College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of Missouri-Columbia

MOLarge public institution · Overall rank #144 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks University of Missouri-Columbia #144 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

University of Missouri-Columbia is a public university in Columbia, Missouri, where the degree mix is led by Business and Health Professions. Mobility is among the highest we track.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds, and the part it attributes to what it cannot explain subtracts.

Students who arrive with Pell Grants finish below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole. Access is above average, while affordability is around the average.

A student drawn to the largest programs should go in knowing that the best-paid ones are much smaller. The admission rate is close to the median for comparable institutions.

University of Missouri-Columbia at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
78.5%
Six-year completion[2]
74.9%
Four-year earnings[3]
$69,651

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$13,722
Median student debt[4]
$20,500
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$32,529

University of Missouri-Columbia rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

University of Missouri-Columbia is a public university in Columbia, Missouri, enrolling 23,929 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the top tenth of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The university admits 78.5% of applicants, a rate close to the 78.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Among full-time first-year students, 92.7% return for a second year, well above the peer median of 83.1%.

The six-year graduation rate is 74.9%, against a peer median of 65.0%. An estimated 17.8% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students.

The six-year rate counts only first-time, full-time students and therefore describes a narrower population at a school with a large transfer intake. The four sit far apart.

Mobility is the strongest (92nd percentile), and return is next (83rd). Affordability is the weakest of the four (55th percentile), with access between them (68th).

University of Missouri-Columbia's strongest pillar is mobility, where Azimuth places the university in the 92nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The return pillar sits at the 83rd percentile and access at the 68th percentile.

Affordability, at the 55th percentile, is the weakest pillar, though all four land above the median for nonprofit four-year institutions.

20.1% of undergraduates at University of Missouri-Columbia receive Pell Grants, a measure of financial access. Among enrolled students who submitted standardized tests, the middle 50% of SAT scores ran from 1,150 to 1,330, while the middle 50% of ACT scores stretched from 23 to 30.

The test-score spread and the Pell share together describe the academic range and economic background of the entering class. Azimuth ranks the university #471 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients finish at 62.8%, a rate that sits below the overall six-year graduation rate (74.9%) by 12.1 percentage points. That gap separates Pell recipients' completion rate from the rate for the entering cohort as a whole.

For mobility, Azimuth ranks the university #111 among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $4,624 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that coincides with its mobility standing.

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

University of Missouri-Columbia rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#144

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 92
Access & reach
National percentile: 68
Affordability
National percentile: 55
Return on investment
National percentile: 83

Top-ranked majors

  1. Housing and Human Environments#3
  2. Area Studies#4
  3. Agricultural Business and Management#5

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / University of Missouri-Columbia briefing

University of Missouri-Columbia cost & financial aid[6][7]

The University of Missouri-Columbia publishes a cost of attendance of $31,713, with in-state tuition and fees at $14,837 and room and board at $13,700. Out-of-state students face a higher tuition of $36,056.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price—what aid recipients actually pay—drops to $20,268, a savings of $11,445 against the sticker total. That sits above the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $4,634.

Azimuth ranks the university #643 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. For the lowest-income families, the average net price can fall below the sticker price, and aid covers about 36% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

The published cost of attendance at the University of Missouri-Columbia is $31,713, with in-state tuition and fees of $14,837 and room and board at $13,700. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—is $13,841.

For the middle band ($48,001–$75,000) it is $13,722, and for families earning over $110,000 it is $26,304. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $12,463.

Azimuth ranks the university #643 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 36% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an average savings of $11,445 against the sticker price.

The average net price across all aid recipients is $20,268, which sits above the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $4,634. Out-of-state students face a higher published tuition of $36,056.

Graduates who borrow federal loans leave with a median federal student debt of $20,500, a figure that is above the peer median of $20,076 for comparable institutions. About 89.2% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $233 a month if repaid over ten years. Parents who take out Parent PLUS loans borrow a median of $32,529.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$13,722

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at University of Missouri-Columbia

Federal loans reach 89.2% of federal aid recipients at University of Missouri-Columbia. Among borrowers who complete, the median federal student debt is $20,500.

The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $20,076, so the university's figure sits $424 above it. Parents who borrow through the Parent PLUS program hold a separate median of $32,529.

At University of Missouri-Columbia, the earnings picture is stronger than the borrowing picture. Four years after completion, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $69,651, a figure in the 75th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $4,624 more than the model expects for similar students. That places the gap at the 70th percentile nationally.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, stretch from $51,133 in a downside case to $90,973 in an upside case, with $69,651 as the typical outcome. On the borrowing side, the median federal student debt at completion is $20,500, which corresponds to an estimated payment of $233 a month if repaid over ten years.

That debt figure is $424 above the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $32,529. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $233.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$20,500
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$32,529

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$233/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$413/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 / University of Missouri-Columbia briefing

University of Missouri-Columbia career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Graduates of University of Missouri-Columbia earn about $4,624 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 70th 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 $10,442.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $5,818. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,482.

Four years after completion, completers earn a median of $69,651, which sits in the 75th percentile nationally. That figure is above the peer median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size), a gap of $4,041.

Azimuth ranks the return pillar at the 83rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings picture is solid: graduates beat the model's expectation and clear the peer median, though the institution itself subtracts from the total gap.

Four years after completing a bachelor's degree, graduates of University of Missouri-Columbia earn a median of $69,651. That places the university in the 75th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That figure is above the median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size), and it is drawn from a cohort of 6,457 working completers. Graduates earn about $4,624 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 70th percentile nationally.

Earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix show a downside scenario of $51,133 and an upside scenario reaching $90,973. An estimated 28.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The median earnings sit above the median for comparable institutions while graduates also outpace the model's expectations, pointing to a return that exceeds what comparable schools deliver.

Four years after completion, graduates of University of Missouri-Columbia earn a median of $69,651, which places the university in the 75th percentile nationally. That figure is above the peer median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $4,041.

Graduates earn about $4,624 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 70th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $10,442.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $5,818. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,482.

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $51,133 and an upside of $90,973. Azimuth ranks the university #257 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The largest program, Business/Commerce, awarded 627 degrees and shows median earnings of $84,534 four years after completion, which is 1.24x the national median for the field. Azimuth ranks it #8 nationally.

Health Sciences follows with 439 degrees awarded and median earnings of $69,333, ranking #11 nationally. Journalism, with 390 degrees awarded, posts median earnings of $69,016 and a national rank of #5.

The highest-earning program is Computer Engineering, where graduates earn a median of $112,696, though it awarded only 17 degrees. The university also has a high-return program in Area Studies, which earns $75,230—1.33x the national median for its field—and ranks #4 nationally.

The earnings scenarios show a wide range, from $51,133 on the downside to $90,973 on the upside. These are scenarios estimated from the program mix, not observed groups of graduates.

At the higher end, Computer Engineering graduates earn a median of $112,696 four years after completion, from 17 degrees awarded a year. Electrical Engineering follows at $105,034, with 38 degrees awarded.

The largest program, Business/Commerce, awards 627 degrees and posts median earnings of $84,534.

Graduates of University of Missouri-Columbia earn about $4,624 more than the model expects for similar students. That earnings strength coincides with a median federal student debt of $20,500 for borrowers who complete a degree.

That figure is above the peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment on that debt is $233.

The average net price for aid recipients is $20,268, which runs above the peer median of $15,634 by $4,634. Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, carry a median of $32,529.

Above-expected earnings and a debt load that matches the peer median point in different directions, but the estimated monthly payment remains modest relative to the typical earnings scenario. For families weighing the cost, the net price spread across income bands is worth a close look.

The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, ranges from $13,841 for families earning under $30,000 to $26,304 for those earning over $110,000.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$10,442
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$5,818
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$4,624

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 / University of Missouri-Columbia briefing

University of Missouri-Columbia acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

The University of Missouri-Columbia admits 78.5% of applicants, a rate that sits near the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). The university is broadly accessible, and the admission rate reflects that character.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
78.5%
Approximate lower endpoint
1150
Reported average
1247
Approximate upper endpoint
1330

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 / University of Missouri-Columbia briefing

What are the largest majors at University of Missouri-Columbia?[12]

The University of Missouri-Columbia awards bachelor's degrees across 53 fields with published four-year earnings, and Azimuth ranks 46 of them nationally. The largest program, Business/Commerce, awarded 627 degrees and its completers earn a median of $84,534 four years after completion.

That ranks #8 nationally and #1 in Missouri. Health Sciences follows with 439 degrees awarded and median earnings of $69,333, ranking #11 nationally.

Journalism, at 390 degrees awarded, shows median earnings of $69,016 and an Azimuth national rank of #5. By contrast, Psychology awarded 278 degrees and reports a more moderate median of $55,839, ranking #86 nationally.

The earnings spread between these fields shows how much the return picture can vary by program at this public university.

The university fields 46 nationally ranked bachelor's programs, and earnings data are published for 53 fields. The largest program, Business/Commerce, awarded 627 degrees, ranks #8 in its field, and shows a median of $84,534 four years after completion.

Several programs hold a top-ten national rank. Housing and Human Environments ranks #3 with 47 degrees awarded and a median of $61,683, while Area Studies ranks #4 with 47 degrees awarded and a median of $75,230.

Journalism also ranks #5, with 390 degrees awarded and a median of $69,016. Health Sciences, the second-largest program, awarded 439 degrees and ranks #11 nationally with a median of $69,333.

University of Missouri-Columbia awards bachelor's degrees across 46 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 53 with published four-year earnings data. The program mix is nearly balanced between Business and Health Professions, which account for 17.9% and 17.8% of degrees awarded.

The largest programs are Business/Commerce at 627 degrees awarded, Health Sciences at 439, and Journalism at 390. Business/Commerce ranks #8 nationally within its field and #1 in Missouri, with median earnings of $84,534 four years after completion.

The highest-ranked program is Housing and Human Environments, which awards 47 degrees a year and ranks #1 in Missouri within its field. It carries a benchmark ratio of 1.04x against the national median for its field.

The highest-earning program is Computer Engineering, where graduates earn a median of $112,696 four years after completion, from 17 degrees awarded. Strength is concentrated in the largest programs: Business/Commerce, Health Sciences, and Journalism all hold national ranks within the top twelve and state-leading positions.

The highest earnings come from smaller engineering programs, while 19.0% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields. The three largest programs are both popular and highly ranked.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Business/Commerce, General 627 degrees awarded
$84,534
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General 439 degrees awarded
$69,333
Journalism 390 degrees awarded
$69,016
Psychology, General 278 degrees awarded
$55,839
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 253 degrees awarded
$83,231
Biology, General 210 degrees awarded
$60,424

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 / University of Missouri-Columbia briefing

How does University of Missouri-Columbia serve students from different backgrounds?

Mobility is the strongest pillar for the University of Missouri-Columbia, with Azimuth ranking it #111 among nonprofit four-year institutions. That places the mobility pillar in the 92nd percentile.

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 74.9%, while Pell recipients complete at 62.8% — below the overall rate by 12.1 percentage points. Graduates earn about $4,624 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 70th percentile nationally.

A high completion rate and above-expected earnings point the same way for this university.

University of Missouri-Columbia admits 78.5% of applicants, slightly above the peer median of 78.1% for comparable public universities. Its undergraduate enrollment of 23,929 draws from a wide pool: an estimated 17.8% of those undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students.

Pell Grant recipients make up 20.1% of the undergraduate body, a measure of financial access that helps place the access pillar in the 68th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The middle half of enrolled students who submitted SAT scores posted between 1,150 and 1,330.

On the ACT, the middle half ranged from 23 to 30. The first-year retention rate is 92.7%, well above the peer median of 83.1%, which signals that most students who start at Mizzou stay.

06 / University of Missouri-Columbia briefing

What colleges are similar to University of Missouri-Columbia?[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 University of Missouri-Columbia.

Admissions peerTruman State University83.8% admitted
Comparison with University of Missouri-Columbia
MeasureUniversity of Missouri-ColumbiaTruman State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$69,651$56,947-$12,704 vs University of Missouri-Columbia
Average annual net price$20,268$12,780-$7,488 vs University of Missouri-Columbia · lower cost
Admission rate78.5%83.8%
Explore Truman State University →
Higher-admission alternativeUniversity of Kansas93.5% admitted
Comparison with University of Missouri-Columbia
MeasureUniversity of Missouri-ColumbiaUniversity of Kansas
Peer earnings · 4 years$69,651$69,680+$29 vs University of Missouri-Columbia
Average annual net price$20,268$18,059-$2,209 vs University of Missouri-Columbia · lower cost
Admission rate78.5%93.5%
Explore University of Kansas →
Nearby alternativeTruman State UniversityNearby option · MO
Comparison with University of Missouri-Columbia
MeasureUniversity of Missouri-ColumbiaTruman State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$69,651$56,947-$12,704 vs University of Missouri-Columbia
Average annual net price$20,268$12,780-$7,488 vs University of Missouri-Columbia · lower cost
Admission rate78.5%83.8%
Explore Truman State University →
Higher-earnings alternativeCapitol Technology University$104,028 earnings
Comparison with University of Missouri-Columbia
MeasureUniversity of Missouri-ColumbiaCapitol Technology University
Peer earnings · 4 years$69,651$104,028+$34,377 vs University of Missouri-Columbia
Average annual net price$20,268$22,102+$1,834 vs University of Missouri-Columbia · higher cost
Admission rate78.5%74.4%
Explore Capitol Technology University →
Lower-cost alternativeCUNY Brooklyn College$3,103 average net price
Comparison with University of Missouri-Columbia
MeasureUniversity of Missouri-ColumbiaCUNY Brooklyn College
Peer earnings · 4 years$69,651$62,833-$6,818 vs University of Missouri-Columbia
Average annual net price$20,268$3,103-$17,165 vs University of Missouri-Columbia · lower cost
Admission rate78.5%58.4%
Explore CUNY Brooklyn College →
Similar profileUniversity of IowaMatched across several measures
Comparison with University of Missouri-Columbia
MeasureUniversity of Missouri-ColumbiaUniversity of Iowa
Peer earnings · 4 years$69,651$69,866+$215 vs University of Missouri-Columbia
Average annual net price$20,268$22,531+$2,263 vs University of Missouri-Columbia · higher cost
Admission rate78.5%83.6%
Explore University of Iowa →

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