Which Missouri education program has the lowest debt?

Missouri Southern State reports the lowest median federal debt, $19,722, with first-year pay of $34,166.

How much do education graduates earn in Missouri?

The median across 6 Missouri education bachelor's programs is $32,131 in the first year after graduating and $39,372 five years after.

How many education bachelor's programs are in Missouri?

6 Missouri programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 6 of them also report federal debt.

Education (Bachelor's) Programs in Missouri, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

6 programs report first-year pay
6 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Education, General

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Missouri education bachelor's program pays its graduates $32,131 in their first year, $6,529 less than the national median. Saint Louis University reports the highest first-year pay ($36,244), and Missouri Southern State the lowest median debt ($19,722).

Median first-year pay$32,131National $38,660

Median pay after 5 years$39,372National $47,167

Median federal debt$27,050National $26,542

Debt-to-earnings76%National 68%

All 6 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Saint Louis UniversitySaint Louis · private nonprofit	$36,244	$42,866	$27,000	74%
2	Webster UniversitySaint Louis · private nonprofit	$34,546	$42,072	$27,100	78%
3	Missouri Southern StateJoplin · public	$34,166	Not reported	$19,722	58%
4	UMSLSaint Louis · public	$30,096	$33,199	$33,449	111%
5	Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and SciencesFayette · private nonprofit	$29,753	$31,842	$21,250	71%
6	Harris-Stowe StateSaint Louis · public	$28,500	$38,610	$35,478	124%

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 the 6 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Saint Louis University$36,244
Webster University$34,546
Missouri Southern State$34,166
UMSL$30,096
Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences$29,753

Lowest median debt

Missouri Southern State$19,722
Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences$21,250
Saint Louis University$27,000
Webster University$27,100
UMSL$33,449

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

Common questions

Saint Louis University in Saint Louis reports the highest median first-year pay, $36,244. Its median federal debt is $27,000.

Education (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked66 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
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 rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the education bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

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
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024