Best Value Colleges in Missouri
We estimate how many years the earnings premium over a typical Missouri high school graduate would take to repay four years of net price. Across the 29 public and private nonprofit colleges that qualify, the estimate runs from 1.1 years at the fastest to 14.3 years at the slowest.
The median college needs 3.3 years to repay its net price, 0.1 years longer than the national median of 3.2 years. Public colleges (9) have a median payback of 2.3 years against 3.7 years for the 20 private nonprofit colleges, so public options tend to repay faster here.
Missouri University of Science and Technology ranks first at 1.1 years, ahead of Washington University in St Louis (1.4 years) and University of Missouri-Kansas City (1.7 years). Payback is an estimate, not a forecast: it assumes four years of net price and the earnings of past graduates, and it says nothing about your own major or career.
How this list is built
A college appears here only if it meets every condition below.
- Colleges considered
- Public and private nonprofit 4-year colleges
- Ranked by payback, lowest first. Ties are broken by larger undergraduate enrollment, then by name.
- Main campuses only, with at least 60% of core data fields reported
- Main campus located in Missouri
- At least 500 undergraduate students enrolled (fall 2024)
- Graduation rate of 40% or higher
- A reported payback value (schools without one are not ranked)
- This page is published only when at least 15 schools qualify; Missouri has 29
- Data period
- Payback: years for the earnings premium over a high school graduate in the same state to repay four years of net price (shown only when the premium is at least $2,000).
- Net price: average for students receiving aid, academic year 2023-24.
- Earnings: median earnings four years after completing, measured in 2022 and 2023 for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 cohorts, in 2024 dollars.
- Graduate debt: median federal loan debt of completers, pooled 2020 and 2021 cohorts.
- Graduation rate: first-time, full-time students who started in fall 2018 (4-year) or fall 2021 (2-year), finishing within 150% of normal time.
- Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, June 2026 release.
Showing all 29 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla, MO Public · 4-year | 1.1 years | $16,298 | $93,514 | $23,250 | 64% |
| 2 | Washington University in St Louis St. Louis, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.4 years | $21,786 | $95,899 | $17,500 | 94% |
| 3 | University of Missouri-Kansas City Kansas City, MO Public · 4-year | 1.7 years | $13,310 | $65,925 | $18,750 | 56% |
| 4 | Maryville University of Saint Louis Saint Louis, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | 1.8 years | $22,066 | $84,871 | $22,000 | 69% |
| 5 | University of Missouri-St Louis Saint Louis, MO Public · 4-year | 2.2 years | $15,071 | $62,350 | $20,000 | 57% |
| 6 | William Jewell College Liberty, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.2 years | $17,562 | $66,965 | $24,498 | 64% |
| 7 | University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO Public · 4-year | 2.3 years | $20,268 | $69,651 | $20,500 | 76% |
| 8 | Saint Louis University Saint Louis, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.3 years | $24,398 | $77,024 | $25,000 | 80% |
| 9 | Truman State University Kirksville, MO Public · 4-year | 2.3 years | $12,780 | $56,947 | $21,000 | 68% |
| 10 | Avila University Kansas City, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.4 years | $16,053 | $61,078 | $25,000 | 47% |
| 11 | Rockhurst University Kansas City, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.5 years | $25,884 | $76,125 | $18,250 | 75% |
| 12 | Webster University Saint Louis, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.6 years | $27,047 | $75,697 | $23,000 | 63% |
| 13 | College of the Ozarks Point Lookout, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | 2.6 years | $6,100 | $44,258 | — | 62% |
| 14 | University of Central Missouri Warrensburg, MO Public · 4-year | 3.0 years | $14,462 | $54,054 | $21,000 | 52% |
| 15 | Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Kansas City, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | 3.3 years | $23,006 | $62,368 | $15,675 | 59% |
| 16 | Lindenwood University Saint Charles, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | 3.4 years | $19,638 | $58,207 | $26,000 | 50% |
| 17 | Northwest Missouri State University Maryville, MO Public · 4-year | 3.7 years | $16,244 | $52,213 | $21,500 | 56% |
| 18 | Southeast Missouri State University Cape Girardeau, MO Public · 4-year | 3.8 years | $15,882 | $51,502 | $21,500 | 57% |
| 19 | Missouri State University-Springfield Springfield, MO Public · 4-year | 3.9 years | $17,613 | $53,058 | $21,992 | 58% |
| 20 | Columbia College (MO) Columbia, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | 4.0 years | $22,715 | $57,679 | $23,879 | 44% |
| 21 | Southwest Baptist University Bolivar, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | 4.5 years | $21,677 | $54,286 | $20,957 | 53% |
| 22 | Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Fayette, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | 5.4 years | $22,766 | $51,668 | $17,619 | 52% |
| 23 | Westminster College (MO) Fulton, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | 5.9 years | $24,314 | $51,238 | $27,000 | 56% |
| 24 | Missouri Baptist University Saint Louis, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | 6.1 years | $27,006 | $52,550 | $22,500 | 48% |
| 25 | William Woods University Fulton, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | 6.1 years | $26,569 | $52,367 | $21,983 | 52% |
| 26 | Evangel University Springfield, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | 6.3 years | $18,669 | $46,593 | $24,736 | 65% |
| 27 | Drury University Springfield, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | 6.5 years | $20,831 | $47,568 | $20,979 | 64% |
| 28 | Culver-Stockton College Canton, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | 6.6 years | $21,983 | $48,225 | $26,000 | 45% |
| 29 | Ozark Christian College Joplin, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | 14.3 years | $20,580 | $40,563 | $16,772 | 66% |
How to compare these colleges
Treat the payback column as a way to compare schools, not as a promise about your own future. It uses the average net price, so your own cost may be higher or lower, and it uses median earnings of former students, which depend heavily on major. Check earnings for your intended program on each college profile, and favor schools where the graduation rate is high.
Guides worth reading first
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Same list in nearby states
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All 69 colleges in Missouri See the national version of this ranking