Cape Girardeau could lose metropolitan status Population count for metro areas may increase By Noelle Williams | March 15, 2021 at 10:12 PM CDT - Updated March 16 at 6:59 AM CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KFVS) - Cape Girardeau’s population size has made itself a hub for employment. A possible change by the federal government may now limit your chances of working. “If it goes to the type of guidelines they used before we would not make it,” said John Mehner, president of the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce. He said the Cape Girardeau area became an MSA, a metropolitan statistical area, after reaching the 50,000-population mark in the 2010 census.