63703 — Cape Girardeau, Missouri

Area Profile

Income, jobs, climate, physical risk and development data for ZIP code 63703. Its median home value runs 38% below Cape Girardeau as a whole, which is why this ZIP carries a profile of its own.

51out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 26% of 3,113 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
Opportunity1,911th of 3,116 ZIP areas measured49
Schools1,907th of 3,047 ZIP areas measured40
Growth1,833rd of 3,124 ZIP areas measured46
Housing affordability1,805th of 3,112 ZIP areas measured65
ClimateTop 38% of 3,127 ZIP areas measured74
Physical resilience2,125th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured42
Access2,589th of 3,127 ZIP areas measured75
Economic stability3,073rd of 3,127 ZIP areas measured13
The quick read

Unemployment is 4.6% and median household income $38,695, putting employment conditions in the middle range of ZIP areas measured. The unemployment rate is published for Cape Girardeau, MO, which contains 63703, rather than for 63703 alone.

In the public schools here, 30% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 12.9 students for every teacher.

45 housing units were authorized over the past twelve months, essentially level with the prior year — steady rather than turning. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Cape Girardeau, MO, which contains 63703, rather than for 63703 alone.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
8,201
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$38,695
Bottom 5% nationally
Density
635/sq mi
12.9 sq mi of land
Median age
40.7
2024 ACS 5-Year
City
Cape Girardeau
Missouri
Nearest major airport
MWA
44 mi · Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois
Median home value
$122,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Cape Girardeau, MO, which contains 63703, is 4.6% — higher than in all but 41% of the 3,127 measured US ZIP areas.

Employment across Cape Girardeau, MO, which contains 63703, grew 1.2% over the past year, to 19,790 employed residents.

Median household income of $38,695 is lower than in 95% of measured US ZIP areas.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsCape Girardeau County, MO’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$49,6659th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftCape Girardeau County, MO’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$56,87324th percentileof 2,996filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$4,8722024 ACS 5-Year$38,695Bottom 5%of 31,0492024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,2132024 ACS 5-Year$24,901Bottom 13%of 32,8222024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year29.1%Bottom 7%of 32,8462024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.9 min2024 ACS 5-Year14.9 minTop 4%of 32,8872024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year22.0%Bottom 46%of 33,1932024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year73.0%39th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentCape Girardeau, MO’s figureJuly 202619,790Bottom 19%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Cape Girardeau, MO’s figureJuly 2026+1.8%Top 25%of 3,127July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Cape Girardeau, MO’s figureJuly 2026+1.2%Top 14%of 3,127July 2026
Labor forceCape Girardeau, MO’s figureJuly 202620,73519th percentileof 3,127July 2026
Labor force participation ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year63.2%Bottom 13%of 32,8832024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageCape Girardeau, MO-IL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$56,640Bottom 11%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Median annual wageCape Girardeau, MO-IL Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$44,470Bottom 8%of 2,7602025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.8%77th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Cape Girardeau, MO’s figureJuly 2026−0.5%Top 25%of 3,127July 2026
Unemployment rateCape Girardeau, MO’s figureJuly 20264.6%Bottom 41%of 3,127July 2026
Worked from home ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year7.8%39th percentileof 32,7982024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202439k34k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $38,695 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Cape Girardeau, MO-IL

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides1,540$33,940
Registered Nurses1,470$82,640
Retail Salespersons1,460$30,250
General and Operations Managers1,450$74,790
Cashiers1,270$29,350
Cooks, Fast Food1,070$28,820

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish labor-force data for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Cape Girardeau, MO, the city containing this ZIP code.

30% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 49% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 12.9 students for every full-time teacher across 3 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
4
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
12.9
across 3 of them
Math proficiency
29.9%
Bottom 20% in Missouri
Reading proficiency
49.4%
Bottom 41% in Missouri
All 4 public schools on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Central HighCAPE GIRARDEAU 631,27814.433%58%
Jefferson Elem.CAPE GIRARDEAU 6349411.022%27%
Parkview SchoolMO SCHLS FOR THE SEV DISABLED255.0——
Cape Girardeau Car Tech Ctr.CAPE GIRARDEAU 630———

99.4% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Missouri’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 14% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 86.1, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Cape Girardeau, MO-IL Metro Area is up 39% over five years, and up 4.7% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $934 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.76% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $992, some 10% above the $902 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $992 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $39,700 a year, about 103% of the median household income here of $38,695.

The typical renter household here spends 34% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $902 a month.

A median home at $122,200 costs 2.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $55,341, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Cost of living
86.1

Prices here run about 14% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Cape Girardeau, MO-IL Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
34.3%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
2.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$992
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$902
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$122,200
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against 63703’s median household income of $38,695, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Cape Girardeau, MO-IL Metro Area’s figure202386.1Top 1%of 2,7372023
Home price change (1 year)the Cape Girardeau, MO-IL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+4.7%76th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Cape Girardeau, MO-IL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+39.0%35th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Cape Girardeau, MO-IL Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+67.0%10th percentileof 3,0712026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.82024 ACS 5-Year2.2Top 30%of 29,2752024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year42.6%6th percentileof 32,7502024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±3202024 ACS 5-Year3,95169th percentileof 33,4602024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$807Top 10%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,380Top 15%of 3,031FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$992Top 9%of 3,031FY2026
Median gross rent ±$942024 ACS 5-Year$902Top 37%of 26,3962024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$14,2162024 ACS 5-Year$122,20018th percentileof 30,8122024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1252024 ACS 5-Year$93417th percentileof 28,9352024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$18,4922024 ACS 5-Year$55,341Bottom 12%of 29,8022024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.14%2024 ACS 5-Year0.76%38th percentileof 24,0992024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year34.3%Bottom 20%of 26,2472024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±532024 ACS 5-Year3355th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.8%47th percentileof 32,9612024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year13.0%78th percentileof 32,7882024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±1762024 ACS 5-Year54775th percentileof 33,7722024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

46/ 100
Ranks 1,833 of 3,124 published ZIP profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 45 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes. The multifamily share is published for Cape Girardeau, MO, which contains 63703, rather than for 63703 alone.

At 1.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US ZIP areas. The permit rate is published for Cape Girardeau, MO, which contains 63703, rather than for 63703 alone.

Units permitted
45
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.1
Bottom 25% nationally
Year over year
0%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
0.0%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
43%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$49,665
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$56,873
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Scott County, MO 503 people · 15% of arrivals
  2. Bollinger County, MO 219 people · 6.7% of arrivals
  3. St. Louis County, MO 141 people · 4.3% of arrivals
  4. Stoddard County, MO 132 people · 4.0% of arrivals
  5. Perry County, MO 129 people · 3.9% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Scott County, MO 474 people · 14% of departures
  2. Bollinger County, MO 220 people · 6.7% of departures
  3. St. Louis County, MO 192 people · 5.9% of departures
  4. Perry County, MO 109 people · 3.3% of departures
  5. St. Louis city, MO 91 people · 2.8% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Cape Girardeau County, MO. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Building Permits Survey is not published for ZIP areas. This is the figure for Cape Girardeau, MO, the city containing this ZIP code.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 89°F and January a low of 26°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 47.9 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station CAPE GIRARDEAU MUNI AP, 3.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND5.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals47.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals26°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals89°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals45°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

42 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, inland flooding and heat wave, with earthquake alone responsible for 43% of it. Heat wave is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

EarthquakeElevated
Ice stormModerate
Winter weatherModerate
LandslideModerate
Cold waveModerate
Inland floodingModerate
TornadoElevated
Strong windModerate
HailModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, lightning, drought, hurricane, wildfire, avalanche, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. ZIP values are the land-area-weighted mean of the counties the ZIP Code Tabulation Area intersects. Expected annual loss is not allocated below county level. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Homicide
4.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
19.3
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
14.5
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
18.1
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around 63703 (Cape Girardeau County) rather than 63703 itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. A ZIP area is not a jurisdiction, so no department reports for one. Cape Girardeau carries the figure where its department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index only where a monitor sits. There is none in this county, and a modeled value would be a different kind of number from the measured ones everywhere else on this page.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois at 44 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year81.2%Bottom 20%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle44 miBottom 17%of 3,127NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 21%of 3,127NASR current cycle
No internet access ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year15.4%Bottom 19%of 32,6632024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Veterans Airport of Southern IllinoisMWA44 mi8,012 ft
Scott AFB/Midamerica St LouisBLV89 mi10,000 ft
Arkansas IntlBYH93 mi11,602 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

Customize your score

What matters to you?

Choose what you weight most heavily. Nothing is saved to an account — your preferences stay in this browser, and the Area Score never changes.

Area Score
51
Your Score
—

Select one or more priorities to see how this location scores against them.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

63703 vs Cape Girardeau

How this ZIP area compares with Cape Girardeau as a whole. Both figures come from the same ACS release, so the comparison is like for like — a gap here is a real difference between the two places, not two surveys disagreeing.

63703
Cape Girardeau
Median household income: Cape Girardeau is the more favorable of the two.
Median household income
$38,695
vs
$55,658
Per capita income: Cape Girardeau is the more favorable of the two.
Per capita income
$24,901
vs
$32,930
Population density
635/sq mi
vs
1,379/sq mi
Median home value
$122,200
vs
$196,300
Median gross rent: Cape Girardeau is the more favorable of the two.
Median gross rent
$902
vs
$876
Homeownership rate
42.6%
vs
54.0%
Bachelor's degree or higher: Cape Girardeau is the more favorable of the two.
Bachelor's degree or higher
22.0%
vs
34.9%
Poverty rate: Cape Girardeau is the more favorable of the two.
Poverty rate
29.1%
vs
17.5%
Median age
40.7
vs
34.5

Some demographic statistics use Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, which approximate but do not exactly match USPS ZIP delivery geography. See the methodology for how AreaProfile maps between them.