PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Cape Girardeau, MO-IL

44.5
Life Score / 100
C
Grade (curved)
#275
of 387 metros
29%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Cape Girardeau ranks #275 of 387 US metros, ahead of 29% - carried by its cost of living (94/100) and held back most by schools (11/100).

94
strongest: Cost of Living
94
then: Rent
11
weakest: Schools
7
weighted dimensions

Where Cape Girardeau sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

45 29th percentile higher than 29% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). This entry sits in this band. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). Above this entry. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Cape Girardeau Life Score

Cape Girardeau's composite score of 44.5 out of 100, a grade of C, places the metro at rank #275 of 387, ahead of 29% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Cost of Living (94/100) and Rent (94/100), which pull the composite upward, while Schools (11/100) and Wages (12/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 86.1 (rent-RPP 56.4). BLS median salary $55,399, 37,860 jobs (Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons). HUD 2BR FMR $992/mo (studio $763).

FBI UCR (MO): 463 violent, 1972 property/100K. NCES: 12.8:1 ratio, 3.5% charter. EPA: 39 Superfund sites (MO). Ranks #272-#278 below.

Dimension detail

How Cape Girardeau scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 94/100 (20%)
Wages 12/100 (20%)
Rent 94/100 (15%)
Safety 16/100 (15%)
Schools 11/100 (10%)
Childcare -/100 (10%)
Environment 14/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

86.1
Cost Index (RPP)
$55,399
Avg Median Salary
$992
2BR Fair Market Rent
463
Violent Crime/100K (MO)
12.8:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
39
Superfund Sites (MO)
37,860
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Cape Girardeau With...

Cape Girardeau vs St. Joseph Compare → Cape Girardeau vs St. Louis Compare → Cape Girardeau vs Joplin Compare → Cape Girardeau vs Wildwood Compare → Cape Girardeau vs Waterloo Compare → Cape Girardeau vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Cape Girardeau outranks 29% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#272 Charlottesville, VA 44.6 C
#273 Athens-Clarke County, GA 44.6 C
#274 Springfield, MA 44.8 C
#275 Cape Girardeau, MO-IL 44.5 C
#276 Columbia, MO 44.5 C
#277 Fort Smith, AR-OK 44.4 C
#278 San Angelo, TX 44.4 C

MO Metro Scores

St. Joseph, MO-KS B+ 55.5 St. Louis, MO-IL B 54.7 Joplin, MO-KS B- 51.7 Springfield, MO B- 49.7 Jefferson City, MO C+ 46.5 Kansas City, MO-KS C 45.5

Using Cape Girardeau's Life Score

Cape Girardeau is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is cost of living (94/100) and its weakest is schools (11/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Cape Girardeau head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Cape Girardeau lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Cape Girardeau's biggest strengths? ▼
Cape Girardeau's strongest dimensions are Cost of Living (94/100), Rent (94/100), Safety (16/100). Cost of Living is top-tier nationally.
What are Cape Girardeau's weakest areas? ▼
Cape Girardeau's lowest-scoring dimensions are Schools (11/100), Wages (12/100), Environment (14/100). Schools weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Cape Girardeau compared to the national average? ▼
Cape Girardeau's Regional Price Parity is 86.1 (13.9% less than national); rent RPP 56.4.
What is the average salary in Cape Girardeau? ▼
Cape Girardeau median salary: $55,399, 37,860 jobs. Top: Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Cape Girardeau's 44.5/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.