Scott County is a county in Missouri, United States, on the west bank of the Mississippi River in the southeastern part of the state. It had a population of 38,059 at the 2020 census and covers 426 square miles (1,100 km2), of which 420 square miles are land and 5.9 square miles are water, centred near 37°03′N 89°34′W.
Benton is the county seat. The county has six incorporated cities and roughly two dozen smaller unincorporated communities and crossroads. Scott County sits in the Central time zone and forms part of the Sikeston, MO Micropolitan Statistical Area and the wider Cape Girardeau-Sikeston, MO-IL Combined Statistical Area.
Towns & Villages in Scott County
Six places in Scott County are incorporated cities; the rest are unincorporated communities, rail sidings, or former settlements carried in county gazetteers. Sikeston, the county’s largest city, straddles the Scott–New Madrid county line, so only part of its population lies within Scott County.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sikeston | City | 16,291 | 63801 |
| Scott City | City | 4,346 | — |
| Chaffee | City | 3,057 | — |
| Miner | City | 916 | — |
| Benton | City · seat | 866 | — |
| Oran | City | 1,195 | — |
| Kelso | Village | — | — |
| Morley | Village | — | — |
| Diehlstadt | Village | — | — |
| Vanduser | Village | — | — |
| Illmo | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Commerce | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Blodgett | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Crowder | Unincorp. | — | — |
| New Hamburg | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bleda | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Brooks Junction | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Browns | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Caney Creek | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Haywood City | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hilltop | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Kagel | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lambert | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lusk | Unincorp. | — | — |
| McMullin | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Parker | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Perkins | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Porter | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Price Landing | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Rockview | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Salcedo | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sargent | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Tanner | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Zewapeta | Unincorp. | — | — |
Illmo grew up as a rail junction next to Scott City and is now effectively part of that city’s built-up area rather than a separate place. Commerce, on the Mississippi River south of Scott City, was a 19th-century steamboat landing that never incorporated.
ZIP Codes
- 63801 — Sikeston (covers the Scott County portion of the city and nearby unincorporated land)
Most other cities and villages in the county share ZIP codes with neighboring post offices or their own unverified codes are omitted here rather than guessed; a current ZIP lookup is the most reliable source for a specific address.
Geography
Scott County lies in the Bootheel region of southeastern Missouri, on the low, flat alluvial plain west of the Mississippi River. The Mississippi forms the county’s entire eastern boundary, separating it from Alexander County, Illinois, and periodic Mississippi River flooding has shaped settlement patterns along the eastern edge for two centuries. Away from the river bottoms, the terrain rises gently toward the Ozark foothills in the county’s western reaches.
Scott County borders Cape Girardeau County to the northwest, Alexander County, Illinois, across the Mississippi River to the northeast, Mississippi County to the southeast, New Madrid County to the south, and Stoddard County to the southwest.
Demographics
Scott County had 38,059 residents at the 2020 census. Sikeston, shared with New Madrid County, is by far the largest community, followed by Scott City and Chaffee. Against the Missouri median of $68,545 in the 2023 American Community Survey, Scott County, a mostly rural Bootheel county with a modest manufacturing and retail base, has historically run below that state figure. Population density across the county’s 420 square miles of land works out to roughly 91 people per square mile.
Economy & Local Life
Sikeston anchors the county’s economy as a regional retail, healthcare, and logistics hub for southeastern Missouri, with Interstate 55 and Interstate 57 both passing through the area. Scott City and Chaffee carry a rail and manufacturing legacy from their origins as junction towns on the old St. Louis-San Francisco and Frisco lines. Agriculture — cotton, soybeans, corn, and rice on the Bootheel’s flat, fertile bottomland — remains a major part of the county’s rural economy outside the cities.
History
Scott County was organized in 1821 and named for John Scott, the first person to represent Missouri in the U.S. House of Representatives. Its early economy grew up around river trade on the Mississippi at landings such as Commerce, and later around the railroads that built Scott City, Chaffee, and Illmo as junction towns in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Sikeston, straddling the Scott–New Madrid line, grew into the county’s dominant city as regional highway and rail traffic converged there through the 20th century.
Getting There
Interstate 55 crosses the county north–south and Interstate 57 terminates near Miner, giving Scott County direct highway access to St. Louis and Memphis. U.S. Routes 60 and 62 and Missouri Route 77 provide additional east–west and river-crossing links.
- Cape Girardeau — about 15 miles north
- Poplar Bluff — about 45 miles west
- New Madrid — about 20 miles south
- Memphis, Tennessee — about 115 miles south
Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, just north of the county line, is the nearest commercial airport.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Scott County, Missouri?
It is in the southeastern Bootheel region of Missouri, on the west bank of the Mississippi River across from Alexander County, Illinois.
What is the population of Scott County?
38,059 people at the 2020 census.
How big is Scott County?
426 square miles (1,100 km2) in total, of which 420 square miles are land.
What is the county seat of Scott County?
Benton is the county seat.
How many towns are in Scott County?
Six incorporated cities — Sikeston (partly), Scott City, Chaffee, Miner, Benton, and Oran — plus several smaller unincorporated villages and communities.
What ZIP codes are in Scott County?
63801 covers Sikeston; other communities share ZIP codes with neighboring post offices.
Is Sikeston entirely inside Scott County?
No. Sikeston straddles the county line, with the southern part of the city lying in New Madrid County.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Missouri.