Which Missouri kinesiology and exercise science program has the lowest debt?

Southwest Baptist University reports the lowest median federal debt, $19,550, with first-year pay of $30,837.

How much do kinesiology and exercise science graduates earn in Missouri?

The median across 13 Missouri kinesiology and exercise science bachelor's programs is $33,892 in the first year after graduating and $48,772 five years after.

Kinesiology and Exercise Science (Bachelor's) Programs in Missouri, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Q: How many kinesiology and exercise science bachelor's programs are in Missouri?

13 Missouri programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 13 of them also report federal debt.

13 programs report first-year pay
13 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Missouri kinesiology and exercise science bachelor's program pays its graduates $33,892 in their first year, $3,407 more than the national median. Missouri Baptist University reports the highest first-year pay ($37,165), and Southwest Baptist University the lowest median debt ($19,550).

Median first-year pay$33,892National $30,486

Median pay after 5 years$48,772National $52,393

Median federal debt$25,773National $25,954

Debt-to-earnings75%National 80%

All 13 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	Missouri Baptist UniversitySaint Louis · private nonprofit	$37,165	$52,197	$26,001	70%
2	Missouri Western StateSaint Joseph · public	$36,557	$46,279	$24,815	68%
3	Lindenwood UniversitySaint Charles · private nonprofit	$35,314	$51,444	$28,000	79%
4	University of Central MissouriWarrensburg · public	$34,844	$44,405	$26,000	75%
5	Southeast Missouri StateCape Girardeau · public	$34,638	$47,706	$22,572	65%
6	Missouri Southern StateJoplin · public	$34,465	$45,715	$24,947	72%
7	Missouri Valley CollegeMarshall · private nonprofit	$33,892	$49,957	$28,708	85%
8	Maryville University of Saint LouisSaint Louis · private nonprofit	$32,480	$47,238	$23,250	72%
9	Southwest Baptist UniversityBolivar · private nonprofit	$30,837	$47,943	$19,550	63%
10	Missouri StateSpringfield · public	$29,761	$59,832	$22,876	77%
11	Park UniversityParkville · private nonprofit	$28,945	Not reported	$27,576	95%
12	Truman StateKirksville · public	$26,865	$57,756	$22,500	84%
13	William Woods UniversityFulton · private nonprofit	$24,329	$48,743	$25,545	105%

3 more programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every Missouri kinesiology and exercise 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 the 13 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Lowest median debt

Southwest Baptist University$19,550
Truman State$22,500
Southeast Missouri State$22,572
Missouri State$22,876
Maryville University of Saint Louis$23,250

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.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to kinesiology and exercise science, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors

$36,450

Median pay in Missouri. 5,060 people work in this job in Missouri. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 68,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $28,600Top 10%: $62,390

Coaches and Scouts

$42,790

Median pay in Missouri. 4,730 people work in this job in Missouri. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 36,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $28,910Top 10%: $79,480

Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling

$83,620

Median pay in Missouri. 370 people work in this job in Missouri. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 5,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $48,740Top 10%: $130,830

Athletic Trainers

$58,660

Median pay in Missouri. 510 people work in this job in Missouri. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 2,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $47,540Top 10%: $70,910

Common questions

Missouri Baptist University in Saint Louis reports the highest median first-year pay, $37,165. Its median federal debt is $26,001.

Kinesiology and Exercise Science (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked524 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 kinesiology and exercise science 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