The Southwest region is made up of seven counties, and contains Joplin, the region’s largest city.  Historic attractions in the area include the George Washington Carver National Monument and Harry S. Truman’s birthplace.  Major industries in the region include Information Technology, Manufacturing, and Warehousing/ Distribution. Major companies including La-Z-Boy, General Mills, and Jack Henry & Associates have operations in the Southwest.

May 2013: Express Scripts announced plans to locate a new patient-service call center in Joplin, an expansion that is expected to create 100 new local jobs. The new call center represents a capital investment of $960,000 into the local economy.

April 2013: AT&T announced plans to add 48 new positions at their Joplin call center.

December 2012: Innovative Objects CEO Russ Grundy announced plans for a new, $5 million central headquarters for his three subsidiary companies - PILR, Audio Input and Wyerless. Grundy said the expansion will allow the three companies - which currently have separate locations to each double the sizes of their staffs within the next two years. Innovative Objects, through its subsidiaries, currently employs 25. Grundy said the new building will allow space for another 25-30 employees, most of whom would fill IT and technical positions.

Having hired nearly 50 employees during the months of October and November, AT&T has pledged to add another 48 employees to its Joplin call center in the coming months.

October 2012: Blue Buffalo, one of the country’s largest independent pet-food companies, broke ground in Joplin on a new manufacturing and distribution center, an investment that is expected to create up to 150 new local manufacturing jobs.

Don's Cold Storage, an Arkansas-based company that provides temperature-controlled warehouse and transportation services to a variety of industries, announced plans to construct a new cold storage and distribution center in Joplin, a capital investment of $14 million that is expected to create 52 new local jobs.

August 2012: Schaeffler Group USA announced it would make a $41.1 million capital investment in its Joplin facility.

July 2012: Coca-Cola broke ground on a new $5.5 million distribution center. The 56,000-square-foot center will open in early 2013. The center's work force will grow from 55 to 100 employees through consolidation of company operations.

Key Industries:

Information Technology, Manufacturing, Warehousing/Distribution

Major Employers:

Able Manufacturing (HQ Joplin) 
Aegis Communications (Joplin) 
Butterball Turkey (Carthage) 
Cardinal Scale (HQ Webb City) 
Con-way (HQ Joplin)
Ducommun Inc. (Joplin)
EaglePicher Technologies (HQ Joplin) 
Empire District Electric Co. (HQ Joplin)
General Mills Bakeries & Food Service (Joplin)  
Leggett & Platt, Inc. (HQ Carthage) 
Jack Henry & Associates (HQ Monett) 
Jasper Products (HQ Joplin)
Lozier Corp (Joplin)
Moark Productions (Neosho)
Nutra-Blend LLC (HQ Neohso)
Premiere Turbines (HQ Neosho)
RockTenn (Joplin) 
Schaeffler Group USA (Joplin) 
Schreiber Foods (Carthage) 
Sunbeam Products (Neosho)
TAMKO Roofing Products (Joplin) 
Thorco Industries (Lamar)  

Area	Population 2011	Population Projection 2030	Civilian Labor Force (July 2012)	Employment (July 2012)	Unemployment (July 2012)	Unemployment Rate (July 2012)
Barry County	35,282	44,295	17,064	15,897	1,167	6.80%
Barton County	12,327	13,730	5,005	4,544	461	9.20%
Dade County	7,807	6,977	3,438	3,142	296	8.60%
Jasper County	118,435	152,490	60,230	56,327	3,903	6.50%
Lawrence County	38,660	47,249	18,576	17,340	1,236	6.70%
Mcdonald County	22,977	28,078	11,392	10,508	884	8%
Newton County	58,414	66,663	30,382	28,170	2,212	7%
Southwest Region Summary	293,902	359,482	146,087	135,928	10,159	7.00%

Median Wages:

The regional average wage was $652 per week in the 1st Quarter of 2012.

Major roads in the region include I-44, US-60, US-71 and US-160. I-44 provides access to St. Louis, Springfield, and Oklahoma City.  US-60 links Virginia to Arizona, with major junctions at Richmond, Lexington, Louisville, and Phoenix.

US-71 currently extends from the Canadian border all the way to Shreveport; a large section of the highway from Missouri south is currently being upgraded to interstate standards as a potential extension of I-49. US-160 begins in Missouri and terminates in Arizona.

Commercial air service for the region is provided by Joplin Regional Airport.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Kansas City Southern provide Class I rail service to the region.

Joplin (Pop: 50,559)
Carthage (14,502)
Webb City (11,095)
Neosho (11,894)
Monett (8,884)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011

Higher Education Institutions:

Crowder College: (Neosho) 2-year, public
Missouri Southern State University: (Joplin) 4-year, public

Educational Attainment:

Area	High School Diploma	Associate's Degree	Bachelor's Degree	Graduate Degree	Total Degrees
Barry County	9,841	1,263	2,081	889	14,074
Barton County	3,790	484	664	438	5,376
Dade County	2,597	306	357	153	3,413
Jasper County	24,430	4,661	9,286	4,353	42,730
Lawrence County	10,427	1,452	2,286	1,094	15,259
Mcdonald County	5,485	474	987	293	7,239
Newton County	13,057	3,086	4,289	2,610	23,042
Southwest Region Summary	69,627	11,726	19,950	9,830	111,133

Missouri Alternative and Renewable Energy Tech (MARET) Center at Crowder College: The mission of the MARET Center is to expand renewable energy throughout the region with education, applied research, and economic development. Educational programs include certification and transfer degrees encompassing green construction, solar thermal energy, solar electricity, wind, and bio fuels. The MARET Center also assists in new product development and other business support services in renewable energy.

Residents of the Southwest Region enjoy quality health care facilities, one of the lowest costs of living in the United States, and a variety of recreational options.

Major hospitals in the area include McCune Brooks Regional Hospital (Carthage),  Freeman Health System (Joplin), Mercy Joplin,  and Cox Monett.

The Battle of Carthage State Historic Site and Civil War Museum highlights one of the earliest battles in the Civil War.

The National Fish Hatchery  located in Neosho is the oldest federal fish hatchery in the United States.

On the outskirts of Joplin lies the George Washington Carver National Monument. The 240-acre national park is the birthplace and childhood home of George Washington Carver, the famous black argonomist, educator and humanitarian.

The birthplace of the Harry Truman  is located in Lamar.

Historic Route 66 passes through Carthage, Joplin, and Webb City.