About Vernon County, Missouri

In southwest Missouri, Vernon County is home to roughly 20,000 residents and a network of communities shaped by agriculture, industry, small business, education, and a strong sense of rural identity. Nevada, the county seat and largest community, serves as the region’s center for employment, healthcare, education, shopping, and services.

Agriculture remains deeply rooted in the region, alongside manufacturing, healthcare, education, skilled trades, and locally owned businesses. Longstanding employers such as 3M provide an industrial foundation, while a growing group of entrepreneurs is demonstrating how technology can extend the reach of a rural economy. Agzaga, based in the small town of Sheldon, is one example, using technology to serve agricultural customers well beyond Vernon County and showing that a scalable company can grow from a rural place.

The county also has a substantial education and workforce foundation. Cottey College brings students from across the United States and around the world to Nevada, giving the community a distinctive connection to a much broader network. Crowder College’s Nevada campus, the Nevada Regional Technical Center, and the Missouri Welding Institute provide additional pathways into college credentials, skilled trades, technical education, and career advancement. The Regional Technical Center alone offers multiple credential-based programs, giving students practical skills that connect directly to the workforce.

Entrepreneurship is becoming another important part of Vernon County’s next chapter. Build Vernon County is bringing economic development, business support, workforce, education, philanthropy, and local government partners together around a more coordinated countywide approach. Regional resources such as the New Growth Women’s Business Center add business counseling and access to microlending, while local leaders are working to create more opportunities for founders to meet one another, connect with mentors, strengthen their businesses, and better understand the resources available to them.

That work is happening alongside continued investment in place. Nevada’s historic downtown, Main Street activity, community events, philanthropic institutions, and gathering spaces are helping strengthen the experience of living and doing business locally. At the same time, local partners are thinking more intentionally about how to connect residents with careers, support people who want to return home, and make opportunities visible throughout the county.

Together, these assets give Vernon County a strong foundation for what comes next. The county’s momentum lies in connecting entrepreneurship, education, workforce development, capital, technology, and quality of place so they reinforce one another. The vision is a Vernon County where more people can see a future for themselves, whether that means launching a new company, growing an existing business, learning a new skill, or building a career in the community they call home.

Community Partners

Build Vernon County, Inc.

Build Vernon County, Inc. is the nonprofit economic development organization serving Nevada and communities throughout Vernon County. As the county’s coordinated rural development hub, Build VC works across entrepreneurship, workforce development, business growth and retention, and community revitalization.

Its countywide approach brings together businesses, educators, local governments, nonprofits, funders, and regional partners around a shared goal: making it easier for people and businesses to find resources, build connections, and turn opportunity into lasting economic growth.

Crowder College Nevada

Crowder College Nevada provides accessible higher education and workforce training through the Moss Higher Education Learning Center. The campus offers associate degrees, certificates, and career pathways spanning areas including business, allied health, nursing, career and technical education, fine arts, and math and physical sciences.

Its presence gives Vernon County an important local pathway for residents seeking education, credentials, and skills without having to leave the region.

Cottey College

Cottey College is an independent liberal arts and sciences college for women located in Nevada. Founded in 1884, Cottey combines academic study with leadership development, experiential learning, global awareness, and a strong commitment to social responsibility.

With students arriving from across the United States and around the world, Cottey gives Vernon County an unusual international connection while contributing talent, ideas, facilities, and educational capacity to the local community.

Vernon County

Vernon County provides local government services to residents and communities throughout the county while partnering with municipalities, businesses, educational institutions, nonprofits, and regional organizations on infrastructure, community development, and economic opportunity.

Its countywide perspective is especially important as local partners work to ensure that new resources and opportunities extend beyond Nevada and reach communities throughout Vernon County.

City of Nevada

The City of Nevada is the municipal government for Vernon County’s largest community and county seat. Through municipal services, infrastructure, planning, and community development, the city helps create the conditions for residents, businesses, and institutions to thrive.

Nevada’s role as the county’s primary center for commerce, education, healthcare, and services also makes the city an important partner in economic and community initiatives that can create benefits across the wider county.

Nevada/Vernon County Chamber of Commerce

The Nevada/Vernon County Chamber of Commerce is an action-oriented membership organization that connects and promotes businesses, organizations, residents, and visitors throughout the area.

Through business promotion, networking, information, events, and community partnerships, the Chamber helps strengthen the relationships that support both economic vitality and quality of life across Nevada and Vernon County.

Nevada/Vernon County Community Foundation

The Nevada/Vernon County Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, connects charitable giving with local needs and opportunities.

By building philanthropic resources, supporting charitable funds, and investing in community projects, the Foundation helps provide the long-term civic capacity needed to strengthen Vernon County as both a place to live and a place to build.

“We believe rural communities can create meaningful opportunities for people to build careers, businesses, and lives without having to leave the places they call home.”

Tina Cochran, Economic Development Director, Build Vernon County, Inc.

What Being a Member of the Network Means to Vernon County

For Vernon County, joining the Rural Innovation Network builds on a broader effort already underway: bringing local government, education, business, philanthropy, entrepreneurship, and economic development partners together around a shared vision for the county’s future.

Network membership connects Vernon County with rural communities across the country that are asking similar questions about how to support entrepreneurs, develop talent, strengthen existing industries, create technology-enabled opportunities, and give more people reasons to stay or return. Those relationships provide a chance to exchange ideas, learn from models being tested elsewhere, and bring new perspectives back to southwest Missouri.

Vernon County also brings its own experience to that national community. Its assets range from a globally connected college and technical education institutions to manufacturers, agricultural businesses, entrepreneurs, community foundations, and small towns with their own economic identities. Increasingly, those pieces are being connected through a countywide approach that recognizes rural innovation can take many forms.