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Cape Girardeau, Missouri

Cape Girardeau is a college town of about 41,000 people in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri. It has grown about 3% since 2020. A typical home costs about 3.5 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 99 miles away as the crow flies.

College town

Population
40,977
up 3% since 2020
Typical home, 2020-24
$196,300
Cape Girardeau County prices up 16% since 2022
Household income
$55,658
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Cape Girardeau area
86.1
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
In town
Mercy Hospital Southeast
To St. Louis
99 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 3.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhood192 violent crimes were reported in 2025, about 4.7 per 1,000 people (U.S.: 3.3). Property crime: 17.2 per 1,000 (U.S.: 15.3).
  • Schools in town11 public schools: 6 elementary, 2 middle and 3 high schools.
  • A hospital close byMercy Hospital Southeast is in town and has an emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big citySt. Louis is about 99 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 Cape Girardeau 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

College town. About 1 in 6 residents is a college student, with Southeast Missouri State University and Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing and Health Sciences in town. Concerts, sports and good food all year, and a big employer that rarely closes. Expect higher home prices close to campus.

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
$196,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 16%Cape Girardeau County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$876 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$55,658U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
54%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$1,380 a yearMissouri: $1,948
Homes built before 1940
12%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
8%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
2%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: county prices have moved up 16% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Cape Girardeau metro area, not Cape Girardeau 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
40,9772020: 39,774
Median age
34.5 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
20%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
17%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
35%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
11%U.S.: 6%
College students
16%share of all residents

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 (31%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (15%); retail (11%)
Unemployment rate
3%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
16 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
8%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
21%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Mercy Hospital Southeast, Cape Girardeau, MO, in town. 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

11 public schools in Cape Girardeau, run by Cape Girardeau 63 and Division of Youth Service.

Colleges in or next to town: Southeast Missouri State University (5,000 to 9,999 students); Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing and Health Sciences (under 1,000 students).

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on Missouri'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
74%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
88%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
47 a year
Nights at or below freezing
90 a year
Rain and melted snow
50.5 inches a year
Snow
8 inches a year
Elevation
376 feet

Weather stations: Cape Girardeau Muni Ap (6 miles away) and Jackson (8 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: St. Louis.

Cape Girardeau 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

48 places on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Broadway Commercial Historic District, the Broadway and North Fountain Street Historic District, the Broadway-Middle Commercial Historic District and Broadway-Middle Commercial Historic District (Boundary Increase).

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Ste. Genevieve National Historical Park51 miles

Campus life. Check Southeast Missouri State University's events calendar for games, concerts and plays open to the public.

Read about Cape Girardeau's history on Wikipedia.

Know Cape Girardeau?

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

  • East Cape Girardeau, IL251 people, 4 miles
  • Dutchtown, MO (unincorporated)187 people, 6 miles
  • Gordonville, MO626 people, 6 miles
  • McClure, IL223 people, 7 miles
  • Kelso, MO551 people, 8 miles
  • Thebes, IL181 people, 9 miles
  • New Hamburg, MO (unincorporated)247 people, 12 miles
  • Delta, MO382 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.