Nurture the growth of your agricultural business in Memphis, where the fertile soil of our rich natural resources meets a world-class transportation network. Embrace the deep roots of innovation that define our city, providing a fertile ground for your venture to thrive.
Explore the thriving landscape of Memphis's agribusiness sector, where traditional practices seamlessly merge with cutting-edge AgTech innovations. Gain a comprehensive snapshot of the dynamic synergy driving agricultural success in our city.
100T
Gallons of the Purest Water From the Memphis Sand Aquifer
52
Varieties of Crops and 19 Million Acres of Productive Growing Space Within 150 Miles
One of 9
counties in the US deemed critical to the US food supply chain.
Agriculture dominates the economy for 100-miles in every direction, and your agricultural business could be at the center of it all in Memphis. With some of the country’s richest soils and one of the purest and most plentiful water supplies in the world, Memphis is the unofficial capital of the 13-million-acre Mississippi Delta.
Memphis is a hotbed for innovative companies driving the future of food. Our diverse and trained talent are fueling farm-to-table food delivery trends and improving farming efficiencies while enhancing yields. Plus, our sustainable surface and groundwater, unmatched logistics and access to abundant farm land with experienced growers have made Memphis ground zero for a new era of agriculture.
| Industry Description | 2018 Jobs | 2023 Jobs | 2028 Jobs | Job Growth 2018 to 2023(%) | Projected Job Growth 2023 to 2028 (%) | 2023 Location Quotient |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers | 951 | 1,017 | 997 | 6.9% | -2.0% | 2.11 |
| Specialized Frieght (except Used Goods) Trucking, Long-Distance | 1,151 | 820 | 730 | -28.8% | -11.0% | 1.51 |
| Crop Production | 934 | 776 | 714 | -16.9% | -8.0% | .35 |
| Paper (expect Newsprint) Mills | 662 | 746 | 365 | 12.7% | -51.1% | 3.66 |
| Rice Milling | 347 | 636 | 802 | 83.3% | 26.1% | 30.09 |
| Soybean and Other Oilseed Processing | 551 | 570 | 574 | 3.4% | 0.7% | 14.29 |
| Specialized Freight (except Used Goods) Trucking, Local | 481 | 504 | 501 | 4.8% | -0.6% | .56 |
| Animal (Except Poultry) Slaughtering | 419 | 449 | 613 | 7.2% | 36.5% | .75 |
| Farm and Garden Machinery and Equipment Merchant Wholesalers | 423 | 397 | 370 | -6.1% | -6.8% | .84 |
| Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) | 268 | 374 | 419 | 39.6% | 12.0% | .17 |
| Top 10 Agribusiness & AgTech | 6,187 | 6,289 | 6,085 | 1.6% | -3.2% | |
| Greater MSA Total | 8,858 | 9,151 | 9,115 | 3.3% | 0.0% |
| Industry Description | 2018 Jobs | 2023 Jobs | 2028 Jobs | Job Growth 2018 to 2023(%) | Projected Job Growth 2023 to 2028 (%) | 2023 Location Quotient |
|---|
Note: Above industries reflect 6-digit NAICS industries within the Memphis TN-MS-AR Metropolitan Area. Employment estimates derived from Lightcast Q4 2024 dataset QCEW Employment.
Location quotient (LQ) is a way of quantifying how concentrated a characteristic of a particular region is compared to the nation. These characteristics could be an industry’s or occupation’s share of employment, resident demographic, online profiles or job postings. The LQ is the calculation that reveals what makes that particular region “unique” in comparison to the national average. For example, if an industry in Greater Memphis accounts for 2.5% of regional jobs but only 1% of jobs nationally, then Greater Memphis has an LQ of 2.5, which means that this industry is 2.5x more concentrated in the region than the typical region.
| Occupation Description | 2018 Jobs | 2023 Jobs | 2028 Projected Jobs | Job Growth 2018 to 2023 (%) | Projected Job Growth 2023 to 2028 (%) | 2023 Location Quotient |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers | 2,879 | 3,635 | 3,665 | 26.3% | 0.8% | 1.54 |
| Packaging and Filling Machine Operators | 2,436 | 1,867 | 1,997 | -23.4 | 6.9% | 1.24 |
| Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse | 1,017 | 1,173 | 1,142 | 15.3% | -2.6% | .57 |
| Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers | 281 | 379 | 387 | 35.0% | 2.1% | .67 |
| Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers | 225 | 185 | 172 | -18.1% | -6.8% | .25 |
| Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals | 223 | 153 | 144 | -31..2% | -6.1% | .33 |
| Agricultural Equipment Operators | 116 | 112 | 117 | -3.6% | 4.7% | .40 |
| Agricultural Workers, All Other | 141 | 100 | 96 | -29.4% | -4.0% | .40 |
| Slaughterers and Meat Packers | 76 | 69 | 80 | -9.8% | 16.6% | .24 |
| First Line Supervisers | 83 | 66 | 67 | -20.9% | 1.8% | .35 |
| Top 10 Occupations: Agribusiness & AgTech | 7,478 | 7,738 | 7,866 | 3.5% | 1.7% |
| Occupation Description | 2018 Jobs | 2023 Jobs | 2028 Projected Jobs | Job Growth 2018 to 2023 (%) | Projected Job Growth 2023 to 2028 (%) | 2023 Location Quotient |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Note: Above occupations reflect Standard Occupational Classifications (SOC codes) within the Memphis TN-MS-AR Metropolitan Area. Estimates derived from Lightcast, Q4 2024 dataset QCEW Employment.
Location quotient (LQ) is a way of quantifying how concentrated a characteristic of a particular region is compared to the nation. These characteristics could be an industry’s or occupation’s share of employment, resident demographic, online profiles or job postings. The LQ is the calculation that reveals what makes that particular region “unique” in comparison to the national average. For example, if an industry in Greater Memphis accounts for 2.5% of regional jobs but only 1% of jobs nationally, then Greater Memphis has an LQ of 2.5, which means that this industry is 2.5x more concentrated in the region than the typical region.
