That's according to a new study from SmartAsset.com, which found we rank in the top 20 nationwide on just that metric. In fact, at No. 14, we came within one point of making the top ten. So close!
And this isn't one of those studies that purport to capture the zeitgeist based on polling a handful of people in every state or counting the number of playgrounds per capita. (Yes, those studies exist and yes, other media outlets keep lapping them up; le sigh.)
Instead, the authors here looked at the cost of living indexed to the national average and then used 2017 Bureau of Labor Statistics to tally the people working in 28 different jobs as a percentage of total metro-area population.*** St. Louis, which has 69.8 people working in creative fields per every 10,000 people, did significantly better than the national average.
So who cares if we can't get the trash picked up and our weather is about as crazy as a cyclone in a hamster farm? We're a good place to pursue your dreams and not starve to death. Doesn't that count for something major?
*** Those jobs include: art directors; craft artists; fine artists, including painters, sculptors and illustrators; multimedia artists and animators; all other artists and related workers; commercial and industrial designers; floral designers; graphic designers; interior designers; set and exhibit designers; all other designers; actors; producers and directors; choreographers; music directors and composers; musicians and singers; all other entertainers and performers, sports and related workers; editors; writers and authors; sound engineering technicians; photographers; film and video editors; dancers; fashion designers; reporters and correspondents; postsecondary art, drama and music teachers; curators and architects
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