417 Area Code 🌍☎️

Springfield is the third most populous city in Missouri with a 2020 population of 169,176 and serves as the county seat of Greene County in the Ozarks region. The Springfield metropolitan area encompasses Christian, Dallas, Greene, Polk, and Webster counties with an estimated 2022 population of 487,061. Known as the "Queen City of the Ozarks" and "The Birthplace of Route 66," Springfield is also called the "Buckle of the Bible Belt" for its strong evangelical Christian heritage. The city is headquarters for major retailers Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's, home to O'Reilly Auto Parts (founded 1957), and serves as a regional medical hub anchored by CoxHealth and Mercy hospitals, the city's largest employers. Springfield hosts Missouri State University, Drury University, and Evangel University, functioning as an important regional center for distribution, logistics, manufacturing, and medical care. Joplin is the 12th most-populous city in Missouri with 51,762 residents according to the 2020 census, located in Jasper and Newton counties on the outer edge of the Ozark Mountains in southwestern Missouri and serving as the principal city of a five-county metropolitan area with 210,077 people. The city was permanently established on March 23, 1873, following the merger of two competing settlements named after Reverend Harris G. Joplin and developed into the world's lead and zinc-mining capital by the early 20th century, with extensive mining creating a landscape dotted with open-pit mines and mineshafts that left approximately 75% of the main city undermined. Joplin built cultural landmarks including the Carnegie Library in 1902 and the Electric Theater in 1930, becoming a regional hub connected by trolley and rail lines. On May 22, 2011, an EF5 tornado devastated the city, killing more than 150 people and destroying one-third of its structures. The city's mining heritage left behind numerous tailings piles and sinkholes that occasionally form from cave-ins of shafts exceeding 100 feet in depth. Branson is a resort city in Missouri's Ozark Mountains, straddling Taney and Stone counties, with a 2020 population of 12,638 - nearly one-fourth of Taney County's total. Named after postmaster and general store operator Reuben Branson in the 1880s, the city was formally incorporated on April 1, 1912, following the completion of the nearby Powersite Dam and Lake Taneycomo. Harold Bell Wright's 1907 novel *The Shepherd of the Hills* became an international bestseller that established Branson as a major tourist destination, spawning the long-running outdoor drama production and inspiring Paul Henning's 1962 television series *The Beverly Hillbillies*. The city transformed into an entertainment hub with over 50 theaters concentrated along Highway 76 Country Boulevard, beginning with Jim Owen's 1934 Hillbilly Theater and including attractions like Silver Dollar City (opened 1960) and Dolly Parton's Stampede. Branson is also home to the Branson Cross, North America's largest cross monument, and has hosted major musical acts at venues including the Swiss Villa Amphitheatre.