Which Missouri social work program has the lowest debt?

University of Missouri reports the lowest median federal debt, $23,119, with first-year pay of $38,236.

How much do social work graduates earn in Missouri?

The median across 9 Missouri social work bachelor's programs is $33,532 in the first year after graduating and $44,133 five years after.

How many social work bachelor's programs are in Missouri?

9 Missouri programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 8 of them also report federal debt.

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

9 programs report first-year pay
8 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Social Work

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Missouri social work bachelor's program pays its graduates $33,532 in their first year, $3,688 less than the national median. University of Central Missouri reports the highest first-year pay ($39,295), and University of Missouri the lowest median debt ($23,119).

Median first-year pay$33,532National $37,220

Median pay after 5 years$44,133National $49,258

Median federal debt$25,992National $26,579

Debt-to-earnings81%National 72%

All 9 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	University of Central MissouriWarrensburg · public	$39,295	$42,278	$26,579	68%
2	University of MissouriColumbia · public	$38,236	$49,967	$23,119	60%
3	UMSLSaint Louis · public	$35,862	$40,468	$31,000	86%
4	Missouri StateSpringfield · public	$35,544	$42,226	$25,085	71%
5	Missouri Western StateSaint Joseph · public	$33,532	$44,133	$27,679	83%
6	Lincoln University (Missouri)Jefferson City · public	$32,951	Not reported	$31,000	94%
7	College of the OzarksPoint Lookout · private nonprofit	$32,701	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
8	Southeast Missouri StateCape Girardeau · public	$32,224	$45,728	$25,433	79%
9	Missouri Southern StateJoplin · public	$27,936	Not reported	$25,983	93%

College of the Ozarks reports pay but not debt, so it is ranked only by pay. 4 more programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every Missouri social work 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 8 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Lowest median debt

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 social work, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Child, Family, and School Social Workers

$48,520

Median pay in Missouri. 9,620 people work in this job in Missouri. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 33,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $37,200Top 10%: $65,230

Social and Community Service Managers

$71,970

Median pay in Missouri. 3,060 people work in this job in Missouri. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 18,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $48,410Top 10%: $108,020

Healthcare Social Workers

$59,870

Median pay in Missouri. 4,430 people work in this job in Missouri. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 16,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $39,180Top 10%: $79,560

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

$49,560

Median pay in Missouri. 1,640 people work in this job in Missouri. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $38,610Top 10%: $72,800

Common questions

University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg reports the highest median first-year pay, $39,295. Its median federal debt is $26,579.

Social Work (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked328 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 social work 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