On July 1, 2007, the estimated population was 154,777. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, ranked 114th in the U.S., includes the counties of Christian, Dallas, Greene, Polk and Webster. Springfield is near the population center of the United States, about 80 miles (130 km) to the east.
Springfield's nickname is the "The Queen City of the Ozarks." It is also known as "The Cultural Center of the Ozarks," "The Gateway to the Ozarks" and "The Birthplace of Route 66," due to its connection with the designation of U.S. Route 66.
In 2008, America's Promise Alliance ranked Springfield among its "100 Best Communities for Young People" for the third year in a row [1], which "includes cities and small towns located across the United States that are wonderful places for youth to live and grow up."
In 2007, The Milken Institute ranked Springfield as a "Best Performing City" for creating and sustaining jobs, and Expansion Management magazine listed Springfield among "Best Mid-Sized Metros for Recruitment and Attraction." Also that year, Worldwide ERC named Springfield among "The Best Cities for Relocating Families," and the World Health Organization designated Springfield as a "Safe Community."
According to Forbes magazine's list of "America's Wildest Weather Cities," Springfield has the most varied weather in the nation.
According to the US Census 2000, 151,580 people, 64,691 households, and 35,709 families resided in the city. The population density was 2,072.0 people per square mile (800.0/km²). There were 69,650 housing units at an average density of 952.1/sq mi (367.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.69% White, 3.27% African American, 0.75% Native American, 1.36% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 0.88% from other races, and 1.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.31% of the population.
There were 64,691 households out of which 24.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.7% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.8% were non-families. 35.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.82.
In the city 19.9% were under the age of 18, 17.4% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.9% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 92.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $29,563, and the median income for a family was $38,114. Males had a median income of $27,778 versus $20,980 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,711. About 9.9% of families and 15.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.1% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.
Springfield is served by Interstate 44 which connects the city with St. Louis, Missouri and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Route 13 (Kansas Expressway) carries traffic north towards Kansas City, Missouri.
U.S. Route 60, U.S. Route 65, and U.S. Route 160 pass through the city. Formerly U.S. Route 66 and U.S. Route 166 passed through Springfield, and sections of historic US 66 can still be seen in the city. US 166's eastern terminus was once located in the northeast section of the city, and US 60 originally ended (westbound) in downtown Springfield. US 60 now goes through town on the James River Freeway.
Major streets include Glenstone Avenue, Sunshine Street (Missouri Route 413), National Avenue, Division Street, Campbell Avenue, Kansas Expressway, Battlefield Road, Republic Road, West Bypass, Chestnut Expressway and Kearney Street.
Springfield has public transportation operated by City Utilities (CU) that serves most areas inside the city limits with its fleet of biodiesel-fueled buses.
Springfield-Branson National Airport (SGF) serves the city with direct flights to 12 cities with 33 daily flights. It is the principal air gateway to Springfield region.
In May 2009, the airport opened its new passenger terminal. Financing included $97 million in revenue bonds issued by the airport and $20 million of discretionary federal aviation funds, with no city taxes used. The new building includes 275,000 square feet (25,500 m), 10 gates (expandable to 60) and 1,826 parking spaces.
Direct connections from Springfield are available to Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, Memphis, Minneapolis, Orlando, Phoenix, St. Louis, Tampa and Los Angeles. Future connections may include Daytona Beach, New York City and destinations in the Caribbean. No international flights currently have regular service into Springfield-Branson, but it does serve international charters.
Passenger trains have not served Springfield since 1967, but more than 65 freight trains travel to, from, and through the city each day. Springfield was once home to the headquarters and main shops of the St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad (Frisco). The Frisco was absorbed by the Burlington Northern (BN) in 1980, and in 1994 the BN merged with the Santa Fe, creating the current Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway.
BNSF has three switch yards (two small) in Springfield. Mainlines to and from Kansas City, St. Louis, Memphis and Tulsa converge at the railroad's yard facility in the north part of the city. In October 2006, BNSF announced plans to upgrade its Tulsa and Memphis mainlines into Springfield to handle an additional four to six daily intermodal freight trains between the West Coast and the Southeast.
The Missouri and Northern Arkansas Railroad also operates several miles of (former Missouri Pacific) industrial trackage within the city.
In 2006, the Missouri Department of Transportation and Amtrak studied the possibility of restoring service to the city from St. Louis. The proposed service would have utilized the current BNSF "Cuba Subdivision" mainline between the two cities via Rolla. The plan, however, did not materialize.
City Utilities of Springfield (CU) is a community-owned utility cooperative serving southwest Missouri with electricity, natural gas, water, telecommunications and transit services. CU provides service to over 106,000 customers.
Springfield is a regional medical center with six hospitals and more than 2,200 beds. The city's health care system offers every specialty listed by the American Medical Association.
Two of the top 100 hospitals in the U.S. (CoxHealth and St. John’s Health System) are located in Springfield, and both are in the midst of expansion projects. The industry employs 30,000 people throughout the Springfield metro area.
The United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners, one of six federal institutions designed to handle the medical concerns of federal inmates, is located at the corner of W. Sunshine Street and Kansas Expressway.