City · Cape Girardeau County, Missouri

Jackson, Missouri

Jackson is a city in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, part of the Cape Girardeau, MO-IL metro area. It has 15,659 residents. Jackson, Missouri has a quality-of-life score of 55 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #7,111 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Missouri it ranks #115 of 375 cities and towns. It ranks best on mammography screening (high), rent-burdened households (low) and pharmacies (high). It ranks worst on comfortable days (low), distance to an airport (high) and public libraries (low).

55Moderate

Quality-of-life score: #7,111 of 15,651 cities and towns
Missouri: #115 of 375 in MO
Population: 15,659 (2020-2024)
Land area: 11 mi²
Density: 1,449.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 2935648

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 74 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety27#11,367/15,637
Economy63#5,746/15,631
Housing94#878/14,977
Health50#7,835/15,609
Healthcare64#5,628/15,650
Environment5#14,679/15,453
Education65#5,547/15,649
Infrastructure62#5,995/15,650
Community50#7,799/15,651
Leisure & amenities47#8,339/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Jackson, Missouri ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Cape Girardeau County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Mammography screening · high56.0%
94/100Missouri 49.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCape Girardeau County value
Rent-burdened households · low37.2%
91/100Missouri 45.6%United States 51.1%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25070
Pharmacies · high2.5 /10k
90/100Missouri 2.1 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsCape Girardeau County value
Rent as share of income · low25.7%
88/100Missouri 28.1%United States 30.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25071
Preventable hospital stays · low1,970 /100k
86/100Missouri 3,034 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCape Girardeau County value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Missouri 0United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteCape Girardeau County value

Weaknesses

Comfortable days · low22.9%
7/100Missouri 24.9%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationCape Girardeau County value
Distance to an airport · high105 mi
9/100Missouri 40 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauCape Girardeau County value
Public libraries · low0.2 /10k
14/100Missouri 0.6 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesCape Girardeau County value
Primary care shortage · high16.0
14/100Missouri 10.5United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationCape Girardeau County value
Time spent in the emergency room · high208 min
17/100Missouri 161 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesCape Girardeau County value
Firearm deaths · high19.3 /100k
18/100Missouri 20.1 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataCape Girardeau County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
14,872 (2015-2019) → 15,659 (2020-2024)
+5.3%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedWorsening
4.3 /1k (2021) → 3.1 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−28%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Unemployment rateImproving
7.3% (2015-2019) → 1.8% (2020-2024)
−5.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
30.8% (2015-2019) → 35.8% (2020-2024)
+5 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.6× (2015-2019) → 3.1× (2020-2024)
+22%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Median household incomeImproving
$64,497 (2015-2019) → $77,105 (2020-2024)
+20%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Jackson, Missouri improved on 3 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 1. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Unemployment−5.5 points7.3% → 1.8%
Household income+20%$64,497 → $77,105
Broadband+3.2 points87.7% → 91.0%

Declined1

Price / income+0.6×2.6× → 3.1×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Jackson, Missouri between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	20.3 min2015-2019	20.2 min2020-2024	−0.1 min	Within the margin of error	49%
Bachelor's degree or higher	30.8%2015-2019	35.8%2020-2024	+5 points	Within the margin of error	68%
Broadband subscriptions	87.7%2015-2019	91.0%2020-2024	+3.2 points	Improved	21%
Child poverty rate	11.5%2015-2019	10.4%2020-2024	−1.2 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Effective property tax rate	0.73%2015-2019	0.68%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	24%
High school diploma or higher	91.6%2015-2019	94.4%2020-2024	+2.8 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Home price to income ratio	2.6×2015-2019	3.1×2020-2024	+0.6×	Declined	44%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4482015-2019	0.4162020-2024	−0.032	Within the margin of error	75%
Median household income	$64,4972015-2019	$77,1052020-2024	+20%	Improved	32%
Poverty rate	9.4%2015-2019	8.6%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Rent as share of income	23.3%2015-2019	25.7%2020-2024	+2.4 points	Within the margin of error	37%
Rent-burdened households	35.9%2015-2019	37.2%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Unemployment rate	7.3%2015-2019	1.8%2020-2024	−5.5 points	Improved	96%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	7.9%2015-2019	6.0%2020-2024	−1.9 points	Within the margin of error	68%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Jackson, Missouri five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Jackson, Missouri in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Jackson, Missouri itself moved −1.9 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

15,659 residents (±61)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

6,173 households (±287)

Jackson, Missouri
Missouri share

Under $25k12%710
$25k–50k20%1,216
$50k–75k17%1,030

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

6,173 households (±287)

Jackson, Missouri
Missouri share

Own71%4,387
Rent29%1,786

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

8,162 workers (±464)

Jackson, Missouri
Missouri share

Drive alone79%6,436
Carpool7.8%†635
Public transit0.1%†11

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Cape Girardeau, MO-IL

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Cape Girardeau County, the county holding most of Jackson's residents.

Cape Girardeau County has 2,334 employer establishments, 281 for every 10,000 residents (1.13× the US rate of 248; 1.15× Missouri's), with 39,319 paid employees at an average annual pay of $47,550. The Census Bureau also counts 6,484 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 2,334; 6,484 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 281; US 248 · Missouri 244
Paid employees: 39,319
Average annual pay: $47,550; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Cape Girardeau County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	220	26.5	1.27×More than typical	3,670	$63,634	291
Restaurants and other eating places	185	22.3	1.21×About typical	4,090	$18,411	29
Specialty trade contractors	123	14.8	0.96×About typical	1,101	$61,004	454
Limited-service restaurants	85	10.2	1.28×More than typical	1,881	$17,394	9
Lessors of real estate	84	10.1	0.82×About typical	268	$40,250	889
Full-service restaurants	78	9.4	1.22×About typical	1,911	$19,958	13
Insurance agencies and brokerages	73	8.8	2.00×More than typical	264	$49,992	165
Religious organizations	73	8.8	1.59×More than typical	747	$20,424	—
Construction of buildings	65	7.8	1.04×About typical	488	$63,117	229
Offices of physicians	60	7.2	1.12×About typical	1,025	$124,264	60
Automotive repair and maintenance	59	7.1	1.41×More than typical	286	$47,902	106
Offices of other health practitioners	58	7	1.15×About typical	417	$42,595	146

Rank places for an industry Open Cape Girardeau County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 82,969 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $0 of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Jackson, Missouri: $0 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $0
Per resident: $0; US $1,994
Sole-source: —; US 30%
Single offer: —; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

430.4FY2017
-14.4KFY2018
-15.1KFY2019
227.6KFY2020
37.6KFY2021
-14.4KFY2022
117.3KFY2024

What was bought

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Jackson, Missouri, so they do not add up across cities.

Jackson, Missouri's figures are part of those of Cape Girardeau County, MO ($1.8M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Jackson is mostly in Cape Girardeau County.

See federal money in Cape Girardeau County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Jackson, Missouri is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Jason SmithR-MO-8 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 1.3%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Cape Girardeau County53100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Cape Girardeau, MO-IL50

Other cities and towns in Cape Girardeau County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2935648

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends