Health Profile of Cape Girardeau County, Missouri
Cape Girardeau County Health Score
The Map AI Health Index is a score that reflects local life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and physical environment to help you quickly compare the overall health and well-being of different areas.
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B
Cape Girardeau County Around averageHealthier than 80% of counties in Missouri
Source: Map AI Methodology
General Health Overview
| Metric | Cape Girardeau County | Missouri Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life Expectancy (years) | 77.5 | 76.9 | 78.3 |
| Uninsured Population (%) | 7.4% | 8.8% | 8.4% |
| Self-Rated Poor Health | 16.5% | 19.0% | 16.3% |
Life expectancy in Cape Girardeau County is 77.5 years, about 0.6 years longer than the Missouri average of 76.9 years. The uninsured rate is 7.4%, lower than the Missouri average of 8.8%. Self-rated poor health is reported by 16.5% of residents, lower than the Missouri average of 19.0%.
Population by Age
Older residents
27,856 residents in Cape Girardeau County are age 50 or older.
- 85+ 1,814 604 men · 1,210 women
- 75–84 4,154 1,735 men · 2,419 women
- 65–74 7,247 3,335 men · 3,911 women
- 50–64 14,641 7,062 men · 7,580 women
Younger residents
16,879 residents in Cape Girardeau County are age 17 or younger.
- 12–17 5,155 2,623 boys · 2,531 girls
- 7–12 4,933 2,582 boys · 2,351 girls
- 3–7 3,878 2,023 boys · 1,855 girls
- 0–3 2,913 1,477 boys · 1,436 girls
About 4,780 residents in Cape Girardeau County (5.8% of the population) are older than the area's life expectancy of 77.5 years.
The highlighted slice of the age axis is the share of residents older than the life-expectancy mark.
Disease Prevalence
| Disease / Condition | Cape Girardeau County | Missouri Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes | 10.2% | 11.9% | 11.3% |
| Cancer | 6.2% | 7.3% | 6.9% |
| Heart Diseases | 6.8% | 8.3% | 7.1% |
| Adult Obesity | 40.1% | 38.1% | 34.3% |
The rate of heart disease in Cape Girardeau County is about 18% lower than in Missouri. The rate of cancer in Cape Girardeau County is about 15% lower than in Missouri.
Health Behaviors
| Behavior | Cape Girardeau County | Missouri Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smokers | 20.4% | 22.8% | 19.0% |
| Binge Drinking | 18.5% | 16.4% | 16.5% |
| Sedentary Lifestyle | 26.4% | 29.0% | 25.1% |
On average, health behaviors in Cape Girardeau County are about the same as in Missouri.
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 132,515 cigarettes a day, 4.0 million a month, or 48.4 million a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 1.5 million minutes a day and 532.0 million a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Cape Girardeau County is 77.5 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.04 lifetimes a day, or 13 lifetimes a year.
* Source: Shaw M, Mitchell R, Dorling D. "Time for a smoke? One cigarette reduces your life by 11 minutes." BMJ. 2000;320:53.
Illustrative only. This is not an estimate of how many people actually die from smoking each day or year - it's a rough, order-of-magnitude comparison meant to help grasp the scale of smoking in this area. We take no responsibility for any decisions made based on this figure.
Air Quality
| Metric | Cape Girardeau County | Missouri Avg | US Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air Pollution (μg/m³) | 7.91 | 6.78 | 6.09 |
With an annual average of 7.9 µg/m³ of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), air quality in Cape Girardeau County is good — generally safe air quality for the vast majority of residents.
Cape Girardeau County, MO Health Compared With Nearby Counties
Cape Girardeau County, MO is the largest of the 6 counties compared here, 82,735 residents against a local median of 16,997. There is no headline here. Every measure below sits within 15% of the median across the nearest counties, which makes Cape Girardeau County, MO an unremarkable member of its own neighbourhood rather than an outlier in it.
The largest of those small differences is obesity, 3% above the local median at 40.1% against 38.9%. Cape Girardeau County, MO has the 4th lowest obesity of the 6 areas compared here.
| Area | Population | Life expectancy | Uninsured | Obesity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Girardeau County, MO | 82,735 | 77.5 yrs #2/6 | 7.4% #4/6 | 40.1% #4/6 |
| Bollinger County, MO | 10,559 | 73.9 yrs | 7.3% | 38.9% |
| Scott County, MO | 37,932 | 77.2 yrs | 10.7% | 43.8% |
| Perry County, MO | 18,976 | 81.4 yrs | 5.7% | 38.3% |
| Alexander County, IL | 4,873 | 74.5 yrs | 9.5% | 43.8% |
| Union County, IL | 16,997 | 76.7 yrs | 6.4% | 36.6% |
Conclusion
Considering all these factors, Cape Girardeau County, Missouri has an overall health index grade of B, making it somewhat better than Missouri, and somewhat better than the country as a whole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about health in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri.
Is Cape Girardeau County, Missouri a healthy place to live?
Cape Girardeau County, Missouri has a Map AI Health Index grade of B, based on life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and the physical environment; a B grade means residents are somewhat healthier than the U.S. average.
Is Cape Girardeau County, Missouri one of the healthiest counties in Missouri?
Cape Girardeau County ranks 24th healthiest out of 115 counties in Missouri by the Map AI Health Index, which measures life expectancy, disease rates, healthcare access, and the physical environment.
How long do people live in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri?
People in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri can expect to live 77.5 years on average, 0.6 years longer than the Missouri average of 76.9.
How many people lack health insurance in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri?
7.4% of residents in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri have no health insurance, about 1 in 14 people, 1.4 points below the Missouri rate of 8.8%.
How common is obesity in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri?
40.1% of adults in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri are classified as obese, about 1 in 2, 2.0 points above the Missouri rate of 38.1%.
How many cigarettes do smokers in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri go through, and how much life does that cost?
Assuming each smoker smokes 10 cigarettes a day, that's about 132,515 cigarettes a day, 4.0 million a month, or 48.4 million a year! At 11 minutes* of life lost per cigarette, that's about 1.5 million minutes a day and 532.0 million a year lost to smoking overall - and since life expectancy in Cape Girardeau County is 77.5 years, that's roughly equivalent to 0.04 lifetimes a day, or 13 lifetimes a year.
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