Cape Girardeau County, MO
Housing, jobs, water, deposits and federal obligations for this county, each figure with the release it came from. Internal point 37.38, -89.69.
Assembled 2026-10-19. Read the brief.
- 53rd pct · 1,414th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 67th pct · 37th of 113 Missouri counties · median $221,167
- counties in the Cape Girardeau metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Cape Girardeau metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 69th pct · 923rd of 3,062 US counties · median +2.9%
- 50th pct · 56th of 113 Missouri counties · median +4.5%
- counties in the Cape Girardeau metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Cape Girardeau metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 8th pct · 1,246th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 23rd pct · 27th of 35 Missouri counties · median $1,229
- counties in the Cape Girardeau metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Cape Girardeau metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 81st pct · 591st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 89th pct · 13th of 115 Missouri counties · median 4,996
- counties in the Cape Girardeau metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Cape Girardeau metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 49th pct · 1,625th of 3,221 US counties · median $1,039
- 86th pct · 16th of 115 Missouri counties · median $902
- counties in the Cape Girardeau metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Cape Girardeau metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
- 55th pct · 1,360th of 3,063 US counties · median 4.2
- 45th pct · 62nd of 113 Missouri counties · median 4.7
- counties in the Cape Girardeau metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Cape Girardeau metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
Typical home value divided by the average annual wage of one covered job.
A percentile here is a min-max scaling of average rank: the smallest published value in the cohort is 0 and the largest is 100, and tied values share the average of the ranks they span. It is not the share of entities below the value, so 0 means smallest, not none below. Entities that did not publish the metric are outside the cohort entirely and are counted in neither the rank nor its denominator.
Home values #
Typical home $242,411 (Sep 2026), +4.5% over one year, +27.0% over five
- 53rd pct · 1,414th of 3,063 US counties · median $230,451
- 67th pct · 37th of 113 Missouri counties · median $221,167
- counties in the Cape Girardeau metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Cape Girardeau metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cape Girardeau County, MO | $242,411 · +4.5% 1-yr |
Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), typical value of homes in the 35th to 65th percentile, smoothed and seasonally adjusted; a model estimate of value, not a sale price. Data through Zillow Research.
Rents #
Typical rent $1,008/mo (Sep 2026), +3.4% over one year; price-to-rent 20.0
- 8th pct · 1,246th of 1,358 US counties · median $1,506
- 23rd pct · 27th of 35 Missouri counties · median $1,229
- counties in the Cape Girardeau metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Cape Girardeau metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cape Girardeau County, MO | $1,008/mo · +3.4% 1-yr |
Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI), smoothed, all homes and multifamily; price-to-rent = typical home / (typical rent × 12).
What the typical home costs to carry #
Principal and interest of $1,343 a month on $242,411 at 7.40%, against an average weekly wage worth $4,494 a month: 29.9% of one job’s pay.
- payment = P·r / (1 − (1+r)^−n), P = $242,411 × 80% = $193,929, r = 7.40%/12 (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED, 2026-10-15), n = 360 → $1,343/mo principal and interest
- wage share = payment / (avg weekly wage $1,037 × 52 / 12 = $4,494) = 30% of one average job's pay (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all covered jobs)
- years of wages = $242,411 / ($1,037 × 52) = 4.5
- price-to-rent = $242,411 / ($1,008 × 12) = 20.0
The wage is one covered job’s average, not a household’s income, so this is the share of a single paycheque and not a mortgage underwriting ratio.
Estimate. Principal and interest on the typical home with 20% down over 30 years at this week's Freddie Mac average rate; compared with the average weekly wage of all jobs covered by unemployment insurance in the area (BLS QCEW), which is pay per job, not household income.
Jobs & wages #
41,205 jobs at 2,913 employers (2026 Q1); -0.7% jobs and +3.0% average weekly wage over the year
- 81st pct · 591st of 3,221 US counties · median 8,232
- 89th pct · 13th of 115 Missouri counties · median 4,996
- counties in the Cape Girardeau metro: Rank context is unavailable: the manifest lists 3 counties in the Cape Girardeau metro; fewer than 5 is too few to rank.
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cape Girardeau County, MO | 41,205 jobs · $1,037/wk · -0.7% YoY |
| NAICS sector | Jobs | Avg weekly wage | Location quotient | Jobs over the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 10,301 | $1,160 | 1.66 | -0.7% |
| Retail trade | 5,636 | $726 | 1.40 | -0.9% |
| Accommodation and food services | 4,144 | $430 | 1.12 | -2.8% |
| Manufacturing | 3,786 | $1,456 | 1.14 | -1.1% |
| Construction | 1,838 | $1,167 | 0.85 | -1.4% |
| Wholesale trade | 1,604 | $1,149 | 1.02 | -2.9% |
| Professional and technical services | 1,342 | $1,074 | 0.47 | +0.4% |
| Administrative and waste services | 1,189 | $1,100 | 0.51 | -1.7% |
| Other services | 996 | $803 | 0.81 | -1.0% |
| Finance and insurance | 991 | $1,894 | 0.59 | +1.2% |
| Transportation and warehousing | 987 | $1,340 | 0.57 | +8.7% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 700 | $679 | 1.03 | +4.6% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, all ownerships, total covered employment in the quarter's third month; over-the-year changes as published. Suppressed cells stay blank.
Drought #
D1 moderate drought
Sites found: 5, searched within 0 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 0 km away are not.
US Drought Monitor current week; the highest class of any polygon containing the point.
Reservoirs #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 150 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 150 km away are not.
Σ(capacity × percent full) / Σ capacity over TWDB reservoirs within 150 km. Texas only; elsewhere USGS reservoir elevation/storage is listed without a capacity to normalise by.
Stream gauges #
Surface water layer not loaded
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest readings screened against EPA freshwater criteria (DO ≥ 5 mg/L, pH 6.5–9, conductance, turbidity, temperature); NWS flood categories where a NWPS gauge is co-located.
Groundwater #
No USGS monitoring wells within 75 km (or above 1,500 km)
Sites found: 0, searched within 75 km of this place’s internal point. That is a disc around a point, not the area itself: sites outside the boundary are included, and sites inside it further than 75 km away are not.
USGS latest daily water levels. A single latest reading says where the table is, not which way it is moving; select a well for its 365-day trace.
Water stress #
moderate (0.25)
Σ wᵢ·termᵢ / Σ wᵢ = 0.35×0.25 / 0.35
Banks & federal dollars #
$3.5 bn in deposits at 36 offices of 16 banks (SOD June 2026); HHI 806, unconcentrated. $545.1 m federal obligations in FY2026 (direct payments $492.0 m, grants $49.7 m), $13,230 per covered job
| Item | Value | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| The Bank of Missouri | $489.6 m · 14.1% share · 5 offices | |
| Wood & Huston Bank | $395.5 m · 11.4% share · 2 offices | |
| Montgomery Bank | $348.9 m · 10.0% share · 3 offices | |
| Cape Girardeau, MO | $545.1 m FY2026 · $13,230/job |
| Institution | Deposits | Share | Offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Bank of Missouri | $489,632,000 | 14.1% | 5 |
| Wood & Huston Bank | $395,528,000 | 11.4% | 2 |
| Montgomery Bank | $348,934,000 | 10.0% | 3 |
| First State Community Bank | $260,062,000 | 7.5% | 3 |
| U.S. Bank National Association | $251,478,000 | 7.2% | 3 |
| Banterra Bank | $245,643,000 | 7.1% | 1 |
| Southern Bank | $235,989,000 | 6.8% | 3 |
| Commerce Bank | $219,329,000 | 6.3% | 2 |
| Alliance Bank | $191,706,000 | 5.5% | 2 |
| Fm Bank And Trust | $190,625,000 | 5.5% | 3 |
Deposit concentration is 806 across 16 banks, which the 1995 Department of Justice bank merger screen calls unconcentrated.
HHI = Σ (share %)² over 16 banks with deposits in the county = 14.1² + 11.4² + 10.0² + … (13 more) = 806
FDIC Summary of Deposits: deposits at every insured office as of June 30, annual; HHI is the sum of squared county deposit shares (DOJ 1995 bank merger screen: 1000 / 1800). USAspending: obligations by place of performance for the latest complete federal fiscal year (Oct 1 to Sep 30), what agencies committed, not what they paid out; recipients are legal entities. Per-job divides obligations by BLS QCEW covered employment.
Federal obligations #
That is $13,230 per covered job, against 41,205 jobs in the 2026 Q1 QCEW quarter.
per job = FY2026 obligations $545.1 m / 41,205 covered jobs (BLS QCEW 2026 Q1, all ownerships) = $13,230
USAspending obligations are recorded where the work is performed, so a prime award performed here is counted here even when the recipient is headquartered elsewhere. Recipients are legal entities, never people.
National context, not this county #
These are United States, single-gauge, single-state and port series. None of them is keyed to this county.
| Series | Latest | As of | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi River at Memphis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Mississippi River at St. Louis, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Ohio River at Louisville, stage · ft | 17.95 | 2026-10-18 | -2.6% |
| Missouri River at St. Joseph, stage · ft | not published | not published | |
| Colorado River below Hoover Dam, flow (Hoover releases) · ft³/s | 5,170.00 | 2026-02-05 | -25.3% |
| Texas reservoirs, statewide percent full · % | 72.20 | 2026-10-19 | +0.0% |
| Laredo truck crossings, monthly · trucks | 258,700.00 | 2026-08-01 | -0.4% |
| Los Angeles + Long Beach container volume, annual · TEU | 10,513,167.00 | 2023-01-01 | -13.5% |
| Containerships waiting for a berth, all US ports · ships | 7.00 | 2026-10-13 | +133.3% |
| Shanghai to Los Angeles container rate · $ per 40 ft box | 7,848.00 | 2026-09-01 | +14.9% |
| US diesel retail price · $ per gallon | unavailable | not published | |
| WTI crude oil, spot · $ per barrel | 101.91 | 2026-10-14 | +1.0% |
| 30-year fixed mortgage rate · % | 7.40 | 2026-10-15 | +0.0% |
| Housing starts, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,275.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.6% |
| Building permits, annual rate · thousands of units | 1,403.00 | 2026-08-01 | -2.1% |
| Case-Shiller US home price index · index, Jan 2000 = 100 | 337.31 | 2026-07-01 | +0.1% |
| Unemployment rate · % | 4.20 | 2026-09-01 | +2.4% |
| US goods and services trade balance, monthly · $ millions | -105,572.00 | 2026-08-01 | -13.7% |
| Retail sales excluding food services, monthly · $ millions | 652,115.00 | 2026-09-01 | +0.7% |
The indicator registry has no county-keyed series and no geographic selection: every entry is national, a named gauge, a single state or a port. They are here as the backdrop the county's own numbers move against, and they are never this county's readings.
What changed #
Cape Girardeau County, MO: 10 findings, 2 at a watch level and 8 noted
watchCape Girardeau County, MO's covered employment is -0.7% against a year earlier, a watch level here: covered employment below the same quarter a year earlier (BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level). The previous published period is not in this table, so this is a standing level rather than a change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- test: jobs.yoy.emp = -0.7 < 0
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published; not an official level
watchCape Girardeau County, MO's average weekly wage of $1,037 scores 50 on the 0-to-100 scale across US counties but 87 across Missouri counties, a gap of 37 points.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- 37 = |50 across US counties - 87 across Missouri counties|
position among the entities that published this metric this period; not an official level
noteCape Girardeau County, MO's average weekly wage was 3.0% higher than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- +3 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
noteCape Girardeau County, MO's typical home value rose 0.7% from $240,664 in August 2026 to $242,411 in September 2026, on Zillow ZHVI.
Period 2026-09.Show the arithmetic
- +0.7% = (242410.97972416956 - 240663.71880952618) / 240663.71880952618 × 100
- 242410.97972416956 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-09
- 240663.71880952618 = Zillow ZHVI, 2026-08
noteCape Girardeau County, MO's covered employment was 0.7% lower than the same quarter a year earlier in 2026 Q1, on BLS QCEW's published over-the-year change.
Period 2026 Q1.Show the arithmetic
- -0.7 % = BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change for 2026 Q1, as published
- the newest QCEW file carries no year-earlier level, so no move from one level to another is printed
BLS QCEW over-the-year percent change, as published
Read all 10 findings in the full brief
Every finding is produced by a fixed rule table and a fixed sentence for each rule. Nothing here is generated prose.