Cape Girardeau composite
49.3 /100
Grade B- · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Cape Girardeau vs Paducah
Cape Girardeau, MO-IL and Paducah, KY-IL side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 49.3
- Cape Girardeau Life Score
- B-
- Cape Girardeau grade
- 72.8
- Paducah Life Score
- A+
- Paducah grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Cape Girardeau scores higher on 2 (cost of living, environment) and Paducah on 5 (wages, rent, safety, schools, childcare). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Cape Girardeau Paducah ◗
cost of living
94
94
wages
5
40
rent
94
96
safety
16
85
schools
11
51
childcare
0
88
environment
70
51
Cape Girardeau and Paducah differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Cape Girardeau has a cost-of-living index of 86.1 vs Paducah's 86.1 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $55,399 in Cape Girardeau and $62,516 in Paducah. A 2-bedroom averages $992/mo vs $969/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Cape Girardeau vs Paducah Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Cape Girardeau and Paducah works out to $276 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in Cape Girardeau carries the same local purchasing power as $100,007 in Paducah - the more honest read than the salary headline above, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 463.3 per 100,000 residents in MO vs 225.5 in KY, with property-crime rates of 1971.6 and 1397.1 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: MO lists 2,321 public schools at a 12.2:1 student-teacher ratio, while KY lists 1,395 schools at 15.1:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Cape Girardeau and Paducah are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Paducah composite
72.8 /100
Grade A+ · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
19 pts
Cape Girardeau cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
69 pts
Paducah safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Cape Girardeau
Cape Girardeau composite (Grade B-)
Paducah
Paducah composite (Grade A+)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Cape Girardeau | Paducah |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 86.1 | 86.1 |
| Goods | 94.2 | 96.0 |
| Services | 85.6 | 76.9 |
| Rents | 56.4 | 48.8 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Paducah gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Cape Girardeau?
$
Equivalent in Paducah:
$100,007
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Cape Girardeau: 86.1, Paducah: 86.1, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Cape Girardeau | Paducah |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $763/mo | $784/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $807/mo | $789/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $992/mo | $969/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,380/mo | $1,348/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $1,664/mo | $1,415/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Cape Girardeau | Paducah |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $55,399 | $62,516 |
| Total Employment | 37,860 | 43,110 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Cape Girardeau (MO) | Paducah (KY) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 463.3 | 225.5 |
| Property Crime | 1971.6 | 1397.1 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | MO | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 2,321 | 1,395 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 12.2:1 | 15.1:1 |
| Charter Schools | 3.5% | 0.0% |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | MO | KY |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 621 | 489 |
| Water Systems | 1,688 | 375 |
| Superfund Sites | 39 | 20 |
| Water Violations | 6,737 | 1,864 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Cape Girardeau | Paducah |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 40.2 | 42.0 |
| Good Air Days | 78.8% | 74.3% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | N/A | 0 days |
Cape Girardeau air quality shown at state level. Paducah has metro-level data.
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | MO | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 6/100 | 1/100 |
| Total Violations | 201,695 | 80,482 |
| Health-Based Violations | 54,821 | 12,554 |
| Systems with Violations | 95.4% | 99.1% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | MO | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 56/100 | 56/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 43.8% | 44.5% |
| HPSA Designations | 925 | 701 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | MO | KY |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 62/100 | 71/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 50.6 | 44.2 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 50.8 | 41.4 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Cape Girardeau more expensive than Paducah? ▼
Cape Girardeau has a cost of living index of 86.1 compared to Paducah's 86.1 (national average = 100). Paducah is 0.0 points above Cape Girardeau on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Cape Girardeau and Paducah? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $992/mo in Cape Girardeau vs $969/mo in Paducah, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $763/mo to $784/mo.
How do salaries compare between Cape Girardeau and Paducah? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $55,399 in Cape Girardeau and $62,516 in Paducah, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Cape Girardeau has the same purchasing power as $100,007 in Paducah.
Is Cape Girardeau or Paducah safer? ▼
At the state level, MO has a violent crime rate of 463.3 per 100,000 residents compared to KY's 225.5 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1971.6 vs 1397.1 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Cape Girardeau and Paducah? ▼
MO has 2,321 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 12.2:1, while KY has 1,395 schools at 15.1:1. Charter schools make up 3.5% of MO schools vs 0.0% in KY. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
Explore more
Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare