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Springfield, Missouri
City of Springfield
Downtown Springfield skyline
Downtown Springfield skyline
Flag of Springfield, Missouri
Flag
Official logo of Springfield, Missouri
Logo
Nickname(s): 
The "Queen City of the Ozarks"
"Birthplace of Route 66"
"The 417"
Country United States United States
State Missouri Missouri
Counties Greene, Christian
Founded 1834
Incorporated 1838
Government
 • Type Council–manager
Area
 • City 82.98 sq mi (214.91 km2)
 • Land 82.39 sq mi (213.39 km2)
 • Water 0.59 sq mi (1.52 km2)
 • Metro
3,021 sq mi (7,824 km2)
Elevation
1,299 ft (396 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • City 169,176
 • Estimate 
(2019)
167,882
 • Rank US: 152nd
 • Density 2,037.63/sq mi (786.73/km2)
 • Urban
273,724 (US: 139th)
 • Metro
475,432 (US: 117th)
Time zone UTC−6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP codes
65800-65899
Area code(s) 417
FIPS code 29-70000
Interstates I-44 (MO).svg Business Loop 44.svg
U.S. Routes US 60.svg US 65.svg US 160.svg
State routes MO-13.svg MO-266.svg MO-413.svg MO-744.svg
Airport Springfield-Branson National Airport
Website www.springfieldmo.gov

Springfield is the third largest city in the state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 169,176. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which has an estimated 2021 population of 481,483 and includes the counties of Christian, Dallas, Greene, Polk, and Webster, and is the fastest growing metropolitan area in the state of Missouri.

Springfield's nickname is "Queen City of the Ozarks" as well as "The 417" after the area code for the city. It is also known as the "Birthplace of Route 66". It is home to several universities and colleges, including Missouri State University, Drury University, and Evangel University. The city is an important center of education and medical care, with two of the largest hospitals in the area, CoxHealth and Mercy, employing over 20,000 people combined, and being the largest employers in the region. It has been called the "Buckle of the Bible Belt" due to its association with evangelical Christianity. The city and surrounding area have been growing more diverse over the decades. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, the population of Greene County grew by over 23,700 people, largely as a result of immigration.

The city sits on the Springfield Plateau of the Ozarks. Due to its proximity to the mountainous area, the city is known for its outdoor recreation activities. The city holds nearly 100 city parks and 140 miles (230 km) of outdoor bike trails. The city is the headquarters for Bass Pro Shops, which is the number one tourist attraction in the state of Missouri, and the adjoining Wonders of Wildlife Museum & Aquarium is the world's largest wildlife attraction. Springfield is within close distance to Wilson's Creek National Battlefield and sits along the Trail of Tears, now a national historic trail.

History

The territory known as Missouri was included in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Soon after, the Delaware Native Americans received treaty land where Springfield's Sequiota Park and the antique stores of its Galloway Village stand today. To the west, 500 Kickapoo Native Americans built wickiups on the prairie that still bears their name. Missouri became a state on August 10, 1821, and in 1833 the legislature designated most of the southern portion as Greene County. The county was named in honor of American Revolutionary War General Nathanael Greene, largely through a campaign, started in 1829, by Springfield's founder, John Polk Campbell, a Tennessee homesteader. Officially, Springfield was founded in 1830, and was incorporated in 1838.

Name

The origin of the name, Springfield is unclear, but the most common view is that the city was named for Springfield, Massachusetts. One account holds that James Wilson, who lived in the then unnamed city, offered free whiskey to anyone who would vote for the name Springfield, after his home town of Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1883, the historian R. I. Holcombe wrote, to the contrary: "The town took its name from the circumstance of there being a spring under the hill, on the creek, while on top of the hill, where the principal portion of the town lay, there was a field." He further stated that, "This version of the origin of the name is disputed by the editor of the Springfield Express, Mr. J. G. Newbill, who, in the issue of his paper, November 11, 1881, says, 'It has been stated that this city got its name from the fact of a spring and field being near by just west of town. But such is not a correct version. When the authorized persons met and adopted the title of the "Future Great" of the then Southwest, several of the earliest settlers had handed in their favorite names, among whom was Kindred Rose, who presented the winning name, "Springfield," in honor of his former home town, Springfield, Robertson County, Tennessee.'"

Incorporation

Springfield was incorporated in 1838. That same year, Cherokee Native Americans were forcibly removed by the U.S. government from their homelands in Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina and Georgia to the "Indian Territory." Their route became known as the Trail of Tears due to the thousands of Cherokee deaths on the journey and as a result of the relocation. The Trail of Tears passed through the Springfield area via what is known today as the Old Wire Road. The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail auto tour route is along Interstate 44 westward to US 160 (West By-pass in Springfield) and westward along US 60.

The Old Wire Road, then known as the Military Road, served until the mid-1840s as a connection between Springfield and the garrison at Fort Smith, Arkansas. By 1858, the Butterfield Overland Stage began utilizing the road offering passage to California. Two years later, the region's first telegraph line was strung along the road, and it was dubbed the Telegraph or Wire Road. The road proved vital during the Civil War, and its most historic connection is to the Battle of Pea Ridge in Arkansas. While portions of the road exist today, the most easily accessible is within Wilson's Creek National Battlefield.

The 1849 charter of the Pacific Railroad, established to construct a line from St. Louis westward across central Missouri, was expanded in 1852 to include a Southwest Branch. However, after defaulting on its obligations, the state seized this branch and sold it, thus creating a new company, the Southwest Pacific Railroad. (The initial line through central Missouri eventually was renamed the Missouri Pacific Railroad). Subsequent defaults led to the line toward Springfield being known as the South Pacific Railroad and the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad, before finally operating under the name St. Louis and San Francisco Railway, more commonly known as the Frisco. Commercial and industrial diversification came with the railroads, and strengthened the City of Springfield and North Springfield when the two towns merged 17 years later in 1887. As railroad construction progressed, Springfield became the crossroads of the Frisco's St. Louis to Tulsa line and the Kansas City to Memphis line, and eventually the Frisco Railroad established its headquarters in Springfield. Today visitors can enjoy the view from the Jefferson Avenue Footbridge, peering below to the locomotive path which is still in use.

Civil War

With the American Civil War imminent and Missouri a border state, Springfield was divided in its sentiments. On August 10, 1861, opposing forces clashed a few miles southwest of Springfield in the Battle of Wilson's Creek, the site of the first major conflict west of the Mississippi River, involving about 5,400 Union troops and 12,000 Confederates. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon was killed, the first Union general to die in combat, and the Confederates were victorious. Union troops fell back to Lebanon, then Rolla, and regrouped. When they returned to Springfield, the Confederates had withdrawn.

The First Battle of Springfield, or Zagonyi's Charge, occurred on October 25, 1861. It was the only Union victory that year in southwestern Missouri. The fighting led to increased military activity in Missouri and set the stage for the Battle of Pea Ridge in March 1862, which essentially cemented Union control of the state.

For the next year, possession of the city seesawed. Then on January 8, 1863, Confederate forces under Gen. John S. Marmaduke advanced toward the town square and the Second Battle of Springfield ensued. As evening approached, the Confederates withdrew. The next morning, Gen. Marmaduke sent a message to Union forces asking for proper burials for Confederate casualties. The city would stay under Union control until the end of the war.

Two years after the war ended, Springfield National Cemetery was created. The dead of both the North and the South were interred there, though separated by a low stone wall (later removed). In 1960, the National Park Service, recognizing the significance of the 1861 battle, designated Wilson's Creek National Battlefield. The 1,750-acre (7.1 km2) battlefield near Republic remains largely unchanged and stands as one of the most historically pristine battle sites in the country.

Wild Bill Hickok shootout

On July 21, 1865, Springfield helped give birth to the Wild West era when the town square was the site of the Wild Bill Hickok–Davis Tutt shootout, a "quick draw" duel between Wild Bill Hickok and Davis Tutt. Two small brass plaques inlaid into the pavement on Park Central Square mark the locations of both Hickok and Tutt during the famous shootout.

John Gotti

The notorious mobster John Gotti died in Springfield on June 10, 2002, after being transferred from a prison in Marion, Illinois for health reasons.

Birthplace of Route 66

Recognized by convention as the "Birthplace of US Route 66", it was in Springfield on April 30, 1926 that officials first proposed the name of the new Chicago-to-Los Angeles highway.

John T. Woodruff of Springfield was elected as the first president of the U.S. Highway 66 Association, organized in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1927. Its purpose was to get U.S. 66 paved from end to end and to promote tourism on the highway. In 1938, Route 66 became the first completely paved United States Numbered Highway in America — the "Mother Road" — stretching from the Great Lakes to the Pacific Coast.

A placard in Park Central Square was dedicated to the city by the Route 66 Association of Missouri, and traces of the Mother Road are still visible in Downtown Springfield along Kearney Street, Glenstone Avenue, College and St. Louis streets and on Missouri 266 to Halltown. The red booths and gleaming chrome in mom-and-pop diners, the stone cottages of tourist courts and the many service stations along this route saw America fall in love with the automobile. Red's Giant Hamburg, said to be the birthplace of the drive-up order window, was located on the route.

Geography

Springfield mo aerial map
Satellite view of Springfield

Springfield is located at 37°11′42″N 93°17′10″W / 37.19500°N 93.28611°W / 37.19500; -93.28611 (37.195098, −93.286213), on the Springfield Plateau of the Ozarks. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 82.31 square miles (213.2 square kilometres), of which 81.72 square miles (211.7 square kilometres) is land and 0.59 square miles (1.5 square kilometres) (0.7%) is water.

The city of Springfield is mainly flat with rolling hills and cliffs surrounding the south, east, and north sections of the city. Springfield is located on the Springfield Plateau, which reaches from Northwest Arkansas to Central Missouri. The majority of the plateau is characterized by forest, pastures and shrub-scrub habitats. Many streams and tributaries such as the James River, Galloway Creek and Jordan Creek flow within or near the city. Nearby lakes include Table Rock Lake, Stockton Lake, McDaniel Lake, Fellows Lake, and Pomme de Terre Lake. Springfield is near the population center of the United States, about 80 miles (130 km) to the east.

Climate

Springfield, Missouri skyline, lightning
Lightning over downtown Springfield

Springfield is characterized by four distinct seasons. It experiences an average surface wind velocity comparable to Chicago, Illinois according to information compiled at the National Climatic Data Center at NOAA. It is placed within "Power Class 3" in the Wind Energy Resource Atlas published by a branch of the U.S. Department of Energy; having an average wind speed range of 6.4 to 7.0 miles per hour.

Springfield lies in the northern limits of a humid subtropical climate (Cfa), as defined by the Köppen climate classification system. As such, it experiences times of exceptional humidity; especially in late summer. The monthly daily average temperature ranges from 32.6 °F (0.3 °C) in January to 78.2 °F (25.7 °C) in July. On average, there are 39 days of 90 °F (32 °C)+ highs, 2.0 days of 100 °F (38 °C)+ highs, 16 days where the high fails to rise above freezing, and 2.5 nights of lows at or below 0 °F (−18 °C) per year. It has an average annual precipitation of 45.6 inches (1,160 mm), including an average 17.0 inches (43 cm) of snow. Extremes in temperature range from −29 °F (−34 °C) on February 12, 1899 up to 113 °F (45 °C) on July 14, 1954.

According to a 2007 story in Forbes magazine's list of "America's Wildest Weather Cities" and the Weather Variety Index, Springfield is the city with the most varied weather in the United States. This can be confirmed by the thousands of citizens living there who experience extreme temperature changes just overnight. In May 2013, Springfield experienced a day that started out humid with a high temperature in the 70s, and by 3 pm there was a thin layer of snow covering the ground.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1850 415
1860 1,235 197.6%
1870 5,555 349.8%
1880 6,522 17.4%
1890 21,850 235.0%
1900 23,267 6.5%
1910 35,201 51.3%
1920 39,631 12.6%
1930 57,527 45.2%
1940 61,238 6.5%
1950 66,731 9.0%
1960 95,865 43.7%
1970 120,096 25.3%
1980 133,116 10.8%
1990 140,494 5.5%
2000 151,580 7.9%
2010 159,498 5.2%
2020 169,176 6.1%
U.S. Decennial Census
2018 Estimate

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 169,176 people, 80,693 households, and 36,237 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,951.8 inhabitants per square mile (753.6/km2). There were 77,620 housing units at an average density of 949.8 per square mile (366.7/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 81% White, 5% African American, 0.8% Native American, 2.3% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 2.2% from other races and 9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6% of the population.

There were 80,693 households, of which 17.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no spouse present, 5.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 55.1% were non-families and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.94 and the average family size was 2.68. The median age in the city was 33.6 years. 17.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 19.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.5% were from 25 to 44; 20.9% were from 45 to 64; and 15.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.6% male and 51.4% female.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 159,498 people, 69,754 households, and 35,453 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,951.8 inhabitants per square mile (753.6/km2). There were 77,620 housing units at an average density of 949.8 per square mile (366.7/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 88.7% White, 4.1% African American, 0.8% Native American, 1.9% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 1.2% from other races, and 3.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.7% of the population.

There were 69,754 households, of which 23.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.4% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 49.2% were non-families. 37.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.81.

The median age in the city was 33.2 years. 18.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 18.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26% were from 25 to 44; 22.7% were from 45 to 64; and 14.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.5% male and 51.5% female.

Neighborhoods

Registered neighborhoods include University Heights, Bissett, Bradford Park, Doling, Grant Beach, Heart of the Westside, Midtown, Oak Grove, Parkcrest, Phelps Grove, Robberson, Rountree, Tom Watkins, Weller, West Central, Westside Community Betterment, and Woodland Heights.

Affiliated neighborhood groups unregistered with the city include:

  • Chesterfield Village
  • Cinnamon On The Hill
  • Cinnamon Square
  • Coachlight
  • Cooper Estates
  • Fox Grape
  • Kay Pointe
  • Kingsbury Forest
  • Lakewood Village
  • Mission Hills
  • National Place
  • Parkwest Village
  • Parkwood Survival
  • Quail Creek
  • Ravenwood South
  • Sherman Ave Project Area
  • Spring Creek

Recreation

There are 92 parks in the city of Springfield, including the Botanical Center at Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park, 3 golf courses, a zoo, and other facilities owned or managed by the Springfield-Greene County Park Board. Its programs, such as Hearts 'n Parks, encourage people to enjoy a more active lifestyle. The department incorporates a network of parks and trails that run near and around geologically unique areas of the Ozarks, such as creek beds and springs. A 35-mile crushed gravel trail, the Frisco Highline Trail, connects Springfield to the town of Bolivar and is particularly popular with mountain bikers. Local recreational facilities have been host to state, local and national tournaments in softball, soccer, hockey, and tennis. The Mediacom Ice Center located in Springfield also has figure skating and hockey programs. Located on the outskirts of town, the Missouri Department of Conservation's Springfield Nature Center as well as Wilson's Creek National Battlefield are good places to take a short hike and enjoy nature. Six recreational lakes are within 100 miles (160 km) of Springfield. The nearby James and Finley rivers provide opportunity for fishing and canoeing, and for those who enjoy hiking, horseback riding, or wilderness camping, the 2,500-acre Busiek State Forest lies just 20 miles to the south. Table Rock Lake and the Branson entertainment area are within 45 miles (72 km). Many residents travel to the Buffalo National River, 110 miles to the south and to the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, 125 miles to the east, for outstanding canoeing on crystal clear streams and hiking. Many other area streams offer excellent canoeing as well as fishing opportunities. The area affords excellent hunting for whitetail deer and turkey as well.

Culture

Like many cities across the nation, Springfield has seen a resurgence in its downtown area. Many of the older buildings have been, and are continuing to be, renovated into mixed-use buildings such as lofts, office space, restaurants, coffee shops, bars, boutiques, and music venues. Located within the Downtown Springfield CID (Community Improvement District) are historic theaters that have been restored to their original state, including the Gillioz Theatre and the Landers Theatre.

In 2001, Phase I of Jordan Valley Park opened along with the Mediacom Ice Park. Phase II of Jordan Valley Park will be complete in late 2011 or early 2012. 2001 also saw the opening of The Creamery Arts Center, a city-owned building inside Jordan Valley Park. It is home to the Springfield Regional Arts Council, Springfield Regional Opera, Springfield Ballet, and the Springfield Symphony Orchestra and provides office and meeting space for other arts organizations which serve the community. The center has been recently renovated to include two art galleries with monthly exhibitions, an Arts Library, rehearsal studios, and classrooms offering art workshops and hands-on activities. The facilities also include an outdoor classroom.

A March 2009 New York Times article described the history and ascendancy of cashew chicken in Springfield, where local variations of the popular Chinese dish are ubiquitous. There are several arts events that occur annually including the Walnut Street Arts Fest and the Missouri Literary Festival. Also the First Friday Art Walk occurs the first Friday of every month.

Formerly, Springfield hosted a fan convention around February every year, known as Visioncon. Since 2013, however, the convention has been held in Branson.

Springfield has also seen increased interest in the local and organic food movement and is home to five farmer's markets, a community garden, several natural food stores, a fair trade chocolate factory, a winery, and three craft breweries.

Country music

During the 1950s, Springfield ranked third in the U.S. for originating network television programs behind New York and Hollywood. Four nationally-broadcast television series originated from the city between 1955 and 1961: Ozark Jubilee and its spin-off, Five Star Jubilee; Talent Varieties; and The Eddy Arnold Show. All were carried live by ABC except for Five Star Jubilee on NBC; and were produced by Springfield's Crossroads TV Productions owned by Ralph D. Foster. Many of the biggest names in country music frequently visited or lived in Springfield at the time. City officials estimated the programs meant about 2,000 weekly visitors and "over $1,000,000 in fresh income."

Staged at the Jewell Theatre (demolished in 1961), Ozark Jubilee was the first national country music TV show to feature top stars and attract a significant viewership. Five Star Jubilee, produced from the Landers Theatre, was the first network color television series to originate outside of New York City or Hollywood. Ironically, Springfield's NBC affiliate, KYTV-TV (which helped produce the program), was not equipped to broadcast in color and aired the show in black-and-white.

The ABC, NBC and Mutual radio networks also all carried country music shows nationally from Springfield during the decade, including KWTO'S Korn's-A-Krackin' (Mutual).

Country music legend Conway Twitty died suddenly in Springfield after a show in Branson.

The Ozark Hillbilly Medallion

The Springfield Chamber of Commerce once presented visiting dignitaries with an "Ozark Hillbilly Medallion" and a certificate proclaiming the honoree a "hillbilly of the Ozarks." On June 7, 1953, U.S. President Harry Truman received the medallion after a breakfast speech at the Shrine Mosque for a reunion of the 35th Division. Other recipients included US Army generals Omar Bradley and Matthew Ridgway, US Rep. Dewey Short, J. C. Penney, Johnny Olson, Ralph Story and disc jockey Nelson King.

Museums and other points of interest

Abou Ben Adhem Shrine Mosque
Abou Ben Adhem Shrine Mosque

National Register of Historic Places

Transportation

Highways

Springfield is served by Interstate 44, which connects the city with St. Louis and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Route 13 (Kansas Expressway) carries traffic north towards Kansas City. U.S. Route 60, U.S. Route 65, and U.S. Route 160 pass through the city. The average commuting time was 17.7 minutes from 2013 to 2017.

Major streets include Glenstone Avenue, Sunshine Street (Missouri Route 413/), National Avenue, Division Street, Campbell Avenue, Kansas Expressway, Battlefield Road, Republic Road, West Bypass, Chestnut Expressway, and Kearney Street.

US-65 at I-44
Highway 65 leading to I-44

Springfield is also the site of the first diverging diamond interchange within the United States, at the intersection of I-44 and MO-13 (Kansas Expressway) (at 37°15′01″N 93°18′39″W / 37.2503°N 93.3107°W / 37.2503; -93.3107 (Springfield, Missouri, diverging diamond interchange)).

U.S. Route 66 and U.S. Route 166 formerly passed through Springfield, and sections of historic US 66 can still be seen in the city. US 166's eastern terminus was once in the northeast section of the city, and US 60 (westbound) originally ended in downtown Springfield. US 60 now goes through town on James River Freeway. In mid-November 2013, the city began discussing plans to upgrade sections of Schoolcraft Freeway (Highway 65) and James River Freeway (Highway 60) through the city to Interstate 44. The main reason is to minimize confusion should there be an incident on I-44 as a detour route.

Airport

Springfield-Branson National Airport (SGF) serves the city with direct flights to 14 cities. It is the principal air gateway to the Springfield region. The Downtown Airport is also a public-use airport located near downtown. In May 2009, the Springfield-Branson airport opened a new passenger terminal. Financing included $97 million in revenue bonds issued by the airport and $20 million of discretionary federal aviation funds, with no city taxes used. The building includes 275,000 square feet (25,500 m2), 10 gates (expandable to 60) and 1,826 parking spaces. Direct connections from Springfield are available to Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Destin/Fort Walton Beach, Punta Gorda/Fort Myers, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando, Phoenix and Tampa. No international flights have regular service into Springfield-Branson, but it does serve international charters.

Trains

Passenger trains have not served Springfield since 1967, but more than 65 freight trains travel to, from, and through the city each day. Springfield was once home to the headquarters and main shops of the St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad (Frisco). Into the 1960s, the Kansas City-Florida Special ran from Kansas City Union Station to Jacksonville, Florida, and the Sunnyland ran between Kansas City and Birmingham and New Orleans. The railroad also operated two daily trains to St. Louis Union Station through its Springfield station: the Meteor and the Will Rogers. Both continued southwest to Oklahoma City Union Station via Tulsa Union Depot. The Meteor continued on to Lawton, Oklahoma. The Frisco's final passenger train was the Southland (Kansas City - Memphis - Birmingham), a successor to the Sunnyland.

As late as 1949 the Missouri Pacific had a short branch line connection from the company's Springfield station to Crane, whereupon connections could be made to the Southern Scenic on the railroad's Kansas City to Newport, Arkansas, line.

The Frisco was absorbed by the Burlington Northern (BN) in 1980, and in 1994 the BN merged with the Santa Fe, creating the current Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway. BNSF has three switch yards (two small) in Springfield. Mainlines to and from Kansas City, St. Louis, Memphis and Tulsa converge at the railroad's yard facility in northern Springfield. In October 2006, BNSF announced plans to upgrade its Tulsa and Memphis mainlines into Springfield to handle an additional four to six daily intermodal freight trains between the West Coast and the Southeast. The Missouri and Northern Arkansas Railroad also operates several miles of (former Missouri Pacific) industrial track in the city.

Buses

City Utilities of Springfield operates local bus service. Greyhound Lines serves Springfield on its line from New York to Los Angeles. Jefferson Lines serves Springfield on its line from Kansas City to Little Rock/Pine Bluff.

Living conditions

In 2008, America's Promise Alliance ranked Springfield among its "100 Best Communities for Young People" for the third year in a row, and on June 11, 2009 Next Generation Consulting ranked Springfield 17th on its "Next Cities" list. In 2008 Best Life ranked Springfield the 10th worst city in the nation in which to raise a family using information from the U.S. Census Bureau, National Center for Education Statistics, FBI, American Alliance of Museums, National Center for Health Statistics, and American Bar Association.

In 2007, The Milken Institute ranked Springfield as a "Best Performing City" for creating and sustaining jobs, and Expansion Management magazine listed Springfield among "Top 20 Mid-Sized Metros for Recruitment and Attraction." Also that year, the World Health Organization designated Springfield as a "Safe Community"; and in 2008, Worldwide ERC named Springfield among "The Best Cities for Relocating Families." According to the Springfield News-Leader, the city has been ranked the second-least diverse city in the United States.

Sister cities

Economy

Springfield's economy is based on health care, manufacturing, retail, education, and tourism. With a Gross Metropolitan Product of $13.66 billion in 2004 and $18.6 billion in 2016. Springfield's economy makes up 6.7% of the Gross State Product of Missouri.

Total retail sales exceed $4.1 billion annually in Springfield and $5.8 billion in the Springfield MSA. Its largest shopping mall is Battlefield Mall. According to the Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, an estimated 3,000,000 overnight visitors and day-trippers annually visit the city. The city has more than 60 lodging facilities and 6,000 hotel rooms. The Convention & Visitors Bureau spends more than $1,000,000 annually marketing the city as a travel destination.

Positronic, Bass Pro Shops, John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts, BKD, Noble & Associates, Prime, Inc., Springfield ReManufacturing, and O'Reilly Auto Parts have their national headquarters in Springfield. In addition, two major American Christian denominations — General Council of the Assemblies of God in the United States of America (one of the largest of the Pentecostal denominations) and Baptist Bible Fellowship International (a fundamentalist Baptist denomination) — are headquartered in the city.

JordanValleyParkCityviewskylinedown
Jordan Valley Park

According to the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, the top 2019 employers in the metro area are:

# Employer Employees
1 CoxHealth 11,669
2 Mercy Health System 10,950
3 Wal-Mart 5,372
4 Springfield Public Schools 4,100
5 State of Missouri 4,018
6 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Marine 3,341
7 United States Government 3,005
8 Missouri State University 2,874
9 Jack Henry & Associates 2,174
10 O'Reilly Auto Parts 2,042
11 Citizens Memorial Healthcare 1,900
12 City of Springfield 1,655
13 Ozarks Technical Community College 1,554
14 EFCO 1,550
15 SRC Holdings 1,435

Education

The Springfield Public School District is the largest district in the state of Missouri with an official fall 2011 enrollment of 24,366 students attending 50 schools. Public high schools include Central High School, Kickapoo High School, Hillcrest High School, Parkview High School, and Glendale High School. Private high schools include Springfield Sudbury School, Summit Preparatory School, Greenwood Laboratory School, New Covenant Academy, Springfield Catholic High School, Christian Schools of Springfield, and Grace Classical Academy.

MissouriStateUHistoricQuad
View toward Missouri State University's Historic Quadrangle

Springfield has several colleges and universities. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, Missouri State University (MSU) is the state's second largest university by enrollment, with over 23,000 students. For the seventh consecutive year, MSU was selected for The Princeton Review's 2010 list of "Best Colleges: Region by Region". Drury University is a private university with over 1,000 students and consistently ranks in U.S. News & World Report's Top 10 Universities in the Midwest. Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC) is the second largest college in the city of Springfield, having more than 11,000 students in attendance. MSU, Drury, and OTC are all located in and around downtown Springfield.

Other colleges in Springfield include Baptist Bible College, Evangel University and Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, and Cox College (Nursing and Allied Health). Branch campuses in Springfield include Mercy College of Nursing and Health Sciences of Southwest Baptist University, Everest College, Columbia College, Webster University, and University of Phoenix. In 2013, a consolidation of Central Bible College, the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, and Evangel University occurred and is now known as Evangel University.

Notable people

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Springfield (Misuri) para niños

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