Missouri Western State Computer and Information Science (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Computer and Information Sciences, General
- Public university
- Saint Joseph, MO
- About 1 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Missouri Western State computer and information science graduates earn about what computer and information science graduates earn nationally, $55,955 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $25,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $24,750. Several Missouri programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Missouri and national columns are the medians across all computer and information science bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Missouri Western State graduates earn less than the national figure and about $21,794 less than the Missouri median. Several Missouri programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Missouri computer and information science 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.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 17% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $265 a month, or 5.7% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
74% of graduates (20 of 27) were working in Missouri one year after graduating. Prices in the St. Joseph area are about 14% below the national average, so a $55,955 salary here buys what about $64,776 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to computer and information science, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Software Developers
$126,120Median pay in Missouri. 20,020 people work in this job in Missouri. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 95,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Computer and Information Systems Managers
$159,460Median pay in Missouri. 11,130 people work in this job in Missouri. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 16% from 2025 to 2035, with about 53,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
Computer Systems Analysts
$92,060Median pay in Missouri. 7,730 people work in this job in Missouri. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 32,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Network and Computer Systems Administrators
$80,870Median pay in Missouri. 5,810 people work in this job in Missouri. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 13,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About Missouri Western State
Computer and Information Science ranks 2nd of 18 bachelor's programs at Missouri Western State by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($70,938), Computer and Information Science ($55,955), and Finance ($47,265).
Other computer and information science bachelor's programs near Saint Joseph
Common questions
The median graduate earns $55,955 one year after graduating and $65,401 five years after. The median across computer and information science bachelor's programs in Missouri is $62,910.
The median federal loan balance is $25,000, which ranks 6th lowest of 12 computer and information science bachelor's programs in Missouri. That works out to about $265 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 45% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 40%. Compare the cost with other Missouri programs before deciding.
Most do. 74% (20 of 27) 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 computer and information science 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