Population and Change. Over the period from 2000 to 2006, Cape Girardeau County's population increased by 3,199, going from 68,693 to 71,892 in 2006. This was a change of 4.7 percent, as compared with Missouri (4.4%).
Components of Change. Natural Increase is defined as births minus deaths. Cape Girardeau County had 1,275 more births than deaths between 2000 and 2006. Net migration is the difference between the number of people who moved into an area and the number of people who moved out. So a negative net migration means a net loss of persons due to migration, while a positive value represents a net gain. Between 2000 and 2006, Cape Girardeau County had a net migration of 1,924.
Age. In 2006, Cape Girardeau County reported 13.9 percent of its residents were 65 and older compared to 13.3 percent statewide. At the same time, the proportion of young people under 18 in the county was 22.8 percent. Missouri reported 24.1 percent during the same period.
Racial Diversity. The 2006 vintage estimates from the Census Bureau indicate that 91.2 percent of the population in the county was White (65,545 persons), while the estimated black population was 4,294 (6.0%). The same set of estimates indicated there were 884 Asians (1.2%) and 294 American Indians (0.4%). Hispanic is not considered to be a race by the Census Bureau, but rather a separate category. In 2006 there were an estimated 918 hispanic persons (1.3%) living in the county.
Place of Residence. Estimates for 2006 also show 69.3 percent of the population lived in places of 2,500 or more in Cape Girardeau County. Those living in smaller places account for 2.5 percent of the county's population and 28.2 percent lived in unincorporated areas.
Housing. According to the Census Bureau's estimates, there were 31,065 housing units in Cape Girardeau County in 2006. The homeownership rate in 2000 was 68.4 percent compared to 70.3 percent statewide. The median value of owner-occupied housing units in 2000 was $94,700 compared with a statewide median value of $89,900.
Households and Families. There were about 27,031 households in the county according to the 2000 decennial census. Families comprised 66.8 percent of households (18,069). About 23.8 percent of households were married couples with children under 18, which was more than for the state overall (23.3 percent). Single parent families in Cape Girardeau County (7.8%) were fewer than Missouri (9.1%).
Families and Children. Median family income for Cape Girardeau County was $45,518 in 2005 compared to $46,044 for Missouri.
The 2005 poverty rate in Cape Girardeau County was 15.4 percent which was higher than that of the state (13.6%). The poverty rate among children (18.0%) was lower than that of the state (19.5%).
The annual Kids Count reports Cape Girardeau County indicators on children were ranked 26 out of 114 counties and St. Louis City in the state in 2006. Kids Count indicators show that low birth weight infants decreased to 8.1 percent and births to teenage mothers were 36.5 per 1,000 girls. The area also reported child abuse cases at a rate of 34.9 per 1,000 for 2006 compared to 32.7 per 1,000 statewide.
Jobs by Sector. The October 2007 unemployment rate was 4.4 percent compared with 5.2 percent statewide. There were 53,521 jobs in Cape Girardeau County in 2006. Health care and social assistance accounts for more than 16.4 percent of the total jobs (8,756). Retail Trade (7,121), Manufacturing (5,058) and Accommodation and food services (3,791) are the next highest categories.
Agriculture. The 2002 Census of Agriculture reported 1204 farms in the county with total sales of about $44.318 million and production expenses of $39.099 million. There was $5.219 million in net farm income reported in the county with 7.7 percent of all farms having sales of $100,000 or more and 58.1 percent of farms with less than $10,000 in sales.
County Income Patterns. Cape Girardeau County generated over $2,050.826 million of total personal income in 2005. Per capita income was $28,844 compared with $31,231 for Missouri. Significant sources of income were:
Commuting. In Cape Girardeau County, 9.8 percent of workers commute outside their home county to work in 2000. Statewide, 33.4 percent of workers traveled between 30 and 60 minutes to work, while in Cape Girardeau County 13.3 percent traveled as long. At the same time, 3.4 percent of workers traveled more than 60 minutes to work compared with 5.4 percent statewide.
Educational Attainment. In Cape Girardeau County, about 24.2 percent of residents aged 25 years and over (10,515) were college graduates in 2000 compared with 21.6 percent statewide. An additional 10,266 residents 25 and over in Cape Girardeau County had some college education (23.6%) compared with 27.0 percent of all Missourians of that age.
The high school graduation rate in Cape Girardeau County (88.4%) in 2006 as reported by the Missouri Dept. of Education and Secondary Education was higher than the state (85.8%).
Disabilities. There were 4,542 persons age 65 and older in the county who reported having a disability in 2000 (53.1%). The corresponding Missouri rate is 55.3 percent. Among the working age population (aged 16 to 64) in Cape Girardeau County 3,637 reported some work disability, a rate of 8.1 percent compared to a state rate of 10.8 percent.
Health Status Indicators. In 2003, over 16.1 percent of Cape Girardeau County residents report their health was “fair or poor” compared with 16.9 percent statewide. While . percent of Missourians reported having no health coverage, the percent without coverage in Cape Girardeau County was estimated to be 11.6 percent. State health data report the top two prevalence indicators for the county were High Blood Pressure(21.9%) and High Cholesterol (35 years and older)(36.6%). Missouri reported 28.5 percent and 37.3 percent in those same categories.
Age-adjusted Mortality. The top age-adjusted mortality rates (per 100,000) for Cape Girardeau County are Heart Disease (325) and Stroke/ Other Cerebrovascular Disease (72.2). Missouri's rates were 298 and at 64.5 respectively.
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