What is the cost of living in Cape Girardeau?

Cape Girardeau has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 86.1, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 56.4, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $992/month.

What is the median salary in Cape Girardeau?

The median salary in Cape Girardeau is $55,399 annually (mean: $59,436). Top occupations include Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Registered Nurses, Retail Salespersons.

How safe is Cape Girardeau?

The violent crime rate in the Cape Girardeau area is 463 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1972 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Cape Girardeau?

The state of MO has 2,321 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 12.8:1. Charter schools make up 3.5% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Cape Girardeau?

Childcare cost data is not currently available for Cape Girardeau.

Is Cape Girardeau a good place to relocate?

Cape Girardeau has a Life Score of 50.7/100 (D), based on 6 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Cape Girardeau sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Cape Girardeau ranks #91 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Cape Girardeau, MO-IL

BEA RPP 86.1 ranks #24 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

86.1
Cost index (US=100): $992
2BR rent / mo: $55,399
Median salary: 57.5
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Cape Girardeau ranks #91 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (57.5/100), with its strongest marks in cost of living and housing.

#91
of 387 US metros · Above median: 6,245,466
metro-area population: 463
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 2,321
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: job market (12/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Cape Girardeau ranks #91 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 86.1 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $992/mo, median salary $55,399; LiveAbility Score 57.5/100, strongest in cost of living and housing.

Signature: BEA RPP 86.1 ranks #24 of 387 scored metros for lower prices (cheaper third).

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP 86.1 lands in the cheaper third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $992/mo.

LiveAbility 57.5/100 puts Cape Girardeau in the top third (#91 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Cape Girardeau area is 37,860.

Cape Girardeau vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

58 Top 24% higher than 76% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

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 and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Cape Girardeau housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Cape Girardeau MSA; housing RPP 56.4 (100 = national average); 2BR $992/mo.

Studio

$763

/month

1 Bedroom

$807

/month

2 Bedroom

$992

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,380

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,664

/month

Cape Girardeau wages and employment

Cape Girardeau posts 37,860 total employment with median salary $55,399 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$55,399

Mean Salary

$59,436

Total Employment

37,860

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$33,940
Registered Nurses	$82,640
Retail Salespersons	$30,250
General and Operations Managers	$74,790
Cashiers	$29,350

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Cape Girardeau area from NCES.

Schools

2,321

Enrollment

887,264

Student:Teacher

12.8:1

Title I %

Life Score Breakdown

Cape Girardeau's composite Life Score is 50.7/100 (D), computed across 6 of 7 dimensions (missing dims omitted; remaining weights renormalized).

Cost

94/100

Elite

Wages

12/100

Bottom decile

Rent

94/100

Elite

Crime

16/100

Bottom decile

Schools

11/100

Bottom decile

Environment

70/100

Strong

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Cape Girardeau ranks #91 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 57.5/100 - a composite of 7 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data (missing dims omitted; remaining weights renormalized). Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Cost of living (94/100)

Cost of living

94
Housing

94
Schools

89
Climate

57
Low hazard

19
Safety

16
Job market

12

What this shows Cape Girardeau's strongest dimensions are cost of living and housing; its weakest among scored dims is job market at 12/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%; this metro uses 7 of 8 dims with renormalized weights.

Compare Cape Girardeau to

Glens Falls Goldsboro Grand Forks Grand Island Grand Junction Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood

Metros near Cape Girardeau on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Cape Girardeau on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Cape Girardeau cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Cape Girardeau wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Cape Girardeau?

Cape Girardeau runs a $55,399 median salary at a 86.1 cost index, ranking #91 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Cape Girardeau's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Cape Girardeau head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Cape Girardeau
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.