Census figures show Cape is 17th-largest city in Missouri

Cape Girardeau's growth since 2000 makes it the 17th-largest city in Missouri, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

According to the bureau's latest population estimates, Cape Girardeau had a July 2008 population of 37,370, an increase of 253 since July 2007 and 2,021 from eight years earlier. In city size, Cape Girardeau ranks behind Jefferson City at 40,771, according to bureau statistics.

Since 2000 the state's population has increased by 5.3 percent, about 0.1 percentage point lower than Cape Girardeau.

"One of the most commonly asked questions is why the population signs have remained relatively unchanged in recent years," said Cape Girardeau Mayor Jay Knudtson. "While the city itself hasn't experienced a huge amount of growth, our county has seen more in the past decade."

Cape Girardeau County is estimated to have grown from 68,693 in 2000 to 73,243 in 2008, a 6.2 percent increase. Other counties in Southeast Missouri remained about the same. Perry County gained two residents while Bollinger County lost 124 people and Scott County decreased by 32.

Knudtson said he believes the city is limited in its potential for growth because of borders that have exhausted future land development.

Jackson, Perryville, Scott City and Sikeston saw minimal increases in their population in one year, with Jackson seeing the largest increase of 283 residents.

Other cities in Southeast Missouri have seen a small decline. Advance lost an estimated nine people, Matthews 11, Marble Hill 13 and East Prairie 20.

Overall, Missouri's population increased from 5,878,399 in 2007 to 5,911,605 in 2008. The state's five largest cities are Kansas City, with 451,572, St. Louis, 354,361, Springfield, 156,206, Independence, 110,440, and Columbia, 100,733.

Census data showed that New Orleans was the fastest-growing U.S. city in 2008 at a rate of 8.2 percent, with a population of 311,853. However, the population is below pre-Hurricane Katrina level of 484,674. The nation's fastest-growing city between 2000 and 2008 was McKinney, Texas, whose population doubled to 121,211.

While the population of Cape Girardeau and Jackson has grown, so has the number of jobless. The U.S. Labor Department showed that the Cape Girardeau and Jackson area unemployment rate for May was 6.8 percent, an increase of 1.8 percent from a year ago.

Knudtson is optimistic the city will see for growth in the near future, despite the recession.

The city, he said, is poised for growth near the Lewis and Clark Parkway, a two-lane road that will connect Center Junction with LaSalle Avenue near the new Interstate 55 interchange. He said it could be three to five years before significant growth occurs in that area.

"We'll take small bites and digest it in one bite at a time rather than one big gulp," Knudtson said. "While it appeared at first to be on a larger scale, it now appears things will be slower and in a more orderly fashion, and I'm not so sure that isn't a good thing."

bblackwell@semissourian.com

388-3628

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau, MO