Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Jackson gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $272K, 4.1 years of the Cape Girardeau metro’s $67K median household income. It grades A− overall, 51st among Missouri's 247 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 76% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. On the plus side, its schools outperform 79% of the state's. Jackson’s trail network density is 1.9 miles per square mile, above both Missouri’s towns (0.3) and U.S. towns (0.4). Jackson's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) is stronger than in 92% of U.S. towns. Jackson has 6 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them McKendree Chapel and Bennett-Tobler-Pace-Oliver House.
Where Jackson beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| East Elementary | PK–4 | 726 |
| South Elem. | K–4 | 433 |
| Orchard Drive Elem. | K–4 | 404 |
Bennett-Tobler-Pace-Oliver House
Its founding year, 1811, comes before those of 95% of the Missouri towns we grade with a known year.
Census counts: 433 in 1860, 15,481 in 2020. The archive holds 7 old photos and papers going back to 2004 and 3 maps from 1922 on.
6 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Missouri), ordered by how far Jackson is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Jackson, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Jackson.
Jackson pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices and fares better on crime within Missouri than nationally.
In 4 parks and preserves, walkers have 21 miles of trail. The biggest park or preserve is Brookside Park, at 38 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Klaus Park | 4.3 mi | 31 |
| 2. Brookside Park | 0.8 mi | 38 |
| 3. Jackson Walking Path | 0.4 mi | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
That grade comes with a B+ for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $272K.
Public schools: Jackson R-II. Three of the 9 schools are below, and why each made the list.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russell Hawkins JR. HighLargest public middle schoolGrades 7–8 | Grades 7–8 | 867 | B+ |
| Jackson SR. HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,830 | A− |
| West Lane Elem.Top results in townGrades K–4 | Grades K–4 | 389 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MO on state tests and graduation
33 flood insurance claims have been paid in Jackson since 1982. FEMA puts 43% of the town’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 20% to earthquakes. Federal aid has come to Jackson households in 10 declared disasters; the latest was in 2025.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Jackson’s peak summer temperature stands at 89°F, near the Missouri town median (88°F) and above the median of U.S. towns (85°F).
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The share of adults in Jackson who feel lonely: 31%. Among adults locally, 10% worry about having enough food and 10% have diabetes.
| Jackson | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 32% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 15% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 10% | 12% | 12% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 38% | 35% |
| What stands out | Jackson | MO |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10% | 13.7% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 6.8% | 9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jackson: nearly one in ten residents live below the poverty line. Commuting out is the norm locally: nearly a fifth of working residents work locally. Its typical journey to work stands at 20 minutes. The top destinations are Cape Girardeau (31%), St. Louis (3%) and Sikeston (3%).
| Jackson | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 19% | 13% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 22 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 8.6% | 14% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 12% | 9% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
At 14 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports less crime than 80% of Missouri’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 202 to 137 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Jackson’s rate of thefts and burglaries stands at 7.8 per 1,000 residents. In Jackson, the rate of reported violence is 0.7 per 1,000 residents.
| Jackson | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.7 per 1,000 residents | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 7.8 per 1,000 residents | 12.5 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
The Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate puts Jackson at 16,033 residents, up 3.5% since 2020. By age, Jackson looks like Missouri: each broad group is within 4 points. 36% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more here.
| Jackson | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 36% | 22% | 29% |
| Under 18 | 25% | 23% | 22% |
| Median age | 37.1 years | 38.5 years | 40.5 years |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.6 points. Across Missouri, 50.7% of residents are women.
| Jackson | MO | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 11.9% | 11.9% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 12.8% | 10.4% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 8.2% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.8% | 13.2% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.6% | 12.8% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.6% | 11.6% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 9.9% | 13% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 9.2% | 10.6% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8% | 7.3% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.6% | 8.1% | 10.4% |
| High school | 30.4% | 30.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 20.4% | 20.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 7.7% | 8.4% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.9% | 19.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 13.9% | 12.6% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Zillow values the typical Jackson home at about $272,000, up 4.9% in a year, close to the Missouri typical home. Its going rate for rent comes in at $900 a month. In Jackson, 26% of sales closed above the list price.
| Jackson | Missouri towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $900 a month | $972 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 71% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
2 within 15 miles of the center of Jackson
About 5 of every 100 Jackson residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Missouri.
2.3% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
6 places in Jackson on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Jackson.
City in Missouri, United States
Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, United States. It is a principal city of the Cape Girardeau-Jackson metropolitan area Area. The population of Jackson was 15,481 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Jackson.
| Town | MO rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson | #51 | A− | B+ | B | A− | B+ |
| Cape Girardeau | #203 | C− | B | D | C+ | C |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Jackson grades A− overall, better than 77% of U.S. towns and #51 of 247 in Missouri. It grades B+ for health, B for safety and A− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a C−.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.
8 notable people were born here, including Roy Thomas and Gary Friedrich.
