Cape committee plans campaign to encourage people to fill out census forms next year

After decades of commercial expansion but little growth of population, Cape Girardeau appears to be adding people -- and the city plans a big push to make sure next year's census counts reflect the surge.

Since 1970, when Cape Girardeau's population was 63.4 percent of all Cape Girardeau County residents, population growth in the city has lagged behind the county. During the 1980s, the city added 77 residents while the county grew by 2,796 people, according to figures from the U.S. Census Bureau.

But the growth gap has narrowed since 2000, according to Census Bureau estimates. Cape Girardeau has added 2,011 people, a growth rate of 5.6 percent, while the county added 4,550 people for a growth rate of 6.6 percent.

Finding, and counting, those extra people will be the Census Bureau's job. But the Cape Girardeau Complete Count Committee, a 17-member group composed of community leaders and city and county representatives, is planning a publicity campaign to encourage people to fill out the census forms that will arrive early next year.

The Census Bureau has already sent workers out to log every residential address in the city. The agency will send a form to every residence on its list.

When the 2000 census took place, only 73 percent of Cape Girardeau households responded through the mail. The Complete Count Committee has a goal of 100 percent returns, said Heather Brooks, assistant to the city manager.

"The statistics are used for everything," Brooks said. "It helps shape the image of a community and helps us show companies why our community is the place to come and do business. And there is $400 billion that is allocated at the federal level through many different funds" based on population.

A good local count has larger implications as well, Brooks said. After a census, the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are redistributed among the states. States that lose population, or fail to match the national growth rate, face potential loss of Congressional seats. Missouri could face that result in 2011. The state lost a seat after the 1980 census.

The Complete Count Committee intends to target segments of the community that had low return rates in 2000, Brooks said. The goal is to make people comfortable with the census, reassure those distrustful of government that the information is kept strictly confidential and that the city will benefit, she said.

The effort will include working through churches, schools, Southeast Missouri State University and by leaving fliers at homes, she said. "We are trying to get a positive message out there that it is important for the community and it can impact them when they talk about representation and money."

Population history

The last time Cape Girardeau's population grew faster than the county as a whole was in the 1960s, when the city added 6,335 people. Most of that growth, however, came as the city limits expanded through annexation. In 1967, new boundaries made the city 56 percent larger and added several established residential areas.

Since 1970, however, the city population has grown only 19.8 percent, or about 5,088 people, to an estimated 37,370 on July 1, 2008. That growth rate appears anemic compared to the growth in the city's housing stock -- between 1970 and 2000, the number homes and apartments in Cape Girardeau increased 53 percent, to 15,827. And since 2000, the city has issued building permits for 700 more single-family homes.

What helps explain why population growth lags behind home construction, said Thomas M. Meyer, chairman of the Complete Count Committee and owner of Exit Realty, is that fewer people on average live in each home. According to Census Bureau figures, Cape Girardeau averaged 2.24 people per household in 2000, down from 2.9 per household in 1970. That was lower than the state average of about 2.5 people per household.

Cape Girardeau in 2000 also had a population with a higher concentration of senior citizens and a lower percentage of children than the state overall. Residents older than 65 made up 15.5 percent of the population compared to 13.5 percent statewide. Children under 18 were 20.5 percent of the residents compared to 25.5 percent throughout Missouri.

"Family sizes today are 1.25 children per family, not the three to five kids as it was in the past," Meyer said.

Another trend that limited Cape Girardeau's growth over the past few decades may be reversing itself, Meyer said. In past decades, with inexpensive fuel, living outside the principle city in any part of the country was an attractive alternative, he said.

"People are able to pick up land, like a three-acre tract, fairly inexpensively," Meyer said. "It is still a bargain and they can have their estate. People feel the value of land, and the more they have got, the more it is interpreted as a value to themselves."

Looking ahead

Cape Girardeau could be poised for a period of substantial growth, Meyer said. The two hospitals are growing continually, attracting specialist physicians as well as other health professionals. The city has been adding amenities such as the new River Campus with its art and performance venues.

"We have a lot of cultural growth features, and we have got some things hands down that Jackson won't have in a long time," Meyer said.

The city's recent ranking from Money magazine as the 24th best place to retire in the nation could also bring a new influx and a marketing plan is being developed around the ranking, city manager Scott Meyer said.

"We'd love to expand the number of retirees living here," he said.

The marketing effort is being developed by the Convention and Visitors Bureau, Scott Meyer said.

But first will come the marketing effort to make sure census forms are returned promptly, Thomas M. Meyer said.

"We are selling the sizzle," he said. "We are going to visualize that there is a benefit you will have by filling out the form."

With so many government programs at both the state and federal level targeted to population formulas, missing people means missing opportunities, he said.

"Government is here to help, and we cannot have a lot of what we enjoy today without that help," he said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

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Cape Girardeau, MO