University of Missouri-Columbia Earnings: $70K (2026)

How much do University of Missouri-Columbia graduates earn?

The reported median is $69,651 four years after completion. The peer comparison uses $65,610 as its benchmark; the difference is $4,041 per year.

Graduates of University of Missouri-Columbia earn about $4,624 more than 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 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.

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.

An estimated 28.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure derived from the university's program mix rather than observed enrollment. Because four-year earnings figures capture only those working and not enrolled, the median earnings snapshot leaves out the portion of completers who are pursuing advanced degrees.

Median earnings · four years after completion: $69,651
Rank for difference from expectations: 70th percentile

Four-year median earnings against two benchmarks

University of Missouri-Columbia reported median: $69,651
Peer schools comparable schools · $4,041 below University of Missouri-Columbia: $65,610
Model expectation what similar students would be expected to earn · $4,624 below University of Missouri-Columbia: $65,027

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.

How could earnings differ from the median?

Earnings four years after completion

Planning rangeReported median

Lower estimate: $51,133
Median · reported: $69,651
Higher estimate: $90,973

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 explores the risk hidden by medians, using older ten-year entrant data. Read about the move to four-year earnings.

Do University of Missouri-Columbia 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.

University of Missouri-Columbia graduates’ reported earnings are $4,624 above that expectation, the 70th 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 University of Missouri-Columbia caused a student to earn. Read how expected earnings are estimated.

Which fields at University of Missouri-Columbia report the highest earnings?

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.

Further analysis

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show how much field of study matters at University of Missouri-Columbia: the downside scenario sits at $51,133, the typical scenario at $69,651, and the upside reaches $90,973. Anchoring that range in named programs, Computer Engineering graduates earn a median of $112,696 four years after completion, while the lowest-earning among the largest programs, Psychology, sits at $55,839.

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.

Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: methodology.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, 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.