Do Business
Collaboration + Accessibility
- Love, KC
total exports from the KC region
for launching a business
KC startup funding: 2021
gigabit region in the nation
KC Chamber member companies
Building a network
You’ve heard it time and time again, it’s all about who you know. In KC, we make it easy to get to know people. The business community works just about the same as everything else here. Success is achieved when we are all working together, building our networks and helping one another to reach our goals.
Work from home, or not
Even when you work alone, you never have to work alone. There are dozens of coworking spaces scattered throughout the KC region. From national brands like WeWork and local organizations with a variety of locations like Plexpod, to industry specific locations such as CollectiveX or Firebrand Collective, there is a place for you.
Entrepreneurship in KC
Be your own boss
KC is first in the nation for startup growth rate, and second best for startup density. If you want to hustle hard in KC, you have plenty of access to meaningful collaboration and substantial capital. There are 2,000+ events hosted each year to help educate, inspire and connect entrepreneurs along with 246 business-building resources in the KC region. Proof is in the pudding, though, because KC startups received $1.2 billion in funding in 2020 alone.
- The Animal Health Corridor, anchored by Manhattan, Kansas, and Columbia, Missouri, is home to more than 300 animal health companies, representing the single largest concentration in the world
- KC Animal Health Corridor now represent 56 percent of total worldwide animal health, diagnostics and pet food sales
- Proximity to agriculture and markets
- The KC market launched the MT1 Certification that is endorsed by the National Association of Manufacturers
- Proximity to world class specialized education and training
- The central time zone makes it easier to staff call centers to meet the needs of both East and West Coast callers
- Midwestern work ethic lets companies expect and get higher productivity
- A well-educated population provides an easily trainable labor pool
- Low-cost commercial and residential real estate attracts contact center facilities as well as workers
- The accent-free Midwest speech makes it easier for customers to understand
- The Association of Customer Contact Professionals is an active business-to-business networking group
- The area community colleges offer excellent, flexible training programs
- One of the world’s most advanced telecommunications networks - KC is a focal point both for long-haul fiber and transcontinental fiber networks
- Reliable, inexpensive power supply that is influenced by its central location and proximity to primary and back-up energy sources
- Low natural disaster threat where a KC-based operation is less likely to become a target for disruption
- Deep IT talent pool from the concentration of financial services, telecommunications, data processing, software, and engineering firms in the KC area
- Located at the intersection of four of the nation’s major interstate highways (I-35, I-70, I-29, I-49)
- KC is the largest rail center in the U.S. by tonnage and has five of the Class 1 rail lines intersecting in the region (BNSF, CP, KCS, NS, UP)
- Located at the heart of a rail corridor spanning coast to coast across the U.S. and extending from Canada to Mexico (NAFTA Railway)
- The Kansas City International Airport moves more air cargo each year than any air center in a six-state region
- Located on the largest navigable inland waterway (Missouri/Mississippi River system)
- Kansas City has more Foreign Trade Zone space than any other U.S. city
- Vertical-ready with 4 intermodal logistics parks
- 85 percent of the U.S. population can be reached from KC within two days or less
- The University of Kansas' supply chain management program ranks in the top 25 in the U.S.
- Five of the Class 1 rail lines intersecting in the region (BNSF, CP, KCS, NS, UP)
- 60 million square feet of industrial development since 2012
- Located at the intersection of four of the nation’s major interstate highways (I-35, I-70, I-29, I-49)
- KC is the largest rail center in the U.S. by tonnage
- KC is a strong market for talent, employing nearly 78,700 in financial services
- In the past 10 years, the population of highly educated individuals in KC has grown at a rate three times higher than the overall population
- KC is the most connected region in the U.S. with over 5.5 million miles of fiber deployed
- There are certain sectors with particular strengths in KC:
- Fintech: blooom (worth $1B), ZOLOZ (AliBaba family), Machine Halo (national leader in public safety) and C2FO (two-time Forbes Fintech 50)
- Insurance: Concentration of skilled labor ranges from 22% - 140% more than U.S. average
- Mutual Funds: American Century Investments (HQ), Mariner Holdings (HQ), State Street and Waddell & Reed (HQ)
- Top 10 concentration in the U.S. of architecture and engineering jobs - 17,240 jobs
- Three KC companies on the Top 50 Global Design Firms list – most of all U.S. metros
- In the last 10+ years, architecture and engineering services grew by 24 percent in the Kansas City metro, faster than the U.S. average
- No. 1 for sports architecture in the world
- Companies in the KC region designed water systems for 15% of the world’s population
- The KC job market is a magnet for over 100,000 students graduating from regional colleges and universities annually
- Kansas City gives executives something all consumers crave – choice – two state tax structures, double the incentive programs and urban and suburban location options
- Kansas City is consistently ranked among the most affordable major markets in which to live and operate a business
- Mid-continental location affording business executives and their teams the ability to reach all major U.S. markets within three hours commercial flight time – KCI serves nearly 50 markets across North America with non-stop air service and will have a new, modern single terminal in 2023 offering expanded air service and a vastly improved customer experience
- Kansas City offers big-city advantages without many of the hassles usually associated with major metropolitan areas – KC is synonymous with accessibility and value
- The KC region’s manufacturing industry is expected to grow by more than 7 percent by 2024, despite an almost 7 percent decrease nationwide
- Production workers in KC contribute 10% - 15% more value added per hour than the national average, as measured by the U.S. Census Bureau
- KC is the heart of a rail corridor spanning coast-to-coast across the U.S. and extending from Canada to Mexico (NAFTA Railway) and is the largest rail center in the U.S. by tonnage
- KC is business friendly with a Foreign Trade Zone program that can activate space in under 45 days and has more available space than any other U.S. city
- There are certain sectors with particular strengths in KC:
- Automotive: Brookings Institution listed the KC region as the second most important automotive center in the U.S.
- Food and Beverage: 674 food and beverage companies continue to thrive with proximity to agriculture and markets, advanced logistics infrastructure and industry-specific talent
- Plastics: Plastics manufacturing is one of the fastest growing sectors in the KC region – seeing nearly 18 percent growth in the last three years
- Kansas City has been named the #2 auto industry trading hub in North America by the Brookings Institution and employs more than 20,900 individuals in the auto industry
- 658,000 automobiles made in KC annually
- Value of KC Transportation Manufacturing: $19 billion
- Production workers in Kansas City contribute 11% more value added per hour than the national average, as measured by the U.S. Census Bureau
- Implemented the MT1 Certification to meet industry’s most pressing needs
- Reinvestment in General Motors’ Fairfax, Kan. operation ($650 million in 2013 and $245 million in 2016) and Ford’s Claycomo, Mo. facility ($1.2 billion in 2011) has resulted in a surge of interest and investment from automotive suppliers looking to the KC region for new facilities. Panasonic recently announced a $4 billion investment in an EV battery plant in the KC region that will create 4,000 jobs.
- 674 companies have food and beverage operations in Kansas City
- Gross Regional Product of KC food and beverage operations: $125.4 billion
- Kansas City has a workforce of more than 100,000 people employed in manufacturing with one out of every six employed specifically in food manufacturing
- 25,500+ people are employed in the KC region in food and beverage operations
- Kansas City is in the heart of this country’s agricultural region where major ingredients like flour, meat and milk products are all nearby
- KC Technology Jobs: 102,681 - One in every 10 workers in Kansas City is employed by the tech industry
- Already, more than 96,000 students are engaged in STEM programming through Project Lead The Way
- The Kansas City area has the third fastest growing tech market, only outpaced by San Francisco and Austin, according to CompTIA Cyberstates 2021.
- In the past 10 years, the population of highly educated individuals in KC has grown at a rate three times higher than the overall population
- KC is the most connected region in the U.S. with over 5.5 million miles of fiber deployed
- KC is home of the Kauffman Foundation—the global leader for advancing entrepreneurship—in addition to being the first city in the U.S. to receive Google Fiber
- There are certain sectors with particular strengths in KC: Fintech, Cybersecurity, Healthtech/Biotech, Entrepreneurship and Telecommunications
Business Meetings
KC’s central location and affordability make it the ideal location for conventions, corporate retreats, regional and national sales meetings and other business connections. Start exploring the options.
