Nearly 12,000 transfers a year.
The Missouri transfer math.
Missouri's 44 qualifying four-year universities admit close to 12,000 transfer students annually, with 13 community colleges feeding the pipeline. The real decision is destination: a transfer to Saint Louis University produces $70,783 in median 10-year earnings; a transfer to Missouri State University-Springfield produces $49,827. Same CC start, very different endpoints.
Missouri has 44 public and private 4-year destinations and 13 community colleges. 11,998 total transfers were admitted last year, with median 10-year earnings of $49,694 and a state median six-year graduation rate of 57.3%.
Missouri's transfer market is wide, welcoming, and outcome-stratified
Missouri runs one of the more active Midwestern transfer pipelines: 44 qualifying four-year institutions absorb nearly 12,000 transfer students per year, backed by 13 community colleges. The top two destinations alone — Missouri State University-Springfield and the University of Missouri-Columbia — account for more than 2,500 annual transfer admits between them. Both are public and broadly accessible, with overall acceptance rates of 91% and 78% respectively. But the outcome gap across destinations is the story. Saint Louis University, a private nonprofit, posts $70,783 in median 10-year earnings and an 80% six-year graduation rate — nearly $21,000 above the state destination median on earnings and more than 20 percentage points above the state's median grad rate of 57.3%. Missouri State and the University of Central Missouri cluster near the state median: workable outcomes, real volume, but not the top-tier earnings picture. For a student willing to navigate the destination landscape thoughtfully, the CC-first path in Missouri points toward a genuinely favorable expected return — provided the destination selection is deliberate.
Missouri runs a wide-open transfer market. The state's 44 qualifying four-year institutions admitted nearly 12,000 transfer students in the most recent IPEDS data — one of the higher annual transfer intake figures in the Midwest. Behind them are 13 community colleges ranging from the 13,500-student Metropolitan Community College-Kansas City to smaller regional campuses in Sedalia and Neosho. The pipeline has real scale. The question is not whether Missouri supports CC-to-4-year transfer; it does. The question is which destination is worth targeting.
The outcome spread across Missouri's top destinations is wider than students often expect. The University of Missouri-Columbia graduates 75% of students within six years and reports $63,403 in median 10-year earnings. Saint Louis University does even better: 80% six-year graduation rate and $70,783 in median earnings. At the other end, the University of Central Missouri and UMKC graduate only 54% of students within six years, with earnings near $50,000–$60,000. Missouri's median 10-year earnings across all qualifying destinations is $49,694, with median debt at graduation of $21,000. The CC-first path in Missouri is not a gamble — it is a structured opportunity with a meaningful gap between best and median outcomes.
Missouri's transfer landscape by the numbers
Missouri's transfer system is one of the larger ones in the Midwest: nearly 12,000 annual transfer admits across 44 four-year institutions, with median 10-year earnings of $49,694 and a median six-year graduation rate of 57.3%. The range within those medians is wide, and destination selection drives the outcome spread.
- ✓ Missouri admits nearly 12,000 transfers per year across 44 four-year institutions — a deep and accessible pipeline with real destination options at multiple selectivity levels.
- ✓ Saint Louis University posts $70,783 in median 10-year earnings and an 80% six-year graduation rate — the strongest outcome profile among Missouri's qualifying destinations.
- ✓ University of Missouri-Columbia graduates 75% of students within six years and reports $63,403 in median 10-year earnings, with a 78% overall acceptance rate.
- ✓ Missouri State University-Springfield accepts 91% of applicants and admits the most transfers statewide (1,278), providing a genuinely accessible high-volume destination.
- ✓ Metropolitan Community College-Kansas City enrolls 13,523 undergraduates and sends 1,157 students into the transfer pipeline — the largest CC feeder in the state.
- ! Missouri's state median six-year graduation rate across destinations is 57.3% — more than four in ten students who enroll do not finish within six years.
- ! Lindenwood University posts a 49% six-year graduation rate — the weakest completion signal among the top destinations — despite a 57% overall acceptance rate.
- ! Several Missouri community college spotlights report median 10-year earnings in the $35,000–$38,000 range, well below the state destination median and suggestive of incomplete or vocational completion patterns.
- ! The gap between Missouri's lowest- and highest-earnings destinations spans more than $21,000 annually — a wide outcome range that makes destination selection consequential.
Top transfer destinations
Missouri State University-Springfield leads transfer intake at 1,278 admitted students annually, followed closely by the University of Missouri-Columbia at 1,242 — together accounting for more than one in five of all transfers statewide.
| University | Transfers admitted | Accept rate | 6-yr grad rate | 10-yr earnings | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri State University-Springfield Springfield | 1,278 | 91% | 58% | $49,827 | $21,992 |
| University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia | 1,242 | 78% | 75% | $63,403 | $20,500 |
| University of Missouri-St Louis Saint Louis | 946 | 63% | 57% | $53,037 | $20,000 |
| University of Missouri-Kansas City Kansas City | 943 | 72% | 54% | $59,637 | $18,750 |
| Maryville University of Saint Louis Saint Louis | 820 | 95% | 66% | $62,105 | $22,000 |
| University of Central Missouri Warrensburg | 718 | 64% | 54% | $49,560 | $21,000 |
| Lindenwood University Saint Charles | 693 | 57% | 49% | $53,278 | $26,000 |
| Saint Louis University Saint Louis | 557 | 75% | 80% | $70,783 | $25,000 |
Missouri State University-Springfield leads the state on transfer volume at 1,278 admitted students per year, edging out the University of Missouri-Columbia by 36 students. Both are public institutions in different parts of the state — Missouri State in southwest Missouri, Mizzou in the Columbia corridor — and together they absorb more than one in five of all transfers statewide. The concentration at the top is real: no other destination in the top eight approaches their intake numbers. University of Missouri-St. Louis comes in third at 946 admits and UMKC at 943, providing transfer options in the state's two major metropolitan areas.
On selectivity, the range across the top destinations is meaningful. Maryville University of Saint Louis accepts 95% of applicants overall, making it the most accessible. Missouri State is close behind at 91%. At the selective end, Lindenwood University accepts 57% overall, and the University of Missouri-St. Louis comes in at 63%. One important caveat: these are IPEDS overall acceptance rates reflecting all applicants, not transfer applicants specifically. Actual transfer acceptance rates may differ from what is shown here.
The outcome picture is where the most consequential differences emerge. Saint Louis University leads on 10-year median earnings at $70,783 — $21,089 above the state destination median — and posts an 80% six-year graduation rate, the strongest completion signal in the group. Median debt there is $25,000, toward the higher end. The University of Missouri-Columbia delivers the second-best combination: $63,403 in earnings and a 75% graduation rate, with only $20,500 in median debt. At the lower end, Missouri State and the University of Central Missouri report earnings near $49,500–$50,000 — workable, but without the earnings premium. The data makes a clear case that selectivity and earnings run in the same direction in Missouri: the hardest destinations to get into also produce the best financial outcomes.
Missouri community colleges at a glance
Missouri's 13 community college spotlights range from the large urban Metropolitan Community College-Kansas City (13,523 enrolled) to smaller regional campuses like Crowder College in Neosho and Moberly Area Community College — a mix of urban systems and rural access points spread across the state.
Metropolitan Community College-Kansas City
- Undergrad13,523
- Transfers-in1,157
- 10-yr earnings$40,796
- Grad rate34%
St Charles Community College
- Undergrad6,143
- Transfers-in522
- 10-yr earnings$42,422
- Grad rate25%
Moberly Area Community College
- Undergrad5,384
- Transfers-in217
- 10-yr earnings$37,537
- Grad rate44%
State Fair Community College
- Undergrad4,242
- Transfers-in224
- 10-yr earnings$35,562
- Grad rate44%
6-year completion rates at top destinations
The six-year graduation rates shown here are overall IPEDS rates for all enrolled students, not transfer-student-specific figures — transfer-specific completion data is not included in this dataset. The spread across Missouri's top destinations runs from 49% at Lindenwood University to 80% at Saint Louis University.
Saint Louis University leads Missouri's completion grid at an 80% six-year graduation rate — the strongest finish rate among the state's top transfer destinations and meaningfully above the state destination median of 57.3%. Four in five students who enroll at SLU complete a degree within six years, a signal that the institutional environment actively supports persistence. University of Missouri-Columbia follows at 75%, continuing the pattern that Missouri's most selective destinations also tend to finish students at higher rates.
The spread from top to bottom spans 31 percentage points. Lindenwood University sits at the bottom of the completions grid at 49% — fewer than half of enrolled students finish within six years. Missouri State University-Springfield and the University of Missouri-St. Louis cluster near the state median at 58% and 57% respectively. The honest caveat is that these are overall six-year graduation rates from IPEDS for the full entering cohort — not transfer-student-specific completion figures, which are not included in this dataset. A campus with a high overall graduation rate generally also finishes transfer students at higher rates, but the number in the grid does not isolate transfers. Treat the completion data as a directional signal: the gap between SLU's 80% and Lindenwood's 49% is large enough to weight in a transfer destination decision.
What a bachelor's degree is worth here
The fastest-growing occupations in the state where a bachelor's degree is the typical entry credential — the jobs waiting on the other side of a completed transfer.
| Occupation | Projected growth | Avg openings / yr |
|---|---|---|
| Data Scientists | +37.7% | 470 |
| Information Security Analysts | +33.7% | 360 |
| Medical and Health Services Managers | +31.2% | 1,110 |
| Software Developers | +26.4% | 1,690 |
| Operations Research Analysts | +26.2% | 300 |
| Logisticians | +24.7% | 330 |
| Financial Examiners | +23.8% | 230 |
| Personal Financial Advisors | +23.6% | 540 |
The data in this packet supports the CC-first path in Missouri — but only when destination selection is deliberate. Missouri has 13 community colleges feeding nearly 12,000 annual transfers into 44 qualifying four-year institutions. That is infrastructure. Metropolitan Community College-Kansas City is the largest feeder at 1,157 annual transfers from a 13,523-student enrollment base, and it sits close to the University of Missouri-Kansas City, which reports $59,637 in median 10-year earnings. A student in the Kansas City metro who starts at MCC and transfers to UMKC or Mizzou's Columbia campus is executing a well-documented path with above-median earnings at the end. The same logic applies to students starting at St. Charles Community College (522 annual transfers) targeting Maryville University ($62,105 earnings, 66% grad rate) or Saint Louis University ($70,783 earnings, 80% grad rate). The CC-first move compresses tuition cost in the first two years and feeds into destinations with real outcomes.
The recommendation shifts for students targeting Lindenwood University specifically. Its 49% six-year graduation rate is the weakest completion signal among Missouri's top destinations — meaning roughly half of enrolled students do not finish within six years. If Lindenwood is the only realistic destination given major, geography, or financial fit, the CC-first path still reduces upfront cost, but the student should go in clear-eyed about the completion risk at the receiving institution. The broader warning is destination passivity: starting at a Missouri CC and defaulting to whichever four-year has the highest acceptance rate produces a very different outcome than starting at a Missouri CC with a specific target in mind. Missouri State University-Springfield at 91% acceptance and 1,278 annual admits is an accessible default — but its $49,827 median earnings and 58% graduation rate are exactly at the state median, not above it. The CC-first path in Missouri earns its value most clearly when the destination is University of Missouri-Columbia, UMKC, or Saint Louis University, not when it is the path of least resistance to the nearest 4-year.
How we built Missouri's transfer picture
Destination universities are Missouri's 4-year institutions ranked by IPEDS transfer-in volume; we filter out community colleges that IPEDS files under the 4-year sector because they run bachelor's-pilot programs but remain open-admission. Community college spotlights are ranked by IPEDS undergraduate enrollment. 10-year median earnings and median debt at graduation come from College Scorecard; graduation rates come from IPEDS 6-year overall cohorts. Phase 1 deliberately leaves out transfer-specific completion rates (NSC), structured articulation-agreement data (ASSIST, ADT, TAG, FLVC, etc.), and state-funding context — all Phase 2.
Common questions
Which Missouri four-year university admits the most transfer students?
Missouri State University-Springfield in Springfield leads the state on transfer intake with 1,278 admitted transfers per year. Its 91% overall acceptance rate makes it the most accessible of the high-volume destinations. The University of Missouri-Columbia follows closely at 1,242 admitted transfers, with a 78% acceptance rate and meaningfully stronger outcomes — a 75% six-year graduation rate and $63,403 in median 10-year earnings compared to $49,827 at Missouri State. Students prioritizing volume and access tend toward Missouri State; students prioritizing long-term earnings and completion will find Mizzou's data profile stronger.
Is it worth starting at a Missouri community college before transferring?
The data supports it — with qualifications. Missouri has 13 tracked community colleges and 44 qualifying four-year destinations absorbing nearly 12,000 transfer students per year. That is a functioning pipeline with real scale. The caveat is destination selection. A transfer to the University of Missouri-Columbia or Saint Louis University produces median 10-year earnings above $63,000. A transfer to Missouri State or the University of Central Missouri lands closer to $49,000–$50,000. The CC-first path is financially sound when the destination is chosen deliberately. It is less obvious when the endpoint is a destination with a sub-50% graduation rate or below-median earnings.
Which Missouri community college has the best transfer outcomes?
The data packet does not include direct transfer-completion rates for individual community colleges, so a direct ranking by transfer outcome is not possible here. Among the six CC spotlights, Moberly Area Community College and Crowder College each post 44%+ six-year graduation rates — the highest in the CC spotlight group — though these reflect overall institutional completion, not transfer-student-specific outcomes. Metropolitan Community College-Kansas City is the highest-enrollment CC in the state at 13,523 undergraduates and sends the most students into the transfer pipeline (1,157 annually), suggesting strong transfer infrastructure. Students evaluating individual CCs should look at which four-year destination they are targeting and confirm that college's specific transfer pathway data.
How do Saint Louis University's transfer outcomes compare to Missouri's public flagships?
Saint Louis University, a private nonprofit in St. Louis, leads all Missouri qualifying destinations on two key metrics: $70,783 in median 10-year earnings and an 80% six-year graduation rate. Both figures exceed the University of Missouri-Columbia ($63,403 earnings, 75% grad rate) and outpace Missouri State University-Springfield ($49,827 earnings, 58% grad rate) by a wide margin. The tradeoff is debt — SLU's median debt at graduation is $25,000, the second highest among the listed destinations, versus $20,500 at Mizzou and $21,992 at Missouri State. SLU's overall acceptance rate is 75%, making it selective but not closed. For students whose target major is available at SLU, the outcome data makes a strong case for it as a transfer destination.
What should I expect for earnings after graduating from a Missouri four-year university?
Median 10-year earnings across Missouri's qualifying destinations sit at $49,694 — the state median. Within that, the range is significant. Saint Louis University's $70,783 and University of Missouri-Kansas City's $59,637 sit well above the median, while Missouri State ($49,827) and the University of Central Missouri ($49,560) cluster right at it. Lindenwood University and University of Missouri-St. Louis come in between at $53,000–$54,000. Median debt across destinations averages $21,000, with SLU and Lindenwood running slightly higher. These figures are from College Scorecard and reflect all graduates, not transfer-specific cohorts.
How selective are Missouri's top transfer destinations?
The top destinations by transfer volume range from open-access to moderately selective. Missouri State University-Springfield (91% overall acceptance rate) and Maryville University of Saint Louis (95%) are effectively open-access for transfer applicants meeting academic minimums. University of Missouri-Columbia (78%), Saint Louis University (75%), and UMKC (72%) are in the moderately selective range. University of Missouri-St. Louis (63%), University of Central Missouri (64%), and Lindenwood University (57%) are the tighter gates in the group. One important note: these acceptance rates are IPEDS overall figures for all applicants, not transfer-specific rates. Actual transfer acceptance rates may differ from the figures shown.
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