Missouri: A Distribution State, Mostly Small Businesses
When Missouri's Department of Economic Development announced the August 2025 opening of a cold storage facility in South Kansas City, the accompanying remarks noted that the company was joining nearly 20,000 distribution and logistics companies across the state that benefit from Missouri's central location. The Census Bureau's 2023 state file puts the broader picture in scale: 151,475 employer establishments across Missouri, 94.4% with fewer than 50 employees, and 6,781 of them in wholesale trade. Statewide counts of business locations, not a metro tally.
- Missouri Department of Economic Development: Americold opens new cold storage facility in Kansas City (August 2025 announcement; retrieved 2026-10-08)
- U.S. Census Bureau: 2023 County Business Patterns: State file (cbp23st) (2023 CBP; retrieved 2026-10-05)