Last week this blog analyzed recently released Census Bureau data for growth patterns in this area.  Metropolitan areas in the rest of Missouri will be examined this week.  While many people are rather vague about what constitutes a metropolitan area, the federal Office of Management and Budget establishes uniformity by defining whether a city is a metro, as well as specifying that metro's constituent counties.  Metros aren't restricted by state boundaries; of Missouri's eight metropolitan areas, four have counties in another state.  Up to this point, Missouri's metros have constituted 73% of the state's population, 79% of the state's jobs, and 84% of the state's gross domestic product.

State metro growth has been a mixed bag.  On the one hand, Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers is both an Arkansas (three counties) and Missouri (McDonald County) metro; 2000- 2008 growth there has been a robust 27.9%, with virtually all of the growth taking place in the Arkansas counties.  The four-county Jefferson City metro, on the other hand, has seen a miniscule 4.5% growth.  The two-county Columbia metro has grown 12.8% between 2000 and 2008.  Our Joplin neighbors' two-county metro has grown 9.9%.  Often overlooked, St. Joseph is both a Kansas (one county)  and Missouri (three counties) metro with 3.3% growth, held back by the 6.4% negative growth of Doniphan, the Kansas county.

Now for the big guys.  The St. Louis metro is made up of eight Illinois counties and eight Missouri counties; 2000-2008 growth was 4.4%.  The Kansas City metro has six Kansas counties and nine Missouri counties, ranging in size from Linn (KS; under 10,000) to Jackson (MO; more than 668,000); growth in this metro has been 9.0%.

Viewed in this context, the Springfield metro's 15.7% growth is reasonably impressive.

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Recently, detailed Census population estimates were released for Missouri counties.  It is important to note that these are estimates; the 2010 decennial census will have an actual count.  The new figures allow an estimation of growth between 2000 and 2008.  (It is pleasant to note that this yearly statistical release happened about three months earlier than usual!)

The results for the Springfield metro show an 11.0% population increase for Greene; 39.0% for Christian; 7.8% for Dallas; 12.6% for Polk; and 17.5% for Webster.  The population increase for the five-county metro as a whole was 15.7%.  Greene County's growth, steady but not spectacular, allowed it to increase its share of the metro from 53.2% (2000) to 59.6% (2008).

The two-county Branson micropolitan area's population increase over the same period was 14.9%  Stone County's increase was 10.1%, while Taney County's increase was 18.4%.  Taney County's share of the micropolitan area remained relatively unchanged at 59.9% (compared to 58.1% in 2000).

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As Springfield has grown in recent decades, more chain restaurants have appeared (and, in some cases, disappeared).  When we had fewer chains, the pluses and minuses of the chains and their relationship with the independents were more rhetorical than has come to be the case presently.  But now it possible for our mid-major metro to join the spirited national discussion.

So what percentage of the chains is presently represented in the Springfield metro (Christian, Dallas, Greene, Polk, and Webster counties)?  Wikipedia has a list of about 240; roughly a quarter of those chains are found in the Springfield metro, with a few more found relatively nearby.  (Famous Dave's and Joe's Crab Shack in Branson, e.g.)  Restaurants & Institutions, a trade journal, publishes a ranked Top 400 list.  (Contact us at The Library to use our subscription databases to access this list.)  The Springfield metro has thirteen of the top fifteen ranked chains; Dunkin' Donuts (found in Branson) and Jack in the Box are the exceptions.  We have 26 of the top thirty--the recently-departed Denny's is one of the missing.  After the top thirty, there begins to be rapid dropoff, including highly ranked chains such as Popeyes, Baskin-Robbins, Church's, and the long-ago and fondly remembered Whataburger that have been here at one time or another.  Of the top 100, 45 currently don't have a Springfield metro presence.

Industry sources identify about 3,600 restaurant chains, although many of these have just a few locations.  Lambert's Cafe would be a good example; they have two Missouri locations, as well as a location in Alabama.

Consumers are a quirky and paradoxical lot.  While many diners are inclined to be dismissive of chain restaurant food, asserting that independent restaurants have better food, data show that this perception isn't reflected by their purchases--i.e., visits and (ultimately) dollars spent. 

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