Greater St. Louis

Greater St. Louis
St. Louis, MO–IL Metropolitan Statistical Area
A NASA image of the Greater St. Louis area at night in December 2013
Interactive Map of St. Louis–St. Charles–
Farmington, MO–IL CSA
Country United States
State Missouri
Illinois
Largest city St. Louis
Other cities
Area
  Total
8,458 sq mi (21,910 km2)
  Land8,261 sq mi (21,400 km2)
  Water197 sq mi (510 km2)  2.3%
Elevation
466–1,280 ft (142–390 m)
Population
 (2020)
  Metro density339.8/sq mi (131.2/km2)
  MSA
2,805,473 (20th)
  CSA
2,909,003 (20th)
 MSA/CSA = 2020
GDP
  MSA$209.9 billion (2022)
Time zoneUTC−6 (CST)
  Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Area code(s)217, 314, 447, 557, 573, 618, 636, 730

Greater St. Louis is the 23rd-largest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the United States, the largest in Missouri, and the second-largest in Illinois. Its core citySt. Louis, Missouri—sits in the geographic center of the metro area, on the west bank of the Mississippi River. The river bisects the metro area geographically between Illinois and Missouri, although the latter portion is much more populous. The MSA includes St. Louis County, which is independent of the City of St. Louis; their two populations are generally tabulated separately.

The St. Louis, MO-IL metropolitan statistical area (MSA) includes the City of St. Louis; the Illinois counties of Bond, Calhoun, Clinton, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Monroe, and St. Clair (known collectively as the Metro East); and the Missouri counties of Crawford (only the City of Sullivan), Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, St. Charles, St. Louis (separate from and not inclusive of the city of St. Louis), and Warren.

The larger St. Louis–St. Charles–Farmington, MO–IL combined statistical area (CSA) includes all of the aforementioned MSA, plus the Farmington, MO micropolitan statistical area, which includes St. Francois County, Missouri, and the Centralia, IL micropolitan statistical area, which includes Marion County, Illinois.

In 2020, the St. Louis MSA was the 21st-largest in the nation with a population of 2,820,253. The larger CSA is ranked 20th largest in the United States, with a population of 2,909,003. It fell out of the country's top 20 largest MSAs in 2017 for the first time since 1840.

As of 2021, Greater St. Louis is home to the headquarters of ten of Missouri's eleven Fortune 500 companies, six Fortune 1,000 companies, and four of the top 50 largest private companies in America, as ranked by Forbes. The metropolitan area received the All-America City Award in 2008.