Short answer
The Kansas City metro area had 274 advertising, PR and related agency offices with paid staff in 2023, employing 6,760 people, according to the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns. Jackson County, Missouri has 117 offices and 4,965 jobs; Johnson County, Kansas has 105. Nine offices have 100 or more employees. To hire a large agency, run a short written search, name the team you're buying, and agree conflicts and audit terms before the pitch.
- Kansas City's 274 agency offices average 24.7 employees, against about 12 nationally.
- Jackson County's 117 agency offices employ 4,965 people, about 42 per office.
- Advertising agencies alone employ 3,883 people here and paid $104,777 per employee.
- Nine offices have 100 or more employees, five of them 250 or more.
- Write the agency team you're buying into the contract, with a say over replacements.
On this page
This report is for companies hiring a marketing agency in the Kansas City area, especially a larger one, and for vendors that sell to agencies. It covers the Census count on both sides of the state line, the size and type of agencies, how to run a search, what agencies charge, and how the big agencies here buy.
Two states, one market
County Business Patterns 2023 reports NAICS 5418 (advertising, public relations and related services) for the Kansas City metro area:
| County | Offices | Employees | Employees per office |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson, MO | 117 | 4,965 | 42.4 |
| Johnson, KS | 105 | 1,351 | 12.9 |
| Clay, MO | 21 | 258 | 12.3 |
| Platte, MO | 14 | 41 | 2.9 |
| Wyandotte, KS | 6 | 97 | 16.2 |
| Miami, KS | 5 | not reported (high-noise figure) | not reported |
| Cass, MO | 4 | not reported (high-noise figure) | not reported |
| Metro area | 274 | 6,760 | 24.7 |
Employees per office is our calculation. The counties shown hold 272 offices; two more are elsewhere in the metro. Where employment is "not reported", the Census Bureau published it but flagged it as high-noise: the noise added for confidentiality moved it by 5% or more. The metro's agency offices paid $606.8 million in 2023, $89,768 per employee, and are 0.71% of the 38,864 in the US.
CBP counts establishments with paid employees, not companies. A firm with offices in the Crossroads and in Overland Park would count twice, once in each state, and owner-only shops aren't counted.
Size: a few large agencies among many small ones
| Employees at the office | Offices |
|---|---|
| 1 to 4 | 169 |
| 5 to 9 | 36 |
| 10 to 19 | 30 |
| 20 to 49 | 25 |
| 50 to 99 | 5 |
| 100 to 249 | 4 |
| 250 or more | 5 |
The Census Bureau doesn't publish the cells above 249 employees here; the five offices with 250 or more are the total less the published cells. Those few large offices explain the average; 169 of the 274 still have fewer than five employees.
What kinds of agencies
Advertising agencies hold most of the jobs, 3,883 of the 6,760. By code:
- Advertising agencies, including digital (541810): 114 offices, 3,883 employees, $406.8 million in payroll, or $104,777 per employee (our calculation).
- Other advertising services, such as promotional products and demonstrations (541890): 74 offices, 684 employees.
- PR agencies (541820): 38 offices, 439 employees.
- Out-of-home display (541850): 18 offices, 101 employees.
- Direct mail (541860): 15 offices, 350 employees.
- Media representatives (541840) and flyer distribution (541870): 7 offices each; employment not reported (high-noise figures).
These add to 273 of the 274 offices; the Census Bureau publishes no separate figure for media buying agencies (541830) here. Beyond the 5418 codes sit 345 marketing consultancies (541613) employing 1,690 people, and 116 graphic design studios (541430). SEC EDGAR lists no listed company in the advertising codes headquartered in the metro.
How to run an agency search
A large-agency hire is worth a written process. A short one:
- Write a two-page brief. The business problem, the budget range, the work you expect in year one, and how you'll measure it.
- Screen on paper. Ask five or six agencies for relevant work, the team they'd assign and their client list, so you can spot conflicts with your competitors.
- Meet three for chemistry. An hour each, with the people who would actually work on your account.
- Ask two for a response to the brief. If you want creative ideas, offer a pitch fee; asking for free speculative work narrows the field to agencies that can afford to give it away.
- Negotiate before you announce. Agree the terms below while you still have a second choice.
The terms that matter most with a large agency:
| Term | What to ask for |
|---|---|
| Named team | The account lead, creative lead and strategist by name, with your approval over replacements |
| Conflicts | No work for named direct competitors during the contract |
| Media and third-party costs | Whether the agency buys as your agent or as principal, and audit rights over what it pays |
| Ownership | Your company as owner of ad accounts and data, and a signed copyright assignment for final work |
| Reporting | The metrics, the cadence, and access to raw platform data |
On media, Omnicom's 10-K says some of its media buying businesses act as principal, contracting directly with media vendors and taking the pricing risk. A 2016 study for the Association of National Advertisers found rebate deals of 1.67% to about 20% of media spend, most of them undisclosed or not passed through. Audit rights let you check.
On ownership, Google's advertiser guide says an agency "must set up a separate Ads account for you," and the Copyright Office explains that commissioned work is a "work made for hire" only in nine narrow categories and with a signed agreement.
What Kansas City agencies charge
Large agencies price their work in several ways, which Omnicom's 10-K lists: a fee or hourly rate for the effort, commissions on the media they buy, incentives tied to results, and reimbursed third-party costs. Few publish rates. The General Services Administration publishes the maximum hourly rates that agencies agree for federal orders on its schedule contracts. No vendor based in the Kansas City metro holds one with an advertising, PR or marketing consulting category, but the national figures show how rates differ by firm size. Median ceiling rates by vendor size (our calculation from GSA's data, 30 October 2026):
| Role | Small businesses | Larger firms |
|---|---|---|
| Creative director | $184 (93 vendors) | $210 (15 vendors) |
| Art director | $147 (53 vendors) | $165 (14 vendors) |
| Account manager or executive | $141 (77 vendors) | $156 (22 vendors) |
| Media planner or buyer | $121 (43 vendors) | $146 (8 vendors) |
These are ceilings for government work; commercial fees are negotiated. The gap between the columns, roughly 10% to 20% for these roles, is a rough guide to the premium for a larger firm.
Selling to Kansas City agencies
At the 14 offices with 50 or more employees, buying runs through operations, finance and IT: expect a security questionnaire, a vendor setup form and a pilot. At the 235 offices with fewer than 20, the owner decides.
Illustrative example. The company, prices and results are fictional.
Crewlist (crewlist.example) supplies freelance producers, editors and motion designers to agencies by the week. It targets the 39 offices with 20 or more employees (25 + 5 + 4 + 5). If each large office books an illustrative 20 freelancer-weeks a year at a $1,500 margin, one customer is worth $30,000; five customers would be $150,000. The opening email ties to a public event: a new account win announced on the agency's news page, often followed by a production crunch. Matching the 39 offices to the production lead at each is where Bebop saves time.
Where to check Kansas City agencies
- The Missouri Secretary of State's business search for agencies registered in Missouri.
- The Kansas Secretary of State for agencies registered in Kansas; its entity search page blocked our automated check, so search it directly.
- AMA Kansas City, the American Marketing Association's chapter.
- The Kansas City Area Development Council, the two-state region's economic development organization.
Next step: see which national groups own many agency brands in the largest advertising agencies and holding companies.
Sources
- County Business Patterns 2023, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- North American Industry Classification System 2022: definitions and cross-references, US Census Bureau, accessed 30 October 2026
- Omnicom Group Inc. Form 10-K for 2025, Omnicom Group, via SEC EDGAR, 20 February 2026
- Media Transparency Initiative: overview of the K2 Intelligence study, Association of National Advertisers, 7 June 2016, accessed 30 October 2026
- Advertiser guide: Working with third parties, Google Advertising Policies Help, accessed 30 October 2026
- Circular 30: Works Made for Hire, US Copyright Office, revised August 2024
- CALC+ Labor Ceiling Rates (Marketing and Public Relations export), US General Services Administration, accessed 30 October 2026
- Business Entity Search, Missouri Secretary of State, accessed 30 October 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many marketing agencies are in Kansas City?
274 in 2023, on both sides of the state line: that's the Census Bureau's count of advertising, PR and related agency offices with paid staff in the Kansas City metro area, which employed 6,760 people. Jackson County, Missouri had 117 and Johnson County, Kansas 105. Nine offices had 100 or more employees. Marketing consultancies added another 345 offices. Owner-only shops without payroll aren't counted.
Why are Kansas City's agencies so large on average?
A few large offices pull the average up. The metro's 274 agency offices average 24.7 employees against about 12 nationally, and Jackson County's 117 offices average about 42. Nine offices have 100 or more employees and five have 250 or more, while 169 still have fewer than five. Advertising agencies alone employ 3,883 people in the metro.
How do you run a marketing agency search?
Write a short brief with the problem, budget range and measures. Screen five or six agencies on paper for relevant work, team and conflicts, meet three for chemistry with the people who'd do the work, and ask two to respond to the brief, paying a fee if you want creative ideas. Agree the named team, conflicts, media and audit terms before you announce a winner.
How much do large marketing agencies charge?
Large agencies combine hourly or project fees, commissions on media they buy, incentive payments and reimbursed third-party costs, as Omnicom's 10-K describes. Public rate data comes from federal GSA schedules: larger firms' median ceiling rates are $210 an hour for a creative director and $156 for an account manager, against $184 and $141 at small businesses. Commercial fees are negotiated.
Who are the big 4 in marketing?
There's no official list. The phrase used to mean WPP, Omnicom, Publicis Groupe and Interpublic, the four largest agency holding companies. Omnicom completed its merger with Interpublic on 26 November 2025, so by reported revenue the largest groups are now Omnicom, Publicis and WPP. Each owns many agency brands that pitch and work independently.