Real estate · Metro area · Missouri
Real estate businesses in the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area
How the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for real estate businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 40 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #278 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 8 scored metro areas based in Missouri
- Listings
- 3,717
- 254 chain locations (7%)
- Official establishments
- 2,083
- +6.9% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $16.9B
- On rent and homeowner costs · $14,601 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 105
- 5% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 32.0
- 17% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 2,814,421
- −0.2% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in the St. Louis metro area
The site report maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the St. Louis metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
As of September 2026, map listings count 3,717 real estate businesses in the St. Louis metro area. 254 of them (7%) are chain locations, against 6% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 32.0, 17% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.
At $14,601 per household (12% below the U.S. average), households in the St. Louis metro area spend about $16.9B a year on rent and homeowner costs. Housing spending per office is 5% above the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in.
In 2023, official counts showed 2,083 businesses with payroll in the St. Louis metro area classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors, up 6.9% from 2019. That is one for every 557 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Official counts list 12,445 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 15 SBA-backed loans worth $7.3M have gone to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the St. Louis metro area.
Population estimates show the St. Louis metro area declined 0.2% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. For real estate businesses, the St. Louis metro area has a Groundwork market score of 40 (lower middle): #278 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 8 scored metro areas based in Missouri.
How the St. Louis metro area compares
The same measures for Missouri and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.
| Measure | St. Louis metro area | Missouri | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 32.0 | 32.9 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 105 | 97 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 557 | 540 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +6.9% | +15.3% | +15.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.2% | +1.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $14,601 | $13,809 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $80,196 | $70,702 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 40 | 37 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 2,083+6.9% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 13,844
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.1B
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 12,445Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 3,717254 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 3,911The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 15
- Amount
- $7.3M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the St. Louis metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in the St. Louis metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 2,814,421−0.2% since 2020
- Households
- 1,160,386
- Median age
- 40.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 70%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 7,864 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 357
- Median household income
- $80,196+25.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $109,353
- Median home value
- $244,800
- Jobs located here
- 1,400,208
- Daytime population
- 2,847,124Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the St. Louis metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the St. Louis metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardReal estate across Missouri
Every Missouri market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Missouri for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Missouri, with the St. Louis metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Missouri
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Jefferson City, MO | 59 | 133 | 22.7 | 140 | +2.2% | #100 of 387 |
| 2Joplin, MO-KS | 53 | 191 | 24.0 | 124 | +3.9% | #151 of 387 |
| 3St. Joseph, MO-KS | 45 | 109 | 23.2 | 130 | −2.0% | #232 of 387 |
| 4Cape Girardeau, MO-IL | 45 | 99 | 25.8 | 118 | +1.7% | #234 of 387 |
| 5St. Louis, MO-IL | 40 | 3,717 | 32.0 | 105 | −0.2% | #278 of 387 |
| 6Kansas City, MO-KS | 35 | 3,564 | 39.8 | 86 | +3.4% | #341 of 387 |
| 7Columbia, MO | 32 | 317 | 36.7 | 88 | +3.9% | #358 of 387 |
| 8Springfield, MO | 29 | 778 | 39.1 | 78 | +5.1% | #374 of 387 |
Other business types in the St. Louis metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate businesses are in the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area?
The St. Louis metro area has 3,717 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 254 of them (7%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 2,083 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 6.9% from 2019. Official counts also show 12,445 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $16.9B a year, or $14,601 per household. That is 12% below the U.S. average (an index of 88, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 3,717 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 5% above the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,160,386 households in the St. Louis metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?
The St. Louis metro area has 32.0 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 17% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 105, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the St. Louis metro area would have about 3,911, against 3,717 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 557 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 6.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.
How fast is the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area growing?
Population estimates put the St. Louis metro area at 2,814,421 people in 2025, down 0.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,160,386 households. The median household income in the St. Louis metro area is $80,196 a year, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.9% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The St. Louis metro area scores 40 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #278 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the St. Louis metro area. It maps the real estate businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for real estate businesses · All 56 business types in the St. Louis metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the St. Louis metro area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the St. Louis metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.