MERIC - Missouri Department of Economic Development

Columbia is an economic and employment center for the Central region of Missouri. This report details the workers and industries that make this place a hotspot of economic activity.

Columbia’s 2009 population estimate from the US Census American Community Survey was 102,324 with a median age of 26.5. This is up from the 2000 Census population of 84,780. 92.7% of Columbia residents hold at least a high school diploma while 51.7% hold a bachelors degree or higher. The top employing sector in Columbia is Health Care & Social Services, which makes up over 18% of the city’s jobs, up from 12% in 2002.

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CCeennttrraall EEmmppllooyymmeenntt HHoottssppoottss Columbia, Jefferson City, Rolla, and Lebanon form the largest concentrations of employment in the Central Workforce Investment Area (WIA). Workforce Investment Areas are the result of the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) which funds a number of employment and training programs across the nation.

In 2009 over 55% of all workers in the Central WIA were employed in the cities of Columbia (26.4%), Jefferson City (19.8%), Rolla (4.7%), and Lebanon (4.3%), which is down slightly from 2002 when they made up 56.9%. Other cities in the Central WIA with 6,000 jobs or more are Fulton, Osage Beach, and Mexico.

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Top Columbia Occupational Categories

total employment

 

Growing Industries versus Shrinking Industries Columbia’s top two employing industries by far are Health Care & Social Services and Educational Services, both employing nearly 13,000 people. The Trade, Transportation, and Utilities sector in Columbia grew jobs by 7.5% from 2002 to 2009. There was an increase in workers in this sector from St. Louis, Callaway, Jackson, and Cole Counties. Boone and Jefferson County residents in this sector declined over this span. The Goods Producing sector declined 12.5%. Nearly all of this loss can be attributed to the loss of Boone County residents, whose numbers declined by 27.8%.

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