The city was founded in 1777 as a fort for the Russian army. It was established as a city in 1785, and in 1822 became the centre of the North Caucasus Territory.
Since the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991, Stavropol has attracted many refugees from neighbouring regions as a result of political and economic chaos and armed conflict near Russia's borders.
The city has technical-training institutes for medicine, education, art, and construction.
The city's economy is concentrated on heavy industry; it has factories that produce automobiles, cranes, furniture, and reinforced concrete. Light industry is also represented with the production of shoes and dairy products. Stavropol- has air, rail (the Kavkazskaya-Divnoe-Elista rail line), and highway connections to other major cities.
It is also linked by bus routes within northern Caucasia. Buses provide important linkages because of the mountainous nature of the area.
From 1935 to 1943 it was known as Voroshilovsk.
