Rise in region's household income outpaces state, nation

The median household income in the Cape Girardeau region is rising, according to data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The growth in Cape Girardeau also appears to be outpacing state and national rates, according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey data from 2005 to 2015, the most recent year available.

The median household brought in $47,824 in 2015, according to the survey, marking a steady increase over $42,219 in 2013.

Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce vice president of business development Shad Burner said the survey data bolsters what he's heard from local business owners.

"Over the last few years, we have had a sense that the economy has been strengthening in Cape as evidenced by the number of expansions and new companies or growth that's occurring in the companies when we speak to them," Burner said. "Or even when you just drive down the road, you look around and see growth occurring, so it wasn't surprising for us to see that we've had continuous growth in some of these areas."

David Yaskewich, assistant professor of economics at Southeast Missouri State University, said the numbers suggest a multi-year upswing.

"The increase in income is consistent with other things we see," he said. "Income levels tend to rise when more people are working and spending more money.

Yaskewich, however, pointed out estimates from smaller geographic areas -- such as Cape Girardeau and its immediate surroundings -- typically have a larger margin of error than sample sizes at the state and national level.

This means the numbers for Cape Girardeau are somewhat more susceptible to sampling variability that could exaggerate year-to-year shifts.

Even so, Yaskewich said corresponding increases in retail sales and lower employment over the same time span indicate a robust economy.

"Rising income levels in the region are believable and good news," he said.

Yaskewich said Cape Girardeau economy's broad reliance on the health-care sector, which has seen increases in employment over time, could help explain why the area is on the rise.

"If we look at the last recession, if we were to identify industries that took a large hit, I would say manufacturing and construction took pretty large hits," Yaskewich said. "I think our growing health-care sector is one reason you might see Cape Girardeau perform a little better than the national averages."

Burner said there always will be pockets of concerns and challenges in an economy, but said the growth shown in the Census data bodes well for future development.

"In general, the more money that's bouncing around in your local economy, the more likely you are to attract more retail businesses," Burner said.

Yaskewich agreed, saying he wasn't aware of any factors that pose serious threats to the local economy.

"Most national forecasts suggest that we're going to see growth for the next year," he said. "In the immediate future, I don't see any significant concerns for the local areas. It looks like we're going to see continued growth but at a smaller pace, at least based on national forecasts."

tgraef@semissourian.com

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