The economy of the Lower East Central-Cape Region generally outpaces the economy of Missouri as a whole. There has been a varied amount of economic growth in this region during the last ten years, with areas in the northern half of the region seeing good progress, while areas in the southern half are growing at a subdued pace. The population growth since 1990 in the Lower East Central-Cape Region was 10.6%, compared to 9.1% for the state. The poverty rate for this area is 12.9%. This compares with 11.8% for the state as a whole. The unemployment rate during 2002 for the Lower East Central-Cape Region was 6.3%, considerably higher than the state´s rate of 5.5%. The growth in personal income and per capita income in the Lower East Central-Cape Region over the past decade has matched the growth of the state as a whole. However, per capita income in the region was only $21,514 during 2001, compared with $28,221 for the state.
| Lower East Central-Cape Region Population | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Population | 2000 Population Density | 1990 Population | 1999 Population | Change 1990-2000 | Change 1999-2000 | |
| Bollinger | 12,029 | 19.4 | 10,662 | 11,829 | 12.8% | 1.7% |
| Cape Girardeau | 68,693 | 117.2 | 61,755 | 67,200 | 11.2% | 2.2% |
| Iron | 10,697 | 19.4 | 10,747 | 10,936 | -0.5% | -2.2% |
| Madison | 11,800 | 23.7 | 11,137 | 11,650 | 6.0% | 1.3% |
| Perry | 18,132 | 37.4 | 16,683 | 17,431 | 8.7% | 4.0% |
| Reynolds | 6,689 | 8.2 | 6,667 | 6,627 | 0.3% | 0.9% |
| Ste. Genevieve | 17,842 | 35.1 | 16,083 | 17,462 | 10.9% | 2.2% |
| St. Francois | 55,641 | 123.0 | 49,029 | 55,790 | 13.5% | -0.3% |
| Washington | 23,344 | 30.6 | 20,478 | 23,354 | 14.0% | 0.0% |
| Region Total | 224,867 | 42.6 | 203,241 | 222,279 | 10.6% | 1.2% |
| 1999 Lower East Central-Cape Region Demographics | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Females | Males | Population Age < 25 |
Population Age 25-44 |
Population Age > 44 |
1997 Pop. In Poverty | |
| Bollinger | 6,051 | 5,778 | 3,915 | 3,019 | 4,895 | 1,913 |
| Cape Girardeau | 34,987 | 32,213 | 24,849 | 18,351 | 24,000 | 7,476 |
| Iron | 5,847 | 5,089 | 3,783 | 2,669 | 4,484 | 2,222 |
| Madison | 6,081 | 5,569 | 3,801 | 2,780 | 5,069 | 2,044 |
| Perry | 8,865 | 8,566 | 6,198 | 4,570 | 6,663 | 1,723 |
| Reynolds | 3,382 | 3,245 | 2,139 | 1,629 | 2,859 | 1,558 |
| Ste. Genevieve | 8,819 | 8,643 | 6,122 | 4,999 | 6,341 | 1,649 |
| St. Francois | 27,831 | 27,959 | 18,894 | 15,553 | 21,343 | 8,587 |
| Washington | 11,486 | 11,868 | 8,873 | 6,581 | 7,900 | 5,269 |
| Region Total | 113,348 | 108,931 | 78,574 | 60,151 | 83,554 | 32,441 |
| Percent | 50.4% | 48.4% | 34.9% | 26.7% | 37.2% | 15.1% |
| 2000 Lower East Central-Cape Region Demographics | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | Black | Asian | Other | Hispanic | |
| Bollinger | 11,763 | 25 | 26 | 103 | 68 |
| Cape Girardeau | 63,290 | 3,624 | 515 | 477 | 624 |
| Iron | 10,348 | 167 | 10 | 60 | 62 |
| Madison | 11,599 | 15 | 34 | 54 | 66 |
| Perry | 17,808 | 33 | 117 | 68 | 93 |
| Reynolds | 6,398 | 35 | 13 | 100 | 55 |
| Ste. Genevieve | 17,491 | 128 | 29 | 76 | 132 |
| St. Francois | 53,494 | 1,126 | 175 | 335 | 14,577 |
| Washington | 22,286 | 578 | 35 | 193 | 170 |
| Region Total | 214,477 | 5,731 | 954 | 1,466 | 15,847 |
| Percent | 95.4% | 2.5% | 0.4% | 0.7% | 7.0% |
| 2002 Lower East Central-Cape Region Employment Statistics | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labor Force | Employment | Unemployment | Unemployment Rate | |
| Bollinger | 5,762 | 5,340 | 422 | 7.3% |
| Cape Girardeau | 38,698 | 37,143 | 1,555 | 4.0% |
| Iron | 4,542 | 4,084 | 458 | 10.1% |
| Madison | 4,736 | 4,300 | 436 | 9.2% |
| Perry | 10,962 | 10,567 | 395 | 3.6% |
| Reynolds | 2,251 | 2,052 | 199 | 8.8% |
| Ste. Genevieve | 24,626 | 22,672 | 1,954 | 7.9% |
| St. Francois | 8,889 | 8,373 | 516 | 5.8% |
| Washington | 9,687 | 8,707 | 980 | 10.1% |
| Region Total | 110,153 | 103,238 | 6,915 | 6.3% |
| 2001 Lower East Central-Cape Region Industry Employment | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natural Resources & Mining | Const. | Manu. | Trade, Trans. & Utilities | Info. | Financial Activities | Prof. & Business Services | Education & Health Services | Leisure & Hospitality | Other Services | Govt | |
| Bollinger | 22 | 116 | 318 | 468 | 24 | 55 | 42 | 219 | 36 | 95 | 498 |
| Cape Girardeau | 108 | 2,040 | 5,797 | 8,952 | 1,857 | 1,493 | 2,787 | 6,979 | 3,462 | 831 | 4,983 |
| Iron | 0 | 42 | 605 | 370 | 31 | 78 | 41 | 479 | 147 | 195 | 623 |
| Madison | 16 | 112 | 554 | 666 | 60 | 112 | 102 | 253 | 202 | 103 | 783 |
| Perry | 68 | 506 | 3,051 | 1,638 | 35 | 248 | 500 | 473 | 658 | 158 | 1,049 |
| Reynolds | 27 | 45 | 397 | 182 | 32 | 34 | 35 | 192 | 140 | 76 | 424 |
| St. Francois | 193 | 1,007 | 2,347 | 3,832 | 221 | 668 | 1,191 | 3,101 | 1,926 | 497 | 4,670 |
| Ste. Genevieve | 330 | 455 | 1,682 | 872 | 30 | 188 | 126 | 398 | 336 | 184 | 958 |
| Washington | 73 | 119 | 720 | 716 | 28 | 106 | 76 | 375 | 213 | 395 | 1,557 |
| Region Total | 835 | 4,440 | 15,470 | 17,696 | 2,317 | 2,980 | 4,899 | 12,468 | 7,119 | 2,533 | 15,543 |
| Percent | 1.0% | 5.1% | 17.9% | 20.5% | 2.7% | 3.5% | 5.7% | 14.4% | 8.2% | 2.9% | 18.0% |
| 2001 Number of Lower East Central-Cape Region Establishments by Size | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employees | 1-4 | 5-9 | 10-19 | 20-49 | 50-99 | 100-249 | 250-499 | 500-999 | 1000+ | County Total |
| Bollinger | 133 | 38 | 25 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 207 |
| Cape Girardeau | 1,141 | 492 | 328 | 242 | 69 | 37 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 2,324 |
| Iron | 166 | 48 | 22 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 256 |
| Madison | 183 | 42 | 27 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 273 |
| Perry | 259 | 87 | 50 | 41 | 15 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 464 |
| Reynolds | 85 | 31 | 19 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 148 |
| Ste. Genevieve | 705 | 250 | 140 | 121 | 36 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1,275 |
| St. Francois | 201 | 69 | 51 | 25 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 363 |
| Washington | 196 | 59 | 25 | 21 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 312 |
| Region Total | 3,069 | 1,116 | 687 | 487 | 149 | 80 | 24 | 6 | 4 | 5,622 |
| Percent | 54.6% | 19.9% | 12.2% | 8.7% | 2.7% | 1.4% | 0.4% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 100.0% |
| Lower East Central-Cape Region Farms | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 1997 | % Change | |
| Bollinger | 786 | 832 | 5.9% |
| Cape Girardeau | 1,203 | 1,161 | -3.5% |
| Iron | 284 | 274 | -3.5% |
| Madison | 380 | 386 | 1.6% |
| Perry | 897 | 857 | -4.5% |
| Reynolds | 298 | 302 | 1.3% |
| Ste. Genevieve | 635 | 631 | -0.6% |
| St. Francois | 693 | 649 | -6.3% |
| Washington | 476 | 499 | 4.8% |
| Region Total | 5,652 | 5,591 | -1.1% |
| Lower East Central-Cape Region Personal Income ($000) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 2000 | 2001 | % Change 1991-2001 | % Change 2000-2001 | |
| Bollinger | $121,232 | $195,518 | $202,027 | 66.6% | 3.3% |
| Cape Girardeau | $1,044,411 | $1,777,559 | $1,836,005 | 75.8% | 3.3% |
| Iron | $129,689 | $181,428 | $185,087 | 42.7% | 2.0% |
| Madison | $103,960 | $161,465 | $169,223 | 62.8% | 4.8% |
| Perry | $248,712 | $403,588 | $409,795 | 64.8% | 1.5% |
| Reynolds | $79,110 | $113,402 | $112,988 | 42.8% | -0.4% |
| Ste. Genevieve | $647,373 | $1,060,400 | $1,094,218 | 69.0% | 3.2% |
| St. Francois | $231,122 | $390,828 | $397,819 | 72.1% | 1.8% |
| Washington | $231,645 | $377,181 | $389,621 | 68.2% | 3.3% |
| Region Total | $2,837,254 | $4,661,369 | $4,796,783 | 69.1% | 2.9% |
| Lower East Central-Cape Region Per Capita Personal Income | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 2000 | 2001 | % Change 1991-2001 | % Change 2000-2001 | |
| Bollinger | $11,334 | $16,203 | $16,514 | 45.7% | 1.9% |
| Cape Girardeau | $16,663 | $25,850 | $26,543 | 59.3% | 2.7% |
| Iron | $12,075 | $17,061 | $17,539 | 45.3% | 2.8% |
| Madison | $12,711 | $18,124 | $19,391 | 52.6% | 7.0% |
| Perry | $14,713 | $22,236 | $22,573 | 53.4% | 1.5% |
| Reynolds | $11,811 | $16,828 | $17,122 | 45.0% | 1.7% |
| Ste. Genevieve | $13,071 | $19,015 | $19,507 | 49.2% | 2.6% |
| St. Francois | $14,349 | $21,818 | $22,100 | 54.0% | 1.3% |
| Washington | $11,254 | $16,096 | $16,631 | 47.8% | 3.3% |
| Region Total | $14,038 | $20,962 | $21,514 | 53.3% | 2.6% |
