Virtual data rooms for St. Louis deals, audits and legal matters

What sets St. Louis's economy apart

Corporate and regional headquarters is where St. Louis is most unlike the rest of the country: 910 establishments, a share of local businesses 2.2 times the national one. Next come social assistance (3,169 establishments, 1.9 times) and securities and investment firms (1,342 establishments, 1.4 times). Of the 61 metros on these pages with published figures for corporate and regional headquarters, St. Louis ranks 2nd, behind Wilmington, DE.

Headquarters run the deals: acquisitions, divestitures and financings are managed from these offices.

Social-service providers share grant agreements and audits with funders and partners. In social assistance, St. Louis leads every metro on these pages.

How St. Louis compares

The Census Bureau estimated the St. Louis, MO-IL metro's population at 2,811,927 in July 2024, down 8,920 or 0.3 percent on the April 2020 base of 2,820,847.

Measured against the 2023 estimate of 2,805,507, the same year as the business count, St. Louis has 49.7 offices of lawyers per 100,000 residents, 35th of the 59 metro areas on these pages against a median of 52.6; the nearest rates are Baltimore, MD at 49.3 and Des Moines, IA at 49.2.

The metro with the closest number of law offices is Baltimore, MD, with 1,403; the metro closest in population, Baltimore, MD at 2,859,024 residents, has 1,403 law offices and 1,167 accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll establishments.

Counted by accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll firms instead, St. Louis's nearest match is Las Vegas, NV, with 1,003.

• Residents, July 2024: 2,811,927
• Residents, April 2020 base: 2,820,847
• Change since 2020: -8,920 (-0.3 percent), 51st of 59
• Law offices per 100,000 residents: 49.7, 35th of 59
• Accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll per 100,000 residents: 34.6, 51st of 59
• Securities and investment per 100,000 residents: 47.8, 10th of 59
• Managing offices per 100,000 residents: 30.2, 1st of 59
• Real estate agents and brokers per 100,000 residents: 39.2, 44th of 59
• Employees in offices of lawyers: about 11,000
• Employees in accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll: about 9,800

The courts and regulators behind St. Louis paperwork

When a St. Louis dispute reaches federal court, it goes to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

CPAs practicing in Missouri are licensed by the Missouri State Board of Accountancy.

At state level, securities offerings and investment advisers in Missouri answer to the Missouri Secretary of State, Securities Division, so a St. Louis fund raising money or an adviser facing an exam has documents to produce on request.

If personal information in a St. Louis deal, audit or case file is exposed, Missouri's data breach notification law sets who has to be told and when.