Photo: Drowzy at English Wikipedia · Public domainCape Girardeau has more violent crime per resident than nine in ten U.S. towns
Per resident, the graded crimes were down 32% from 2023 to 2025. Behind the grade sit 5.7 violent crimes and 22.5 incidents of property crime per 1,000 people a year, where the comparison is 5.8 and 26.2 in the rest of Missouri. From 2023 to 2025, crimes Cape Girardeau’s police reported put it at D for safety: #136 of 172 graded towns in Missouri. Each of the two towns on its borders with figures records less crime per resident.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of MO” is every other Missouri city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in Cape Girardeau
2 of the 2 graded towns next door report less crime
Of the 2 Missouri towns on Cape Girardeau’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: Jackson (B), Scott City (C+). Neighbors ↓
A college town
Cape Girardeau is home to Southeast Missouri State University, with 7,933 students taking classes on campus (federal college data), and 16% of residents are enrolled in college (Census). Students who live in town count as residents, so they are part of the per-resident rate. How to read it ↓
A job center
Cape Girardeau has 24,951 jobs based in town for 40,977 residents (Census LEHD), so some reports involve people who work or shop there rather than residents. How to read it ↓
Reported crime is falling
Crime reported per resident fell from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Cape Girardeau’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are higher than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the closer of the two to typical.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Cape Girardeau property | Rest of Missouri property | Cape Girardeau violent | Rest of Missouri violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 24.6 | 31.9 | 6.0 | 6.4 |
| 2023 | 25.7 | 28.8 | 6.3 | 5.9 |
| 2024 | 24.6 | 27.0 | 6.2 | 6.0 |
| 2025 | 17.2 | 22.9 | 4.7 | 5.5 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of Missouri.
Crime in Cape Girardeau per 1,000 residents
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
And about 5 violent crimes, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Cape Girardeau | Rest of Missouri | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 6.0 | 6.4 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 6.3 | 5.9 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 6.2 | 6.0 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 4.7 | 5.5 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Cape Girardeau’s police reported 704 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 5.7 per 1,000 residents a year, against 5.8 in the rest of Missouri and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
899 crimes reported in 2025
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
192 violent and 707 property, as reported to the FBI by Cape Girardeau’s police.
23 people died in crashes on Cape Girardeau’s roads in 2019–2023
Cape Girardeau had 22 fatal crashes in five years, in which 23 people died; 1 was a pedestrian and 1 was a cyclist. 3 died in crashes on an Interstate.
That is 11.4 deaths per 100,000 residents a year, above the median for Missouri towns of 25,000–100,000 people (6.9, 24 towns).
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Cape Girardeau and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Girardeau | D | 5.7 | 22.5 |
| Jackson | B | 1.0 | 9.8 |
| Scott City | C+ | 3.0 | 9.6 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Missouri towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Girardeau | D | 5.7 | 22.5 |
| Wentzville | B | 1.5 | 8.2 |
| Chesterfield | B | 1.0 | 11.3 |
| Florissant | C | 2.9 | 18.0 |
| University City | C | 3.0 | 18.0 |
| Jefferson City | C− | 3.3 | 19.6 |
The five graded Missouri towns closest to Cape Girardeau’s population (40,977), by grade.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of Cape Girardeau. A town-wide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of town to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Cape Girardeau’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (41,080 in 2025); our figure for Cape Girardeau is 40,977 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Cape Girardeau
Is Cape Girardeau, MO safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Cape Girardeau reports more crime per resident than 88% of U.S. towns, a D Safety Grade and #136 of 172 in Missouri. Its police reported 5.7 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 5.8 in the rest of Missouri and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Cape Girardeau?
5.7 violent and 22.5 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of Missouri reports 5.8 and 26.2; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
How many homicides were there in Cape Girardeau in 2025?
Cape Girardeau’s police reported 2 homicides to the FBI for 2025, 4.9 per 100,000 residents. Across U.S. cities and towns in the FBI’s tables the 2025 figure was 4.6.
Is Cape Girardeau safer than Jackson?
Jackson reports less crime per resident than Cape Girardeau: Jackson grades B for safety and Cape Girardeau D. Jackson’s police reported 1.0 violent and 9.8 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Cape Girardeau?
Cape Girardeau’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Cape Girardeau”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Cape Girardeau.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.