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Towns / Illinois

Cairo, Illinois

Cairo is a small town of about 1,500 people in Alexander County, Illinois. It's the county seat. It has lost about 12% of its people since 2020. A typical home costs about 0.8 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, St. Louis, is about 127 miles away as the crow flies.

County seat

Population
1,515
down 12% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$32,000
U.S.: $332,700
Household income
$41,912
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Cape Girardeau area
86.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
24 miles
Sikeston, MO
To St. Louis
127 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 13.9% below the U.S. average in the Cape Girardeau metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 0.8 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI has no 2025 figures for Cairo itself. Many small towns are patrolled by the county sheriff, so call the sheriff's office and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byMissouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, about 24 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySt. Louis is about 127 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Cairo meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

Worth a closer look

Cairo has lost about 12% of its people since 2020, and about 1 in 3 homes stands empty (not counting vacation homes or homes for sale or rent). A shrinking town can mean bargains, but visit Main Street on a weekday and ask what's closed lately.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$32,000U.S.: $332,700
Typical household income
$41,912U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
65%U.S.: 65%
Homes built before 1940
40%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
4%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
86.1U.S. average = 100 (the Cape Girardeau metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Cape Girardeau metro area, not Cairo alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2025 estimate
1,5152020: 1,717
Median age
43.8 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
23%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
23%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
13%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
1%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (30%); retail (23%); transportation, warehousing and utilities (12%)
Average commute
37 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
6%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
19%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Missouri Delta Medical Center, Sikeston, MO, about 24 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 2 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

2 public schools in Cairo, run by Cairo USD 1.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Illinois's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
27%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
56%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
26°F
July average high
89°F
Days 90°F or hotter
42 a year
Nights at or below freezing
81 a year
Rain and melted snow
49.4 inches a year
Snow
7 inches a year
Elevation
315 feet

Weather stations: Cairo 3N (2 miles away) and Grand Chain Dam 53 (16 miles away, rain and snow). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Missouri Delta Medical Center, Jackson, St. Louis.

Alexander County is in a metro area of fewer than 250,000 people (USDA rural-urban code 3, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

4 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Cairo Historic District.

Read about Cairo's history on Wikipedia.

Know Cairo?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Smaller places

  • Wyatt, MO212 people, 3 miles
  • Mound City, IL477 people, 6 miles
  • Wickliffe, KY647 people, 6 miles
  • Mounds, IL600 people, 8 miles
  • Barlow, KY635 people, 8 miles
  • La Center, KY858 people, 12 miles
  • Bardwell, KY713 people, 13 miles
  • Olmsted, IL265 people, 13 miles

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.