Sikeston sees little population change in 10 years

The City of Sikeston saw very little population change in the last decade according to U.S. Census data released last week.

U.S. Census Bureau data shows that Sikeston had 16,318 residents in 2010 and had 27 fewer in 2020 with 16,291.

While Sikeston stayed relatively the same, Charleston saw their population decrease by a significant amount. Charleston had 5,056 residents in 2020, 891 fewer than the 2010 Census when Charleston had 5,947 residents.

Dexter was one of the few communities in southeast Missouri that actually grew. Dexter had 7,927 residents in 2020, up 63 from 7,864 in 2010.

In general, the population dropped all across southeast Missouri and the Bootheel. All four local counties saw populations decline in the last decade.

Scott County went from 39,191 in 2010 to 38,059 in 2020 while Stoddard County dropped from 29,968 in 2010 to 28,672 in 2020. Mississippi County saw a decline with 14,358 in 2010 now down to 12,577 in 2020.

The biggest decline locally was New Madrid County who went from 18,956 in 2010 to 16,434 in 2030, a drop of 2,522 residents.

Overall the state population grew only slightly at 2.8% over the past decade.