College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Missouri Southern State University

MOMedium public institution · Overall rank #631 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth places Missouri Southern State University in the 57th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Missouri Southern State University is a public university in Joplin, Missouri, where the degree mix is led by Business and Health Professions. Affordability is well above average, and the university suits a student who wants a low net price and can attend knowing that the largest programs are not the best-paid ones.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them, and the model attributes more of that to a remainder it does not explain than to the factors it measures. Return is modestly below average, yet graduates still out-earn what the model predicts.

The lowest income band pays well below the published cost, and the spread between the lowest and highest bands is narrow, so the price advantage holds across the income scale. Pell students complete below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole, and mobility is modestly below average.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than on to further study. A student drawn to Business or Education should go in knowing that the highest-earning programs are in Nursing and Computer and Information Sciences.

Missouri Southern State University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
97.0%
Six-year completion[2]
41.6%
Four-year earnings[3]
$52,419

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$11,233
Median student debt[4]
$19,174
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$10,400

Missouri Southern State University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

In Joplin, Missouri, Missouri Southern State University is a public university enrolling 3,019 undergraduates. The university sits in the middle of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Its four are spread out, with three of them clustered in the lower half of the field while one stands apart. Admission is open at Missouri Southern State University, with 97.0% of applicants accepted against a peer median of 85.9% for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

62.8% of full-time first-year students return for a second year, and 41.6% finish within six years. Those rates compare with peer medians of 73.7% and 49.1%.

An estimated 39.5% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, and the six-year rate describes only the first-time, full-time cohort. Affordability is the pillar that stands apart, while return, access, and mobility are clustered closer together.

The spread between the strongest and weakest pillars is wide (affordability at the 90th percentile, mobility at the 40th percentile). The shape is a public university where cost is the headline, and the other three pillars tell a more mixed story.

Affordability is the clearest strength for readers weighing Missouri Southern State University: Azimuth places that pillar in the 90th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Across the other Azimuth pillars, return is in the 41st percentile, access is in the 44th percentile, and mobility, the weakest pillar, is in the 40th percentile.

The profile is strongest on cost, while return, access, and mobility sit closer together.

The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores at Missouri Southern State University fell between 1,150 and 1,420, and the middle 50% of ACT scores spanned 17 to 24. 34.0% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants.

Pell recipients complete at 36.0%, 5.6 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate (41.6%). Azimuth ranks the university #818 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $6,407 more than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth ranks the university #882 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Missouri Southern State University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#631

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 40
Access & reach
National percentile: 44
Affordability
National percentile: 90
Return on investment
National percentile: 41

01 / Missouri Southern State University briefing

Missouri Southern State University cost & financial aid[6][7]

At $19,568, Missouri Southern State University has a published sticker cost that falls to an average net price of $12,007, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships. That leaves average financial aid savings of $7,561 against the sticker price.

Published in-state tuition and fees are $8,960, while out-of-state tuition and fees are $17,080; room and board are $9,119. Compared with the peer median net price of $14,068 at comparable institutions (same type and size), the is $2,061 below.

Azimuth places the university in the 90th percentile for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. The lower after-aid price and strong affordability standing point in the same direction.

Missouri Southern State University pairs a published cost of attendance of $19,568 with lower average net prices for families in its lower income bands. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $9,759 for the lowest family-income band, $10,132 for the lower-middle band, $11,233 for the middle band, $14,578 for the upper-middle band, and $15,083 for the highest band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $5,324, and Azimuth ranks the university #148 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 39% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an average savings of $7,561 against the sticker price.

Across all aid recipients, the average net price is $12,007, compared with a peer median of $14,068, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size). That leaves the university $2,061 below its peers.

Published in-state tuition is $8,960, and out-of-state tuition is $17,080. Federal-loan borrowers who complete leave with median federal student loan debt of $19,174, and 75.3% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

The peer median debt for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $21,229, putting the university $2,055 below that figure. Median Parent PLUS borrowing for parent borrowers is $10,400.

The median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $218 a month if repaid over ten years.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$11,233

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Missouri Southern State University

Federal borrowing shapes the cost picture at Missouri Southern State University, where 75.3% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Among borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $19,174.

For comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median federal debt is $21,229. The university’s figure is $2,055 below that median, a comparison centered on borrowers who completed.

Parent PLUS borrowers are a separate parent-borrower population; their median borrowing is $10,400.

Graduates of Missouri Southern State University earn a median of $52,419 four years after completing a degree, a figure that sits at the 25th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. They earn about $6,407 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome at the 75th percentile.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from $40,006 in a downside case to $68,911 in an upside case, with the typical scenario matching the observed median. The investment picture is shaped by what graduates borrow as much as by what they earn.

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $19,174 in federal student loans, $2,055 below the median of $21,229 for comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $218 a month.

Among parent borrowers, a population separate from student federal-loan borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $10,400. If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $218 a month.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$19,174
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$10,400

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$218/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$132/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Missouri Southern State University briefing

Missouri Southern State University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Missouri Southern State University has higher-than-expected earnings, but its median sits below the peer level. Graduates earn about $6,407 more than the model expects for similar students.

Azimuth places earnings beyond expectations in the 75th percentile and the return pillar in the 41st percentile 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 $1,482.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $4,925. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $52,419 four years after completion, in the 25th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions of the same type and size, is $57,301; the university is $4,882 below it.

Missouri Southern State University graduates earn a median $52,419 four years after completion among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Azimuth places this earnings measure in the 25th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, and the earnings cohort contains 1,243 completers.

Graduates earn about $6,407 more than the model expects for similar students. Scenarios modeled from the program mix put typical earnings at $52,419, with a downside scenario of $40,006 and an upside scenario of $68,911.

An estimated 28.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The earnings placement and higher-than-expected result point in different directions.

Missouri Southern State University has a split earnings picture: its school-level median trails comparable institutions, while graduates exceed the model’s expectation. Four years after completion, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $52,419, in the 25th percentile.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $57,301, putting the university $4,882 below that figure. Graduates earn about $6,407 more than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 75th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $1,482.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $4,925. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $511.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 41st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix range from $40,006 in the downside scenario to $68,911 in the upside scenario.

Nursing is the highest-earning listed field, with 41 degrees awarded and median earnings of $75,985 four years after completion, or 0.85x times the national median for its field. Computer and Information Sciences awarded 14 degrees and had median earnings of $75,295, equal to 0.81x times its field’s national median.

Public Health awarded 16 degrees and posted $63,965, at 1.09x times the national median for its field. The largest listed field, Business/Commerce, awarded 146 degrees and had median earnings of $55,286, or 0.81x times its field’s national median. These field figures range from below their national medians to above them.

Program choice corresponds with a wide modeled earnings spread at Missouri Southern State University. Scenarios modeled from the program mix run from $40,006 on the downside to $68,911 on the upside, with $52,419 as the typical earnings scenario.

At the program level, median earnings four years after completion are $75,985 in Nursing, $75,295 in Computer and Information Sciences, and $64,765 in Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences. Those program figures help explain why the earnings scenarios cover a broad range.

Missouri Southern State University pairs a comparatively low average net price with debt below that of similar institutions. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $12,007, which is below the $14,068 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,061.

For aid recipients, average net price is $9,759 in the lowest family-income band, $10,132 in the next band, $11,233 in the middle band, $14,578 in the next-highest band, and $15,083 in the highest band. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $19,174.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median is $21,229, and Missouri Southern State University is below it by $2,055. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $218 a month if repaid over ten years.

Graduates earn about $6,407 more than the model expects for similar students. Lower prices and debt sit alongside earnings beyond expectations.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$1,482
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$4,925
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$6,407

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

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Missouri Southern State University briefing

Missouri Southern State University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Missouri Southern State University admitted 97.0% of applicants in the reported cycle, a rate above the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size). That makes the school’s reported admission outcome broader than its peer benchmark, without predicting an individual decision.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
97.0%
Approximate lower endpoint
1150
Reported average
1065
Approximate upper endpoint
1420

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Missouri Southern State University briefing

What are the largest majors at Missouri Southern State University?[12]

Program choice matters at Missouri Southern State University, where published earnings range from higher-earning health and computing fields to a more moderate education field four years after completion. Nursing reports median earnings of $75,985 and 41 degrees awarded, while Computer and Information Sciences reports $75,295 with 14 degrees awarded.

Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences sits between those higher figures and the moderate end, with $64,765 in median earnings and 63 degrees awarded. Teacher Education, one of the larger fields, records $39,419 and 90 degrees awarded.

The contrast shows that four-year earnings vary materially by field, including among programs with substantial numbers of degrees awarded.

Program choice makes a clear difference at Missouri Southern State University: 15 bachelor’s programs have published earnings data. The highest-earning fields include Nursing, with 41 degrees awarded and median earnings of $75,985 four years after completion.

Health-related options appear in more than one of the leading fields. The earnings figures across these fields show why the intended field matters alongside the university-wide outcome.

The program mix at Missouri Southern State University is broad, with 15 programs reporting four-year earnings data. Business accounts for 18.5% of bachelor's degrees awarded, closely followed by Health Professions at 17.9% and Education at 11.4%.

The largest single programs are Business/Commerce with 146 degrees awarded, Teacher Education with 90, and Liberal Arts and General Studies with 89. The highest-earning programs are concentrated in health and technology.

Nursing graduates report the top median earnings at $75,985 four years after completion, from 41 degrees awarded. Computer and Information Sciences is close behind at $75,295, though it is a much smaller program with 14 degrees awarded.

Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, the fourth-largest program overall, earns $64,765 with 63 degrees awarded and is the third-highest by pay. Public Health graduates earn $63,965 four years after completion, with 16 degrees awarded and a benchmark ratio of 1.09x against the national median for its field.

The pattern shows a university where the largest programs and the best-paid ones are not the same. Business/Commerce, the biggest by degrees, earns $55,286, a figure that sits below the earnings of every program in the top five by pay.

13.1% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields, and the strongest earnings outcomes are in applied health and technical programs rather than in the largest academic families. A student's choice of major here carries a substantial earnings difference, with the top-paid program earning nearly twice the median of the lowest-paid among the largest five.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Business/Commerce, General 146 degrees awarded
$55,286
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 90 degrees awarded
$39,419
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities 89 degrees awarded
$46,892
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other 63 degrees awarded
$64,765
Biology, General 61 degrees awarded
$40,412
Criminal Justice and Corrections 61 degrees awarded
$49,114

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Missouri Southern State University briefing

How does Missouri Southern State University serve students from different backgrounds?

Modeled earnings are above expectations, but completion is limited in this mobility profile. Among the first-time full-time cohort, the six-year graduation rate is 41.6%, with Pell recipients completing at 36.0%, below the overall rate by 5.6 percentage points.

Azimuth assigns mobility to the 40th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $6,407 more than the model expects for similar students, placing earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, in the 75th percentile.

Above-expected modeled earnings and lower completion figures point in different directions.

Applicants encounter a broad entry point at Missouri Southern State University, where the admission rate is 97.0%. Its undergraduate enrollment of 3,019 includes 34.0% receiving Pell Grants, and an estimated 39.5% transferring in.

Azimuth puts the access pillar in the 44th percentile nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions. The open admission pattern coincides with substantial Pell participation and a notable transfer pathway.

06 / Missouri Southern State University briefing

What colleges are similar to Missouri Southern State University?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Missouri Southern State University.

Admissions peerNortheastern State University99.6% admitted
Comparison with Missouri Southern State University
MeasureMissouri Southern State UniversityNortheastern State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$52,419$50,752-$1,667 vs Missouri Southern State University
Average annual net price$12,007$12,710+$703 vs Missouri Southern State University · higher cost
Admission rate97.0%99.6%
Explore Northeastern State University →
Nearby alternativeMissouri State University-SpringfieldNearby option · MO
Comparison with Missouri Southern State University
MeasureMissouri Southern State UniversityMissouri State University-Springfield
Peer earnings · 4 years$52,419$53,058+$639 vs Missouri Southern State University
Average annual net price$12,007$17,613+$5,606 vs Missouri Southern State University · higher cost
Admission rate97.0%90.5%
Explore Missouri State University-Springfield →
Higher-earnings alternativeSaint Mary's University of Minnesota$72,502 earnings
Comparison with Missouri Southern State University
MeasureMissouri Southern State UniversitySaint Mary's University of Minnesota
Peer earnings · 4 years$52,419$72,502+$20,083 vs Missouri Southern State University
Average annual net price$12,007$11,704-$303 vs Missouri Southern State University · lower cost
Admission rate97.0%92.8%
Lower-cost alternativeTrinity International University-Illinois$2,835 average net price
Comparison with Missouri Southern State University
MeasureMissouri Southern State UniversityTrinity International University-Illinois
Peer earnings · 4 years$52,419$51,985-$434 vs Missouri Southern State University
Average annual net price$12,007$2,835-$9,172 vs Missouri Southern State University · lower cost
Admission rate97.0%100.0%
Similar profileIndiana University-SoutheastMatched across several measures
Comparison with Missouri Southern State University
MeasureMissouri Southern State UniversityIndiana University-Southeast
Peer earnings · 4 years$52,419$54,129+$1,710 vs Missouri Southern State University
Average annual net price$12,007$7,888-$4,119 vs Missouri Southern State University · lower cost
Admission rate97.0%84.5%
Explore Indiana University-Southeast →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

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

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings