).
In terms of total sales and receipts, however, the largest grossing industries are wholesale trade, retail trade, construction, manufacturing and health care and social assistance, in that order. This indicates that although wholesale trade, construction and manufacturing have fewer firms, they have a larger impact on Missouri's economy in terms of gross sales.
Report by Neal Fandek, maps by Melissa Lanclos, MERIC.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Survey of Business Owners
Posted June 2006
