Missouri Southern State Education (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Education, General
- Public university
- Joplin, MO
College Scorecard June 2026 release ยท BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Missouri Southern State education graduates earn about what education graduates earn nationally, $34,166 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $19,722 in federal loans, less than at 90% of education programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying education degrees in Missouri.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Missouri and national columns are the medians across all education bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Missouri education program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Missouri medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $209 a month, or 7.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
83% of graduates (20 of 24) were working in Missouri one year after graduating. Prices in the Joplin area are about 14% below the national average, so a $34,166 salary here buys what about $39,859 buys in a typical US city.
About Missouri Southern State
Education ranks 8th of 13 bachelor's programs at Missouri Southern State by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($62,273), Other Health Professions ($52,539), and Business ($44,262).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $34,166 one year after graduating. The median across education bachelor's programs in Missouri is $32,131.
The median federal loan balance is $19,722, which ranks the lowest of 6 education bachelor's programs in Missouri. That works out to about $209 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 58% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 68%.
Most do. 83% (20 of 24) were working in Missouri one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Missouri comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the education program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024