Cape Girardeau, Missouri demographics

Cape Girardeau, MO demographics: median age 34.5; 34.9% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree. Age, race, households, languages and education, ACS 2020–2024 with margins of error.

ACS 2020–2024 · Cape Girardeau city, Missouri · Incorporated city · GEOID 2911242. The survey estimates a population of 40,344 for its five-year window. This is separate from the annual July 2025 population estimate on the city overview.

Median age in Cape Girardeau is 34.5 years, with a 90% margin of error of 1.4 years. There are 16,364 households (±464). Age and household distributions show how these totals are composed; they do not establish which neighborhood suits a particular person.

Every count and share is an estimate. “±” is a 90% margin of error (MOE); pp means percentage points. Derived shares use the category count divided by the named universe. Aggregated category MOEs and percentage MOEs are approximate. A margin larger than half its estimate is flagged as low precision. Blank source uncertainty is shown as unavailable, never zero.

Age distribution and sex

City, state and U.S. estimates · ACS 2020–2024
Measure / survey universe	City estimate ± MOE	State estimate ± MOE	U.S. estimate ± MOE
Median age Total population · years	34.5 ±1.4	39.0 ±0.2	38.9 ±0.1

Age groups · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 40,344
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Missouri	U.S.
Under 18	7,000 ±558	17.4% ±1.4 pp	22.3%	22.0%
18–34	13,400 ±871	33.2% ±2.2 pp	22.3%	22.8%
35–64	11,997 ±809	29.7% ±2.0 pp	37.5%	38.0%
65 and older	7,947 ±632	19.7% ±1.6 pp	17.9%	17.2%

Sex categories as published by ACS · B01001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 40,344
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Missouri	U.S.
Male	19,074 ±488	47.3% ±1.2 pp	49.3%	49.5%
Female	21,270 ±491	52.7% ±1.2 pp	50.7%	50.5%

The age groups are mutually exclusive and cover the entire population. The sex categories follow this ACS table’s published classification; they are not a survey of gender identity.

Race and Hispanic origin

Race · B02001 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 40,344
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Missouri	U.S.
White alone	30,840 ±625	76.4% ±1.5 pp	77.5%	61.0%
Black or African American alone	5,313 ±527	13.2% ±1.3 pp	11.0%	12.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native alone	149 ±143 · low precision	0.4% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.9%
Asian alone	1,057 ±207	2.6% ±0.5 pp	2.1%	6.0%
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone	88 ±65 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.2%
Some other race alone	417 ±313 · low precision	1.0% ±0.8 pp · low precision	1.9%	7.1%
Two or more races	2,480 ±557	6.1% ±1.4 pp	7.1%	12.6%

Hispanic or Latino origin · B03003 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 40,344
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Missouri	U.S.
Not Hispanic or Latino	38,842 ±287	96.3% ±0.7 pp	94.8%	80.7%
Hispanic or Latino	1,502 ±272	3.7% ±0.7 pp	5.2%	19.3%

Hispanic origin and race are separate questions. People of Hispanic or Latino origin may be of any race and appear in both tables. Do not add the Hispanic share to race shares. Race alone and two-or-more-race groups are the mutually exclusive categories of the race table.

Household types, children and living alone

Household types · B11001 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 16,364
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Missouri	U.S.
Married-couple family	6,178 ±406	37.8% ±2.2 pp	46.5%	46.9%
Other family: male householder, no spouse present	400 ±157	2.4% ±1.0 pp	4.6%	5.1%
Other family: female householder, no spouse present	1,500 ±280	9.2% ±1.7 pp	11.0%	12.2%
Nonfamily: householder living alone	6,303 ±599	38.5% ±3.5 pp	31.1%	28.7%
Nonfamily: householder not living alone	1,983 ±370	12.1% ±2.2 pp	6.7%	7.0%

Households with children · B11005 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 16,364
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Missouri	U.S.
Households with people under 18	3,314 ±357	20.3% ±2.1 pp	28.5%	29.5%
Households without people under 18	13,050 ±629	79.7% ±3.1 pp	71.5%	70.5%

Household size · B11016 · ACS 2020–2024 Households: 16,364
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Missouri	U.S.
One-person nonfamily households	6,303 ±599	38.5% ±3.5 pp	31.1%	28.7%
Two-person households	5,729 ±525	35.0% ±3.0 pp	35.0%	33.8%
Three-person households	1,964 ±346	12.0% ±2.1 pp	14.1%	15.3%
Four-person households	1,418 ±243	8.7% ±1.5 pp	11.6%	12.6%
Five-person households	619 ±173	3.8% ±1.0 pp	5.2%	5.9%
Six-person households	174 ±92 · low precision	1.1% ±0.6 pp · low precision	1.9%	2.2%
Seven or more people	157 ±74	1.0% ±0.5 pp	1.1%	1.4%

A family household contains related people under the Census definition. A nonfamily household can contain one person or unrelated people sharing a home. Households with children can also appear in the household-type and size tables, so those tables must not be added together. Household estimates exclude people living in group quarters from the household universe.

Nativity and languages spoken at home

Nativity · B05002 · ACS 2020–2024 Total population: 40,344
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Missouri	U.S.
Native	38,773 ±336	96.1% ±0.8 pp	95.5%	85.9%
Foreign born	1,571 ±326	3.9% ±0.8 pp	4.5%	14.1%

Language spoken at home · C16001 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 5 and older: 38,220
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Missouri	U.S.
English only	36,029 ±497	94.3% ±1.1 pp	93.3%	77.7%
Spanish	648 ±320	1.7% ±0.8 pp	2.9%	13.6%
French, Haitian, or Cajun	245 ±184 · low precision	0.6% ±0.5 pp · low precision	0.3%	0.7%
German or other West Germanic	15 ±24 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.5%
Russian, Polish, or other Slavic	152 ±137 · low precision	0.4% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.5%	0.7%
Other Indo-European	420 ±204	1.1% ±0.5 pp	0.6%	2.0%
Korean	53 ±62 · low precision	0.1% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.1%	0.3%
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	178 ±108 · low precision	0.5% ±0.3 pp · low precision	0.4%	1.1%
Vietnamese	122 ±158 · low precision	0.3% ±0.4 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.5%
Tagalog, including Filipino	0 ±26 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.6%
Other Asian and Pacific Island	280 ±120	0.7% ±0.3 pp	0.5%	1.1%
Arabic	65 ±95 · low precision	0.2% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.2%	0.5%
Other and unspecified	13 ±22 · low precision	0.0% ±0.1 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.8%

Foreign born means not a U.S. citizen at birth; it includes naturalized citizens. Language categories describe speech at home among people age five and older. A language other than English at home does not establish that someone cannot speak English. This city page uses the published C16001 summary categories because the more detailed B16001 table does not provide these city records in this release.

Educational attainment

Highest completed education · B15003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 25 and older: 25,015
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Missouri	U.S.
Less than high school graduate	2,161 ±424	8.6% ±1.7 pp	8.1%	10.4%
High school graduate or equivalency	7,458 ±563	29.8% ±2.1 pp	30.2%	26.0%
Some college, no degree	5,062 ±600	20.2% ±2.3 pp	20.8%	19.1%
Associate’s degree	1,608 ±340	6.4% ±1.4 pp	8.4%	8.8%
Bachelor’s degree	5,261 ±543	21.0% ±2.1 pp	19.8%	21.6%
Graduate or professional degree	3,465 ±545	13.9% ±2.2 pp	12.6%	14.1%

The denominator excludes residents under 25. Each person is counted in the highest attainment category they completed. This table does not measure the quality of local schools or the education level of every current student.

Residence one year earlier

Geographic mobility · B07003 · ACS 2020–2024 Population age 1 and older: 39,979
Category	Count ± MOE	Share ± MOE (pp)	Missouri	U.S.
Same house	31,730 ±957	79.4% ±2.4 pp	87.4%	87.7%
Moved within same county	3,993 ±740	10.0% ±1.9 pp	6.2%	6.3%
Moved from a different county in the same state	2,619 ±514	6.6% ±1.3 pp	3.6%	3.1%
Moved from a different state	1,517 ±430	3.8% ±1.1 pp	2.5%	2.3%
Moved from abroad	120 ±71 · low precision	0.3% ±0.2 pp · low precision	0.4%	0.6%

These are respondents’ residence patterns one year before their survey response, pooled across the five-year window. They are not a net migration count for 2025. A person can move to a different house within the same city or county; moves within the same county should not automatically be interpreted as new arrivals to the city.

Health insurance, internet access and veterans

9.2% of Cape Girardeau residents (±1.4 percentage points) had no health insurance coverage when surveyed, compared with 8.8% in Missouri and 8.4% nationally. 87.4% of households subscribe to broadband of any type, including cellular data plans. A subscription is not the same as available service: the FCC National Broadband Map shows providers at a specific address.

City, state and U.S. shares · ACS 2020–2024
Measure	Cape Girardeau	Missouri	U.S.	Compared with Missouri
People without health insurance Civilian noninstitutionalized population	9.2% ±1.4 pp	8.8%	8.4%	Not statistically different
Households with a broadband subscription Households	87.4% ±1.8 pp	89.3%	91.0%	Not statistically different
Veterans Civilian population age 18 and older	6.4% ±1.0 pp	7.3%	6.2%	Not statistically different

Reading and reusing the estimates

The Census table links above lead to the original detailed tables. Counts, source universes and uncertainty are retained in the source observation download for Cape Girardeau . Compare these figures with the same survey window; do not compare one city’s five-year estimate with another city’s annual estimate as though they measured the same period. For methods, see uncertainty and denominator calculations.

Read Cape Girardeau housing and cost context or return to the city profile.