Jefferson County, Missouri

• Income near the national median: Median household income tracks the national median, indicating a broad-based consumer market.
• Cost of living stretches income further: Local prices run 4.9% below the national average, so the nominal median of $82,851 is worth $87,120 at national average prices. BEA publishes price parity at metro level, not county level.
• Talent gap: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment trails the national average by 11.0 pts, relevant for advanced-services attraction strategy.

• Largest private-sector industry: Retail Trade employs 7,672 workers (20.1% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $37,058. Every industry figure on this page is private sector; government employs a further 8,653 and is counted separately.
• Economic scale: Regional GDP of $6.9B (2024).
• Wage stratification: Wholesale Trade averages $77,777 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $22,609, a 3.4x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.

• Top specialization: Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing concentrates at 4.65x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.
• Cluster depth: 16 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 34% of the employment across them, the largest being resident household spending. Demand reaches this base from more than one market rather than from a single one.
• Attraction whitespace: 4 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5 with at least 50 employed, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.

• Affordable market: Home value to income ratio of 2.9x is well below the ~4.1x national average; supports talent attraction and family settlement narratives.
• High home ownership: 82.2% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
• Affordable rent tiers: 2 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom sizes sit below what a household on the median renter income of $46,669 can pay without cost burden (~$1,167/mo), and 35.6% of renter households are measured as cost-burdened.

• Succession risk is real: 23.9% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
• Healthy participation: 66% labor force participation reflects a steady, available local workforce.
• Talent pipeline: 1 institution in Jefferson County awards 688 credentials a year. Employers drawing from a wider labor shed should read this alongside institutions outside the county, which this page does not aggregate.

Jefferson County shows meaningful potential for nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing attraction, with a 4.65x concentration and 591 jobs in this sub-sector. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 23.9% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.

The concentrated base spans nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing, primary metal manufacturing, and gasoline stations and fuel dealers, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 34% of the employment across them, the largest being resident household spending. Supply-chain recruitment has more than one demand base to work from.