Missouri Western State University

For aid recipients, Missouri Western State University has an average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, of $13,251 against a published cost of attendance of $21,595. Average aid lowers that published cost by $8,344.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported in-state tuition of $8,940 and required fees of $1,620 as sticker charges for the 2026-27 academic year. It reported out-of-state tuition of $18,810 and on-campus food and housing of $11,116 for that year.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $14,068, leaving this university $817 below that mark. Azimuth places affordability in the 86th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Its lower net price than comparable institutions aligns with that affordability standing.

Missouri Western State University lists a published cost of attendance of $21,595, but the average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—varies by family-income band. The average net price is $11,243 for the lowest band, $11,674 for the lower-middle band, $13,965 for the middle band, $16,119 for the upper-middle band, and $17,764 for the highest band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $6,521. Azimuth places the university in the 86th percentile for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Across all aid recipients, the average net price is $13,251, after average aid savings of $8,344 against the published cost. Aid covers about 39% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $14,068; the university’s average net price is $817 below that figure. Its overall average price and peer comparison both point to a lower cost than the comparable-institution midpoint.

Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $19,968, and 76.4% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. The peer median debt for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $21,229, leaving the university’s median $1,261 below that amount.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $11,334. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $227 a month if repaid over ten years.

Financial GPS offers personalized scenarios that include Parent PLUS.

Return is mixed: model-based and peer comparisons point in different directions. Azimuth assigns the university's return pillar to the 48th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $8,214 more than the model expects for similar students. That earnings beyond expectations—the gap between graduate earnings and the model's expectation for similar students—falls in the 79th 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 $2,158. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $6,056.

Federally aided completers working and not enrolled earn a median of $53,293 four years after completion, in the 27th percentile. At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median—the middle value—is $57,301; the university is $4,008 below that figure.

The above-expected model result and below-peer earnings point in different directions.

Missouri Western State University shows higher-than-expected modeled earnings even though its schoolwide earnings standing is low in Azimuth’s distribution. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn median earnings of $53,293 four years after completion.

Azimuth places that measure in the 27th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 945 completers. Graduates earn about $8,214 more than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations are the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students. Scenarios modeled from the program mix range from $42,018 on the downside to $73,371 on the upside, and the typical scenario matches the schoolwide median.

An estimated 27.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. Above-expected modeled earnings and the low schoolwide earnings standing pull in different directions.

Federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $53,293 four years after completion. The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $57,301, leaving the university $4,008 below.

Azimuth ranks Missouri Western State University #767 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $8,214 more than the model expects for similar students.

That places the gap at the 79th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $2,158.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $6,056. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $85.

The fields involved are concentrated in health professions and business, with a smaller STEM footprint. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from a downside of $42,018 to an upside of $73,371.

An estimated 27.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

The modeled earnings range is broad, and named fields show why outcomes can differ by program. Scenarios based on the program mix run from $42,018 on the downside to $73,371 on the upside, with $53,293 as the typical scenario; these are scenarios, not observed groups.

Among the higher-earning named fields, median earnings four years after completion are $74,875 in Nursing, $68,405 in Computer and Information Sciences, and $67,011 in Finance. Individual program medians can extend beyond a scenario endpoint because the scenarios summarize the full program mix rather than predict one graduate’s result.

At Missouri Western State University, borrowers who complete leave with federal student loan debt below that of comparable peers. Median federal student loan debt is $19,968; the peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $21,229, placing the university below it by $1,261.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $227 a month if repaid over ten years. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, also point upward.

Graduates earn about $8,214 more than the model expects for similar students. Lower borrowing and higher-than-expected earnings point in the same direction for the school’s cost-and-return picture.

Missouri Western State University enrolls an undergraduate body that includes Pell Grant recipients and people arriving from other colleges. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 301 degree-seeking transfer applicants, 294 admitted, and 202 transfer students enrolled.

Pell-eligible and transfer applicants should use the cost calculator and review the transfer information for their intended field. The federal composition figures and the institution-reported transfer counts both show Pell-supported and transfer pathways within the undergraduate population.

At Missouri Western State University, earnings differ across fields, so the higher-earning options in this group sit apart from its more moderate entries four years after completion. Nursing has median earnings of $74,875 and 104 degrees awarded.

Computer and Information Sciences follows with $68,405 in median earnings and 5 degrees awarded. Finance records median earnings of $67,011 across 17 degrees awarded, placing it between the leading fields and the more moderate end of this selection.

Accounting posts $60,025 with 26 degrees awarded. The contrast shows that field choice matters within the university’s earnings picture.

Health Professions is the largest program family, accounting for 19.0% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, and program earnings are available for 19 fields. The largest programs span markedly different earnings levels four years after completion.

The degree mix at Missouri Western State University leans toward professional fields. Health Professions accounts for 19.0% of bachelor's degrees awarded, with Business next at 15.2% and Parks, Recreation & Fitness at 9.0%.

Across all fields, 10.5% of degrees are in STEM. The university has 19 programs with published four-year earnings data.

The largest single program is Nursing, at 104 degrees awarded, followed by Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies at 57 and Kinesiology and Physical Education at 50. Nursing is also the highest-earning program, with a median of $74,875 four years after completion.

Computer and Information Sciences graduates earn $68,405, though the program awards only 5 degrees a year. Finance and Business Administration and Management follow at $67,011 and $62,581, with 17 and 40 degrees awarded respectively.

Accounting rounds out the top five at $60,025 from 26 degrees a year. The pattern is a university where the largest program is also the best-paid one, which is not always the case.

Earnings in the other large programs sit below the national median for their fields: Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies at 0.92x, Kinesiology and Physical Education at 0.83x, Business Administration and Management at 0.92x, and Biology at 0.94x. A student drawn to Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies or Kinesiology and Physical Education should know that the highest earnings are concentrated in a handful of professional programs.

The four-year figures for some fields may also understate later trajectories for graduates who continue to professional or graduate study.