Big metro areas are the engines of growth in many states, but not here. The Missouri portion of the St. Louis area is right at the state average for job gains since 1969, below average in population growth and above average in income growth — but, remember, the state set a low bar for performance. The Missouri side of the Kansas City area looks even worse.

Missouri’s big metros aren’t its worst economic performers — that distinction goes to the rural counties of northern Missouri and the Bootheel — but neither have they been the hot spots the state needs.

To a large extent, Missouri suffers from Rust Belt syndrome. Much of the industrial base it had 50 years ago moved to the South or overseas. “It’s a real long process” to recover from that blow, Hafer says. “I don’t think people appreciate how long it takes to overcome these trends.”

What the state needs to focus on now are ways to end the losing streak. If we can put aside rural-versus-urban sectionalism and focus resources on the things that matter, such as education and infrastructure, we have a chance to make the next 50 years better than the last 50.

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