About four in five adults aged 25 to 54 in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, have a job
In Cape Girardeau County, 15.1% of adults aged 25 to 54 were not working. That is lower than in 83% of U.S. counties.
Less distressed than 61% of U.S. counties.
What drives Cape Girardeau County's score
In Cape Girardeau County, collections and bankruptcy is the highest-scoring part, at 61.1. Jobs are the lowest part, at 22.0.
The County Distress Index looks at five parts of household money trouble in Cape Girardeau County: jobs, late payments on loans, income and the safety net, collections and bankruptcy, and housing costs. Each part is scored from 0 to 100, and a higher score means worse off than other counties.
Even so, Cape Girardeau County is worse off than most counties on bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people (208.5, 2025).
A longer bar means more trouble. See how the county score works.
- 61.1 of 100
Collections and bankruptcy
Biggest factorCredit records, August 2025; bankruptcy filings, 2025
- People with unpaid debt sent to a collector21.9% · August 202545th percentile
- Bankruptcy filings per 100,000 people208.5 · 202576th percentile
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- 46.7 of 100
Housing costs
Renters, 2020–24 Census survey; HUD's fair market rents, fiscal year 2027
- Renters paying half their income or more in rent21.5% · 2020 to 202469th percentile
- Rent on a two-bedroom as a share of the median income18.2% · fiscal year 202723rd percentile
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- 46.3 of 100
Late payments
Credit records, August 2025; credit scores, second quarter of 2026
- People with a credit card behind4.7% · August 202537th percentile
- People with a car or retail loan behind5.5% · August 202554th percentile
- People with a subprime credit score39.3% · second quarter of 202646th percentile
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- 40.1 of 100
Income and safety net
Poverty and income, 2024; disability and insurance, 2020–24 Census survey
- People below the poverty line12.4% · 202443rd percentile
- Children below the poverty line12.5% · 202425th percentile
- People with a disability14.6% · 2020 to 202436th percentile
- People without health insurance7.4% · 2020 to 202445th percentile
- Median household income (lower income, longer bar)$66,862 · 202449th percentile
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- 22.0 of 100
Jobs
Unemployment through Sep 2026; adults not working, 2020–24 Census survey
- Unemployment rate, average over the latest year3.4% · Oct 2025 to Sep 202627th percentile
- Adults 25 to 54 not working15.1% · 2020 to 202416th percentile
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Sources: Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Fair Market Rents and Census income; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. County Distress Index by American Default Research, from data through Sep 2026.
Where the money in Cape Girardeau County comes from
Benefit checks are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid paid on people's behalf, veterans' benefits, and food and income support, so a high share usually means an older population, low pay, or both. In Cape Girardeau County, 17.8% of residents are 65 or older (Census Bureau, 2024), against 17.2% nationally that year.
Cents of every dollar of income, 2024
Cape Girardeau County
Missouri
United States
- Pay from work
- Investments and rent
- Benefit checks
In Cape Girardeau County, benefit checks' share of income has more than doubled since 1969, reaching 23.0% in 2024, but pay from work still brings in more than twice as much as benefit checks
In Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, benefit checks' share of income more than doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 23.0%; pay from work is plotted alongside. Every fifth year and 2024 are shown.
- Benefit checks
- Pay from work
The share of households in Cape Girardeau County getting SNAP food aid had its largest drop, from 11.1% in 2017 to 10.0% in 2018.
The share of households in Cape Girardeau County getting SNAP food aid was at its highest on the chart in 2014 and has since fallen by about a quarter
Low on the chart: 9.5% in 2021. Households getting SNAP, every year; each bar is a five-year survey estimate ending that year, so neighboring bars share most of their data, Cape Girardeau County, Missouri.
How Cape Girardeau County has changed
Cape Girardeau County's population had its largest rise, from 52,962 in 1974 to 57,475 in 1979.
Cape Girardeau County's population nearly doubled from 1969 to 2024, reaching 83,658, with no dip in any year shown
Smallest rise: 1984 to 1989, reaching 61,419. Residents, yearly estimate, every fifth year and 2024, Cape Girardeau County, Missouri.
The jobs count covers work located in the county; the population count covers residents.
The number of jobs located in Cape Girardeau County rose 28% from 1990 to 2025, reaching its highest on the chart
Biggest rise: 1990 to 1995, reaching 36,322. Yearly average of jobs covered by unemployment insurance, every fifth year and 2025, Cape Girardeau County, Missouri.
| Measure | Then | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rateBLS LAUS | 1990 5.4% | 2025 3.6% |
| People below the poverty lineCensus SAIPE | 1989 11.2% | 2024 12.4% |
| Median household incomeCensus SAIPE | 1989 $25,757 | 2024 $66,862 |
The table uses 3.6% for 2025; the score uses 3.4% for the latest year (Oct 2025 to Sep 2026), both from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Figures are as each agency published them, not adjusted for prices.
Dated events in Cape Girardeau County's history
1812
Organized October 1, 1812 as one of five original counties in the Missouri Territory after the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Wikipedia
1963
A tornado in April 1963 killed one person. NOAA Storm Events Database
2003
A tornado in May 2003 did $12 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2009
A thunderstorm in May 2009 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2016
A flood in January 2016 did $3 million in property damage. NOAA Storm Events Database
2020
The county's largest recorded population was the 2020 Census count of 81,710, which is also its most recent census. Census Bureau
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Since 1973
29 federal disaster and emergency declarations have covered Cape Girardeau County, 22 of them for flooding. FEMA
Cape Girardeau County beside its neighbors
Of the six counties that border Cape Girardeau County, in Missouri and Illinois, five score higher. Of the group, Cape Girardeau County gets the smallest share of its income from benefit checks; Alexander County gets the largest, at 53.2%.
| County | Score | Poverty | Benefit checks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander County, IL | 89 | 24.8% | 53.2% |
| Stoddard County, MO | 70 | 14.8% | 34.9% |
| Scott County, MO | 65 | 13.5% | 32.5% |
| Union County, IL | 55 | 17.2% | 35.6% |
| Bollinger County, MO | 54 | 14.5% | 35.6% |
| Cape Girardeau County, MO | 38 | 12.4% | 23.0% |
| Perry County, MO | 28 | 11.5% | 27.0% |
Distress score: American Default Research, County Distress Index, data through Sep 2026; each county scored against all 3,144. Poverty rate: Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, 2024. Benefit checks: Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2024. Neighbors share a border, from Census county maps.
Is Cape Girardeau County the poorest county in Missouri?
No, Cape Girardeau County's poverty rate was 12.4% in 2024, 77th highest of 115 in Missouri (U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates). By that measure the poorest county in the state is Dunklin County, at 25.4%. On our distress index, which counts more than poverty, Cape Girardeau County ranks 71st of 115 in the state.
If you're behind on your mortgage in Cape Girardeau County
Housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development work at nonprofit agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes free foreclosure-avoidance counseling, including help with mortgage-company conversations and available options Source CFPB.
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Legal Services of Southern Missouri
Legal aid
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HUD-approved housing counselors
Our help directory lists 1,010 agencies approved for foreclosure counseling, by state.
The score, its 14 measures and their sources, in one file. Free to use with credit to American Default Research.
Download the CSV for Cape Girardeau County · Every U.S. county (CSV)
Sources and method
- American Default Research · County Distress Index Data through Sep 2026, built from Urban Institute, Debt in America; Equifax via the St. Louis Fed; U.S. Courts, Table F-5A; Census Bureau, American Community Survey; HUD Fair Market Rents and Census income; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. The County Distress Index is American Default Research's own calculation; the Urban Institute does not produce or endorse it. Our methodology
- Urban Institute · Debt in America Breno Braga, Signe-Mary McKernan, Samantha Atherton, and Kassandra Martinchek, "Debt in America," last updated November 20, 2025, https://datacatalog.urban.org/dataset/debt-america-2025. Licensed under ODC-By 1.0.
- Rent on a two-bedroom and household income The rent share compares HUD fair market rent for fiscal year 2027 with Census Bureau median household income for 2024. The page calls this the typical household's income.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts (CAINC4) · income shares Where the money in Cape Girardeau County comes from, 2024.
- History The agencies named in each row and the linked records above.