St. Louis, MO-IL business phone guide

St. Louis, MO-IL at a glance

The St. Louis, MO-IL metro area covers 15 counties in Missouri and Illinois and had 2.8 million residents in July 2024, down 0.3% since April 2020. The U.S. population grew 2.6% over the same period. St. Louis County, MO is the most populous, with 993,000 people. By population it ranks 23rd of the 925 metro and micropolitan areas and 23rd by business establishments.

Establishments and employment in St. Louis, MO-IL

County Business Patterns counted 69,470 establishments in the area in 2023, employing 1,263,674 people in mid-March with $83.2 billion in annual payroll. That is an average of 18.2 employees per establishment. 52.3% of establishments with employees had fewer than five people. By establishment count, the largest sectors are health care and social assistance (10,427), retail trade (8,095), and professional, scientific, and technical services (7,057).

Business density and team size in St. Louis, MO-IL

St. Louis, MO-IL has 24.7 business establishments per 1,000 residents, in line with the U.S. figure of 24.6. Establishments average 18.2 employees against 16.7 nationally, and payroll per employee is $65,838 (3.7% below the U.S. $68,342). 52.3% of establishments with employees have fewer than five people (U.S.: 55.5%), while 6.2% have 50 or more. Averages are pulled up by large employers; the size table is the better guide to what a typical business here looks like.

Small-business industries in St. Louis, MO-IL

Of the 141 industries these guides cover, 141 have a published Census count in St. Louis, MO-IL. The largest are limited-service restaurants (2,334), full-service restaurants (2,019), and agencies providing services for the elderly and persons with disabilities (1,898). Relative to population, agencies providing services for the elderly and persons with disabilities are the most over-represented: 67.5 per 100,000 residents against 11.8 nationally.

Phone numbers in the St. Louis, MO-IL area

The area's named cities and towns have 1,483 NANPA-assigned exchanges across 8 area codes; 314 has the most (49%). Callata includes up to 3 local numbers, so a business serving several parts of the area can hold a number in each.

Local numbers by city

Pages for 66 cities and towns in the area list their area codes, prefixes and carriers.

Phone costs for a typical St. Louis, MO-IL business

An 18-person team is the benchmark here, the rounded average establishment size in St. Louis, MO-IL. Billed per seat at month-to-month list prices (checked September 28, 2026), RingCentral RingEX Core costs $540.00 a month and Ooma Office Pro $449.10. Callata comes to $359.00 a month for 18 users ($99 a month with 5 users included, then $20 per additional user), below both.

Callata in St. Louis, MO-IL

For $99 a month, Callata puts a team of up to 5 on one plan ($20 for each person after that): up to 3 local numbers, unlimited inbound calls, a pooled allowance of 1,500 outbound US and Canada minutes per user, browser and cell calling, voicemail transcription with urgency triage, recorded calls with AI summaries and business-hours routing, with E911 on every number.

Porting a number you already use in St. Louis, MO-IL is free, and business texting is available once the carrier registration (10DLC) is approved; the registration carries a one-time $49 fee. Which specific numbers are open in a given area code depends on carrier inventory at the time you sign up.

AI agents are optional: an AI receptionist or scheduler can pick up when the team is busy or closed, take a message, send a text or email, or transfer the call. They draw on prepaid AI minutes ($0.25/minute), disclose that they are AI, and outbound AI calls require prior consent and are limited to 8am–9pm.