Metro area · Missouri
Cape Girardeau, MO-IL metro area
Cape Girardeau, MO-IL is a metropolitan area of 3 counties in Missouri, Illinois, home to 99,215 residents. Cape Girardeau, MO-IL metro area has a quality-of-life score of 50 out of 100 (moderate), ranking #465 of 925 US metro and micro areas. Among metro and micro areas based in Missouri it ranks #9 of 25. It ranks best on mammography screening (high), pharmacies (high) and preventable hospital stays (low). It ranks worst on high ozone days (high), comfortable days (low) and distance to an airport (high).
- Quality-of-life score
- #465 of 925 metro and micro areas
- Missouri
- #9 of 25 in MO
- Population
- 99,215 (2025)
- Land area
- 1,432 mi²
- Density
- 69.3 /mi²
- CBSA code
- 16020
Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 67 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.
Scores by category
Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.
- Safety38#576/924
- Economy51#453/925
- Housing66#315/925
- Health47#488/925
- Healthcare79#193/923
- Environment3#891/917
- Education68#301/925
- Infrastructure36#596/925
- Community64#333/925
- Leisure & amenities48#481/925
Strengths · Weaknesses
Indicators where Cape Girardeau, MO-IL metro area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).
Strengths
- Mammography screening · high54.7%87/100Missouri 49.0%United States 46.0%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
- Pharmacies · high2.2 /10k85/100Missouri 2.1 /10kUnited States 1.8 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsAggregated from counties
- Preventable hospital stays · low1,995 /100k83/100Missouri 3,034 /100kUnited States 2,769 /100k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
- Cost of buying a home today · low26.9%
- Loneliness · low32.1%78/100Missouri 32.5%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionAggregated from counties
- Injury deaths · low81 /100k71/100Missouri 106 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Weaknesses
- High ozone days · high3 days12/100Missouri 2 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyAggregated from counties
- Comfortable days · low23.4%14/100Missouri 24.9%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationAggregated from counties
- Distance to an airport · high105 mi15/100Missouri 40 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauAggregated from counties
- New homes permitted · low0.9 /1k
- Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high8.6 µg/m³20/100Missouri 7.9 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyAggregated from counties
- Firearm deaths · high18.6 /100k27/100Missouri 20.1 /100kUnited States 12.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionAggregated from counties
Trends
The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.
- Drought exposureWorsening
0% (2021) → 45% (Oct 2025–Sep 2026)
+45 pts5 yearsUS 40% → 43%
- Voter turnoutWorsening
85.6% (2020) → 65.1% (2024)
−20 pts4 yearsUS 68.5% → 65.2%
- Firearm deathsWorsening
12.1 /100k (2021) → 18.6 /100k (May 2025–Apr 2026)
+54%5 yearsUS 14.7 /100k → 12.1 /100k
- Child care cost burdenWorsening
19.8% (2020 & 2021) → 30.3% (2023 & 2024)
+11 pts3 yearsUS 24.5% → 27.9%
- New homes permittedWorsening
1.8 /1k (2021) → 0.9 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−49%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
- Violent crime rateImproving
580 /100k (2020) → 303 /100k (2025)
−48%5 yearsUS 389 /100k → 328 /100k
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.
Metro and micro areas like Cape Girardeau, MO-IL metro area five years ago that improved
The places whose measures looked most like those of Cape Girardeau, MO-IL metro area 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.
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).
Income
How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.
Homes
Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.
Getting to work
How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.
Jobs and pay
What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.
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.
Federal contract spending
Federal grants & assistance
Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.
Counties in Cape Girardeau, MO-IL
Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.
States
The share of the area's residents living in each state.
Principal cities
The cities the area is named for.
Largest cities and towns
By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.
- Cape Girardeau40,344
- Jackson15,659
- Marble Hill1,758
- Cairo1,682
- Tamms589
- Delta532
- Olive Branch499
- Gordonville473
- Thebes353
- Oak Ridge298
- East Cape Girardeau283
- Millersville280
- McClure239
- Sedgewickville201
- Dutchtown187
- Burfordville147
- Allenville127
- Shawneetown122
- Old Appleton109
- Unity77
- Whitewater64
- Pocahontas55
- Glen Allen50
- Zalma50
Other metro and micro areas in Missouri
Areas based in Missouri, best score first.
- St. Louis, MO-IL72
- Kansas City, MO-KS73
- Springfield, MO49
- Columbia, MO84
- Joplin, MO-KS31
- Jefferson City, MO76
- St. Joseph, MO-KS46
- Farmington, MO25
- Branson, MO33
- Warrensburg, MO53
- Fort Leonard Wood, MO45
- Sikeston, MO18
- Rolla, MO48
- Sedalia, MO42
- Poplar Bluff, MO11
- West Plains, MO22
- Hannibal, MO63
- Lebanon, MO23
- Kirksville, MO59
- Kennett, MO7
- Mexico, MO35
- Moberly, MO35
- Marshall, MO42
- Maryville, MO55
Neighboring metro and micro areas
Places that share a border, best score first.
Similar metro and micro areas
Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).
- Springfield, MO49Alike on Firearm deaths, Unemployment, Rent burden
- Owensboro, KY55Alike on Comfortable days, Pharmacies, PM2.5
- Jefferson City, MO76Alike on Mammography, Foreign-born, Airport
- Joplin, MO-KS31Alike on Ozone days, Injury deaths, Price level
- Evansville, IN62Alike on Mammography, Pharmacies, Comfortable days
Data and sources
Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.
- Mapping Injury, Overdose, and ViolenceCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2026-10-01
- PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
- Daily county PM2.5 and ozone (EPA downscaler model)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2022
- Care Compare: Hospital General Information and Timely and Effective CareCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services · release 2026-07-22
- Distance to airports and intercity railFederal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau · release 2025+amtrak-2026-04-23
- Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master filesFederal Bureau of Investigation · release 2025
- Public Libraries SurveyInstitute of Museum and Library Services · release FY2024
- U.S. Drought Monitor county statisticsNational Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAA · release 2026-09-29
- Fatality Analysis Reporting SystemNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration · release 2024
- nClimGrid-Daily county averagesNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · release 2025
- Regional Economic AccountsU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · release 2024
- Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
- Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2026 Q1
- American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
- Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
- Business Formation StatisticsU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-10-01
- 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
- Alternative Fuels Data Center station locatorU.S. Department of Energy · release 2026-10
- Election Administration and Voting SurveyU.S. Election Assistance Commission · release 2024
- County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement
- Zillow Home Value Index, Observed Rent Index and affordabilityZillow Research · release 2026-08