St. Louis Life & Work

Biggest Employers in St. Louis, Grouped by Industry

Now Hiring St. Louis Editorial TeamUpdated 2026-09-298 min read

Last verified: September 29, 2026. Headcounts change often and each figure below carries its source and year. We found no free, current, ranked list of local employer headcounts from the Chamber, Greater St. Louis, Inc., MERIC or the Business Journal, so the only local-scope counts here are the dated 2017 figures, clearly labeled. Check the employer's own careers site for current openings.

If you are new to the area, or thinking about a change, it helps to know where the jobs actually are. St. Louis is not a one-company town. It is a health care, education, logistics, food and government market with a few large corporate headquarters mixed in. This guide groups the biggest employers by industry, tells you how sure we are about each number, and links to the official place to apply.

The big picture first

The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts total nonfarm employment in the St. Louis metro (which includes the Illinois side) at about 1.43 million jobs as of August 2026. The largest sectors it lists are:

Education and health services: about 280,000 jobs
Trade, transportation and utilities: about 258,600 jobs
Professional and business services: about 212,800 jobs
Government: about 141,000 jobs

BLS also reports that in May 2025 the most common occupation groups in the metro were office and administrative support (11.2 percent of jobs), food preparation and serving (9.0 percent) and transportation and material moving (8.2 percent). The average hourly wage across all jobs was $31.89, compared with $33.54 nationally. See the BLS occupational release for the full breakdown.

The Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC) regional profile (no headcounts or compile date given) lists Washington University, Boeing, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, General Motors and Saint Louis University among the region's top private employers. It also names Anheuser-Busch, Express Scripts, Enterprise, Nestle Purina, Edward Jones and Wells Fargo as major employers in their sectors.

A caution about "largest employer" lists

Most published lists have problems, and you should know them before you quote one.

System-wide versus local. A hospital system may report every employee in every state. That is not the same as jobs in St. Louis.
Old data. The best-known public ranking we found with local counts, from St. Louis Magazine, was published in December 2017 using St. Louis Regional Chamber data. It is useful for order of magnitude, not for today's exact numbers.
Paywalls. The St. Louis Business Journal's annual lists are mostly behind a paywall, so we did not rely on them for figures.
Headquarters versus headcount. A company can be headquartered here and employ most of its people elsewhere.

We use each employer's own current statement where possible and label the scope.

Health care and social assistance

This is the biggest employment engine in the region, and it hires for far more than nurses: patient access, environmental services, food service, billing, IT, security and transport.

Employer	Reported size	Source and year
BJC Health System	48,162 employees, 24 hospitals (system-wide, includes the Saint Luke's region in the Kansas City area)	BJC Facts & Figures, 2025 data
Mercy	"More than 50,000 caregivers" across five states, headquartered in Chesterfield	Mercy About page, current page
SSM Health	"Over 40,000 team members" across four states	SSM Health About page, current page

These are system-wide numbers, so the St. Louis-area share is smaller. In the 2017 chamber-based ranking, BJC had 28,351 local employees, SSM Health 14,926 and Mercy 14,195.

Apply directly: BJC Careers, Mercy Careers, SSM Health Careers.

Education and research

Washington University in St. Louis and its medical school are among the top employers in every list we found.We could not confirm a current headcount from the university itself, so we are not printing one. In the 2017 chamber ranking, Washington University had 15,818 employees, Washington University Physicians 7,222 and Saint Louis University 7,400. The Special School District of St. Louis County had 6,272.

Public school districts, community colleges and charter schools also hire steadily. Check individual district websites for teacher, aide, bus driver and food service openings.

Apply directly: WashU Jobs. WashU notes that recruiters contact candidates from an address ending in @wustl.edu, which is a good safety check for any employer.

Aerospace, defense and government

Boeing. In a February 2026 announcement about moving its Defense, Space & Security headquarters to St. Louis, Boeing said the St. Louis region is home to more than 18,000 employees across several business units. Apply at jobs.boeing.com. Many roles require U.S. person status or a security clearance.
Scott Air Force Base (Illinois). A study reported by St. Louis Public Radio in April 2026 counted 6,958 military jobs and 3,524 civilian jobs at the base. Federal civilian jobs are posted on USAJOBS.gov.
City, county and state government. In the 2017 ranking the City of St. Louis had 7,404 employees and the U.S. Postal Service 9,956 locally. BLS lists government at about 141,000 metro jobs today.

Corporate headquarters, finance and professional services

Greater St. Louis, Inc. says the region is home to 22 companies on the Fortune 1000, Forbes Global 2000 and Forbes list of America's Largest Private Companies, and highlights Centene, Edward Jones, Energizer, Enterprise Mobility and Bunge for their community involvement. Headquarters jobs skew toward finance, IT, legal, HR, analytics, claims and customer support.

We do not have a verified local headcount for these firms, so we are not printing one. Apply through their own sites, for example Edward Jones Careers and Centene Careers.

Retail, grocery and food service

These employers hire the most entry-level workers and often have flexible schedules.

Schnucks says on its careers page that it has nearly 12,000 teammates and more than 100 stores across Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.
Walmart ranked second in the 2017 list with 22,290 local employees. That number is nearly a decade old.
McDonald's and Imo's appeared in 2017 with 7,550 and 5,515 local employees. Restaurant franchises hire through individual owners, so check the restaurant or the franchise's own posting.

BLS lists food preparation and serving among the lowest-paying major occupation groups in the metro, at $17.72 an hour on average in May 2025, so ask about advancement paths and shift differentials.

Manufacturing, food and logistics

MERIC says food manufacturing, transportation equipment and chemical manufacturing are among the region's most concentrated production industries. Anheuser-Busch, Nestle Purina and General Motors are named in the MERIC profile. BLS shows manufacturing employment of about 118,200 in August 2026, up 1.3 percent over the year, while mining, logging and construction rose 13.8 percent, so check recent postings rather than assuming a plant is hiring.

Trade, transportation and utilities is the second-largest sector, which is why warehouse, delivery, dispatch and driver jobs appear constantly.

How to use this list

Pick an industry, then an employer. If you have no degree, look at health support, logistics, retail and food first, then check what training the employer pays for.
Go to the careers page, not a reposted ad. Third-party sites and social posts often lag behind or copy listings without permission.
Look at the wage data. Use the BLS occupational wage numbers as a reality check on what a role should pay.
Ask about scope. For system-wide employers, ask which site the job is at and what commute you are signing up for.
Save the recruiter's email domain. If someone contacts you, confirm the address matches the official site.

Mistakes to avoid

Applying only to the biggest names. Mid-size firms and school districts often move faster.
Quoting old numbers. A 2017 list tells you who is large, not how many they employ today.
Paying anyone to "get you into" a hospital or plant. Legitimate employers do not charge applicants.

FAQ

Who is the largest employer in St. Louis? By most published lists it is BJC HealthCare (now BJC Health System). BJC reports 48,162 employees system-wide in 2025 data, and a 2017 chamber ranking put its local count at 28,351.

Which industry has the most jobs? Education and health services, at about 280,000 metro jobs according to BLS in August 2026.

Is there a single official list of the top 10 employers? Not that is free and current. The Greater St. Louis, Inc. page and MERIC profile name major employers but do not give a ranked, dated headcount table. Business Journal lists are mostly paywalled.

Do these employers hire without a degree? Many do, especially in health support, retail, food, warehouse and facilities roles. Requirements vary by posting, so read the listing.

Do Illinois jobs count? Yes. The metro includes St. Clair and Madison counties, and Scott Air Force Base is on the Illinois side.

This article is general information, not career or financial advice. Confirm current openings, pay and requirements with the employer.

Sources

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