Scott County is located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,059. Its county seat is Benton. The county was organized in 1821 and named for U.S. Representative John Scott, the first federal representative from Missouri. Scott County comprises the Sikeston, MO Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Cape Girardeau-Sikeston, MO-IL Combined Statistical Area. The county is home to Scott County Central High School, which has won 18 state championships in boys basketball—the most of any high school in the state.

Cape Girardeau is a city in Cape Girardeau and Scott Counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. At the 2020 census, the population was 39,540. The city is one of two principal cities of the Cape Girardeau, MO-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses Alexander County, Illinois, Bollinger County, Missouri and Cape Girardeau County, Missouri and has a population of 97,517. The sliver of the city located in Scott County is part of the Sikeston Micropolitan Statistical Area, and the entire city forms the core of the Cape Girardeau-Sikeston Combined Statistical Area.