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Career outcomes brief

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# Columbia College (MO) Career Outcomes & Earnings

Updated September 30, 2026

[Overview](/school/columbia-college/)[Cost & aid](/school/columbia-college/cost/)Outcomes[Admissions](/school/columbia-college/admissions/)[Majors](/school/columbia-college/majors/)

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## How much do Columbia College (MO) graduates earn?

The reported median is $57,679 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $68,250 as its benchmark; the difference is \-$10,571 per year.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $57,679. That is at the 42nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, and $10,571 below the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $5,626 more than the model expects for similar students. That puts the gap at the 73rd percentile.

Azimuth places the university at the 58th percentile for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $8,569. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $2,943.

Program choice is associated with a broad modeled earnings range at Columbia College. Across scenarios based on the program mix, the downside is $48,079 and the upside is $68,779; these are earnings scenarios, not observed groups of graduates.

Published program medians four years after completion are $81,090 in Computer and Information Sciences, $78,632 in Nursing, and $74,816 in Management Information Systems and Services. The program figures show why a single institution-wide median leaves out substantial variation by field.

An estimated 27.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure derived from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. Four-year earnings cover federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, so graduates continuing their education sit outside that earnings snapshot. That estimate matters when reading the reported median.

**Median earnings · four years after completion**
$57,679

**Rank for difference from expectations**
73rd percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

**Columbia College (MO) reported median**
$57,679

**Peer schools comparable schools · $10,571 above Columbia College (MO)**
$68,250

**Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $5,626 below Columbia College (MO)**
$52,053

School and program earnings use pooled 2017–18 and 2018–19 completion cohorts, measured in 2022 and 2023 and expressed in 2024 dollars. [How the model works](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/).

## How could earnings differ from the median?

The planning scenarios range from $48,079 to $68,779, around the reported median of $57,679. Compare the lower scenario with [Columbia College (MO) borrowing and monthly payments](/school/columbia-college/cost/) to see how a smaller income could change your plan.

Modeled from the school’s program mix; not salary percentiles or a forecast for one graduate.

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

**Lower estimate**
$48,079

**Median · reported**
$57,679

**Higher estimate**
$68,779

Downside shows a lower-earning scenario based on the college’s mix of programs; upside shows a higher-earning scenario. Typical is the school’s reported median four years after completion. These are planning scenarios, not a forecast of your salary or percentiles of individual graduates.

[Why the downside matters](/analysis/median-roi-hides-a-harsh-reality/) explores the risk hidden by medians, using older ten-year entrant data. [Read about the move to four-year earnings](/analysis/college-scorecard-2026-4-year-vs-10-year-earnings-2-2/).

## Do Columbia College (MO) graduates earn more than expected?

Azimuth models what we would expect graduates to earn based on who the college enrolls, how selective it is and its local economy. The difference between that expectation and reported earnings is what Azimuth calls [value added](/methodology/#value-added).

Columbia College (MO) graduates’ reported earnings are $5,626 above that expectation, the 73rd percentile for this measure. Unlike a peer comparison, it adjusts for who enrolls.

The breakdown separates the contribution attributed to observed factors from the remaining difference. Neither component establishes how much attending Columbia College (MO) caused a student to earn. [Read how expected earnings are estimated](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/).

What explains value-added earnings?

**Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.**
+$8,569

**Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.**
\-$2,943

**Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.**
+$5,626

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

## Which fields at Columbia College (MO) report the highest earnings?

Four years after completion, Columbia College’s program earnings span higher-paying technical and health fields alongside more moderate human-services study. Computer and Information Sciences records median earnings of $81,090 with 8 degrees awarded, and Nursing records $78,632 with 44 degrees awarded.

Management Information Systems and Services sits between those fields and the more moderate end, at $74,816 across 55 degrees awarded. Human Services records $46,785 and 103 degrees awarded, showing that the larger fields do not all share the same earnings level.

Business accounts for 42.3% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, making it the largest program family at Columbia College. Published earnings data cover 18 fields, with several higher-earning options outside the largest fields.

Computer and Information Sciences awarded 8 degrees and had median earnings of $81,090 four years after completion. Nursing awarded 44 degrees, with median earnings of $78,632 four years after completion.

Management Information Systems and Services awarded 55 degrees and had median earnings of $74,816 four years after completion. Business Administration and Management awarded 90 degrees, with median earnings of $64,997 four years after completion.

The program mix includes both large business offerings and smaller fields with higher reported earnings.

Highest reported four-year program earnings

**Computer and Information Sciences, General**
$81,090

**Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing**
$78,632

**Management Information Systems and Services**
$74,816

**Business Administration, Management and Operations**
$64,997

**Finance and Financial Management Services**
$64,555

**Human Resources Management and Services**
$62,392

**Health and Medical Administrative Services**
$62,060

**Business/Commerce, General**
$61,958

[Explore Columbia College (MO) program cohorts and field ranks](/school/columbia-college/majors/#largest-cohorts) for more context.

## Further analysis

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix put the downside at $48,079, the typical outcome at $57,679, and the upside at $68,779. These are scenarios, not observed groups.

Computer and Information Sciences anchors the upper end at $81,090 four years after completion, while Human Services, the lowest-earning largest program, is at $46,785. The spread shows substantial variation by field.

At Columbia College, graduates earn about $5,626 more than the model expects for similar students, a favorable modeled result alongside a lower national earnings placement. Among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, median earnings are $57,679 four years after completion.

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, that median falls in the 42nd percentile. The measure draws on an earnings cohort of 2,501 completers.

Program-mix earnings scenarios put typical earnings at $57,679, with a downside scenario of $48,079 and an upside scenario of $68,779. An estimated 27.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The expected-earnings result and the national earnings placement point in different directions.

## Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: [methodology](/methodology/).

Analysis and methodology by [Daniel Rogers](/about/#founder), founder of College Azimuth.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Figure notes link to sources and limitations. [About College Azimuth](/about/).