by our College Data Analytics TeamWhen pursuing a degree in today's world, there are many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its Top Missouri Colleges ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
We analyzed 48 colleges and universities across Missouri to determine which were the best in terms of overall quality. Our ranking methodology focuses on over 20 different objective factors - such as graduation rate, post graduate earnings, and a school's average expenditure per student - to make this determination.
We've developed a number of other tools and rankings to help you make your college decision. Start by filtering this list by location or field of study and then explore our other rankings that feature schools great for different groups of students such as veterans or returnings adults.
We've created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you're torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another!
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2025 rankings named Washington University in St Louis the best school in Missouri in terms of overall quality for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
The 4-year grad rate at the school is 88%. That’s impressive when you compare it to the national rate of 33%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from WUSTL is $86,182 during the early years of their career.
Out of the 48 schools in Missouri that were part of this year’s ranking, Ranken Technical College landed the #2 spot on the list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Ranken Technical College go into careers with an average salary of $55,955 during the early years of their career.
A rank of #3 on our Best Colleges in Missouri list means University of Missouri - Columbia is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $63,403 during the early years of their career..
A rank of #4 on our Best Colleges in Missouri list means Saint Louis University is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty rate of 9 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from SLU is $70,783 during the early years of their career.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Missouri University of Science and Technology helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools in Missouri.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Missouri University of Science and Technology go into careers with an average salary of $82,957 during the early years of their career.
Webster University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Missouri ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $50,876 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #7, Maryville University of Saint Louis did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Missouri list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $62,105 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #8, State Technical College of Missouri did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Missouri list.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from STC go into careers with an average salary of $55,901 during the early years of their career.
Rockhurst University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Colleges in Missouri list.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Rockhurst is $67,102 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #10, Missouri State University - Springfield did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Missouri list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Missouri State make an average of $49,827 a year.
University of Missouri - St Louis did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Missouri ranking, coming in at #11.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from UMSL go into careers with an average salary of $53,037 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #12, Columbia College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Missouri list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Columbia College Missouri go into careers with an average salary of $45,378 during the early years of their career.
Lindenwood University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Missouri ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $53,278 during the early years of their career..
University of Missouri - Kansas City landed the #14 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Missouri ranking.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from UMKC go into careers with an average salary of $59,637 during the early years of their career.
Metropolitan Community College - Kansas City did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Missouri ranking, coming in at #15.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $40,796 during the early years of their career..
Park University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Missouri ranking, coming in at #16.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $56,309 during the early years of their career..
St Charles Community College landed the #17 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Missouri ranking.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from SCC make an average of $42,422 per year during the early years of their career.
Truman State University landed the #18 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Missouri ranking.
The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Truman State is $56,280 during the early years of their career.
William Jewell College landed the #19 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Missouri ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $59,268 during the early years of their career..
Northwest Missouri State University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Missouri ranking, coming in at #20.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $47,885 during the early years of their career..
University of Central Missouri ranked #21 on this year’s Best Colleges in Missouri list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from UCM go into careers with an average salary of $49,560 during the early years of their career.
Saint Louis Community College came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Missouri ranking.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Saint Louis Community College make an average of $35,325 a year.
Southeast Missouri State University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Missouri ranking, coming in at #23.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $44,030 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #24, State Fair Community College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Missouri list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from State Fair Community College go into careers with an average salary of $35,562 during the early years of their career.
William Woods University came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Missouri ranking.
With a student-to-faculty rate of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. During the early years of their career, graduates from William Woods make an average of $42,401 a year.
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.