Property tax in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

The median property tax bill in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri is $1,421 a year, which is about 0.64% of the county's median home value of $220,700. That effective rate is lower than the typical Missouri county (0.7%) and lower than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.

Estimate the property tax on a home in Cape Girardeau County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Cape Girardeau County's average effective rate of 0.64% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.

Home market value

Estimated property tax: $1,412 / year

Property tax in Cape Girardeau County at a glance

Cape Girardeau County, Missouri property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$1,421
Median home value	$220,700
Effective tax rate	0.64%
Typical Missouri county rate	0.7%
National median county rate	0.81%

Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

How does Cape Girardeau County compare in Missouri?

Among Missouri's 115 counties, Cape Girardeau County has the 74th highest effective property-tax rate: 73 rank higher and 41 rank lower. That is on the lower side for Missouri. Nationally, it ranks 2114th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every Missouri county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Cape Girardeau County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Cape Girardeau County's 21,666 owner-occupied homes, 9.1% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 26.3% pay at least $2,000, and 16.6% pay under $800. Another 2.6% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by Cape Girardeau County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	3,596	16.6%
$800 to $1,499	7,853	36.2%
$1,500 to $1,999	3,958	18.3%
$2,000 to $2,999	3,718	17.2%
$3,000 or more	1,967	9.1%
No property tax paid	574	2.6%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,503 and owners without one pay $1,308. Owners who have paid off a home have usually held it longer, and in states that cap how fast an existing owner's assessment can rise, long-held homes carry lower assessed values. Census table B25103.

How does the Cape Girardeau County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $1,421 is about 1.6% of the median income of Cape Girardeau County homeowner households, $87,135 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 66.8% of Cape Girardeau County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.

Have property taxes gone up in Cape Girardeau County?

Yes. The median bill went from $1,217 in 2015-2019 to $1,421 in 2020-2024, a 16.8% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 37.5%, from $160,500 to $220,700. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.

Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.

Property tax in counties next to Cape Girardeau County

Cape Girardeau County borders 6 counties, 2 of them across the state line.

Cape Girardeau County and its neighbors, highest effective rate first (Census ACS 2020-2024)
County	Effective rate	Median bill	Median home value
Alexander County, IL	1.81%	$1,084	$59,800
Union County, IL	1.3%	$1,712	$131,700
Perry County, MO	0.74%	$1,395	$188,200
Stoddard County, MO	0.66%	$939	$143,300
Cape Girardeau County, MO (this county)	0.64%	$1,421	$220,700
Scott County, MO	0.62%	$957	$154,400
Bollinger County, MO	0.58%	$1,034	$179,800

How is a home assessed in Cape Girardeau County?

Missouri assesses homes at 19% of market value in every county, Cape Girardeau County included. How Missouri assesses and reappraises homes.

Is there a homestead exemption in Cape Girardeau County?

No. Missouri has no general homestead exemption; relief comes through the income-tested Property Tax Credit and the county-option senior freeze. That is the Missouri rule, and it applies in Cape Girardeau County. Missouri's exemptions and relief programs in full.

When are property taxes due in Cape Girardeau County?

One annual bill, due no later than December 31, with mailed payments credited by postmark. Collectors typically mail bills in November. There is no statewide installment plan, though a county may adopt one by ordinance.

That is the Missouri rule. Cape Girardeau County issues and collects the bill, so the dates printed on your statement are the ones that bind you.

How to appeal your Cape Girardeau County property assessment

You contest the assessed value with the County Board of Equalization, then the Missouri State Tax Commission. The filing deadline is typically the second Monday in July (county Board of Equalization). That is the Missouri rule; Cape Girardeau County sets the exact dates and forms. The Missouri appeal process step by step.

Missouri rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the Missouri page.

Work out your own numbers

Sources

Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Cape Girardeau County, Missouri: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.