Cape Girardeau; colloquially referred to as "Cape") is a city in Cape Girardeau and Scott counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is located approximately 115 miles southeast of St. Louis and 175 miles north of Memphis. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the city's population was 37,941, making it the 16th-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Southeast Missouri. An emerging college town, it is the home of Southeast Missouri State University.