Colleges in Missouri With the Highest Graduate Earnings
Median earnings four years after graduation at the 38 four-year colleges we rank in Missouri run from $95,899 at the top to $36,640 at the bottom, a spread of $59,259.
The median college sits at $53,176, which is $6,228 (10%) below the national median of $59,403. Public colleges (15) have a median of $53,058 and private nonprofit colleges (23) a median of $54,286, and the typical net price across the list is $19,365.
Washington University in St Louis ranks first at $95,899, ahead of Missouri University of Science and Technology ($93,514) and Maryville University of Saint Louis ($84,871).
How this list is built
A college appears here only if it meets every condition below.
- Colleges considered
- All 4-year colleges (public, private nonprofit and for-profit)
- Ranked by earnings after 4 years, highest 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)
- A reported earnings after 4 years value (schools without one are not ranked)
- This page is published only when at least 15 schools qualify; Missouri has 38
- Data period
- Earnings: median earnings four years after completing, measured in 2022 and 2023 for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 cohorts, in 2024 dollars.
- Net price: average for students receiving aid, academic year 2023-24.
- 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.
- Enrollment: undergraduate students, fall 2024.
- Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, June 2026 release.
Showing all 38 qualifying schools. Select a column heading to re-sort the table.
| 1 | Washington University in St Louis St. Louis, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $95,899 | $21,786 | $17,500 | 94% | 7,857 |
| 2 | Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla, MO Public · 4-year | $93,514 | $16,298 | $23,250 | 64% | 5,521 |
| 3 | Maryville University of Saint Louis Saint Louis, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $84,871 | $22,066 | $22,000 | 69% | 5,658 |
| 4 | Saint Louis University Saint Louis, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $77,024 | $24,398 | $25,000 | 80% | 7,267 |
| 5 | Rockhurst University Kansas City, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $76,125 | $25,884 | $18,250 | 75% | 1,580 |
| 6 | Webster University Saint Louis, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $75,697 | $27,047 | $23,000 | 63% | 2,304 |
| 7 | University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO Public · 4-year | $69,651 | $20,268 | $20,500 | 76% | 23,929 |
| 8 | William Jewell College Liberty, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $66,965 | $17,562 | $24,498 | 64% | 924 |
| 9 | University of Missouri-Kansas City Kansas City, MO Public · 4-year | $65,925 | $13,310 | $18,750 | 56% | 6,817 |
| 10 | Park University Parkville, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $63,456 | $21,032 | $21,685 | 34% | 4,555 |
| 11 | Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Kansas City, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $62,368 | $23,006 | $15,675 | 59% | 747 |
| 12 | University of Missouri-St Louis Saint Louis, MO Public · 4-year | $62,350 | $15,071 | $20,000 | 57% | 5,024 |
| 13 | Avila University Kansas City, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $61,078 | $16,053 | $25,000 | 47% | 1,312 |
| 14 | Lindenwood University Saint Charles, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $58,207 | $19,638 | $26,000 | 50% | 4,624 |
| 15 | Columbia College (MO) Columbia, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $57,679 | $22,715 | $23,879 | 44% | 4,950 |
| 16 | Truman State University Kirksville, MO Public · 4-year | $56,947 | $12,780 | $21,000 | 68% | 2,513 |
| 17 | Southwest Baptist University Bolivar, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $54,286 | $21,677 | $20,957 | 53% | 1,341 |
| 18 | University of Central Missouri Warrensburg, MO Public · 4-year | $54,054 | $14,462 | $21,000 | 52% | 5,648 |
| 19 | Missouri Western State University Saint Joseph, MO Public · 4-year | $53,293 | $13,251 | $19,968 | 39% | 2,219 |
| 20 | Missouri State University-Springfield Springfield, MO Public · 4-year | $53,058 | $17,613 | $21,992 | 58% | 13,313 |
| 21 | Missouri Baptist University Saint Louis, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $52,550 | $27,006 | $22,500 | 48% | 1,488 |
| 22 | Missouri Southern State University Joplin, MO Public · 4-year | $52,419 | $12,007 | $19,174 | 40% | 3,019 |
| 23 | William Woods University Fulton, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $52,367 | $26,569 | $21,983 | 52% | 1,300 |
| 24 | Northwest Missouri State University Maryville, MO Public · 4-year | $52,213 | $16,244 | $21,500 | 56% | 4,378 |
| 25 | Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Fayette, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $51,668 | $22,766 | $17,619 | 52% | 1,040 |
| 26 | Southeast Missouri State University Cape Girardeau, MO Public · 4-year | $51,502 | $15,882 | $21,500 | 57% | 6,373 |
| 27 | Westminster College (MO) Fulton, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $51,238 | $24,314 | $27,000 | 56% | 638 |
| 28 | Lincoln University (MO) Jefferson City, MO Public · 4-year | $50,859 | $19,092 | $28,875 | 22% | 1,392 |
| 29 | Missouri Valley College Marshall, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $49,963 | $18,086 | $25,950 | 23% | 1,443 |
| 30 | Saint Louis Community College Bridgeton, MO Public · 4-year | $48,396 | $8,440 | $6,725 | 19% | 11,788 |
| 31 | Culver-Stockton College Canton, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $48,225 | $21,983 | $26,000 | 45% | 807 |
| 32 | Drury University Springfield, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $47,568 | $20,831 | $20,979 | 64% | 1,383 |
| 33 | Harris-Stowe State University Saint Louis, MO Public · 4-year | $46,752 | $9,922 | $25,930 | 28% | 960 |
| 34 | Evangel University Springfield, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $46,593 | $18,669 | $24,736 | 65% | 1,229 |
| 35 | College of the Ozarks Point Lookout, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $44,258 | $6,100 | — | 62% | 1,444 |
| 36 | Ozarks Technical Community College Springfield, MO Public · 4-year | $42,628 | $6,936 | $10,453 | 32% | 8,165 |
| 37 | Ozark Christian College Joplin, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $40,563 | $20,580 | $16,772 | 66% | 602 |
| 38 | Kansas City Art Institute Kansas City, MO Private nonprofit · 4-year | $36,640 | $27,650 | $27,000 | 62% | 812 |
How to compare these colleges
High earnings partly reflect who enrolls and what they study: engineering, nursing and business programs usually pay more than education or the arts, so a school with strong health or technical programs can top the list. Read the earnings next to net price, debt and graduation rate, because earnings count only people who finished, and four years after graduation is early in a career.
Guides worth reading first
More lists for Missouri
Cheapest colleges in Missouri
36 schools
Cheap colleges in Missouri for out-of-state students
27 schools
Community colleges in Missouri
14 schools
Best value colleges in Missouri
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Most affordable private colleges in Missouri
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Same list in nearby states
Highest graduate earnings in Illinois
50 schools
Highest graduate earnings in Tennessee
37 schools
Highest graduate earnings in Kentucky
28 schools
All 69 colleges in Missouri See the national version of this ranking