---
title: Columbia College — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Columbia, MO
control: Private nonprofit
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# Columbia College

Columbia, MO · Private nonprofit · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $45,378 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $26,967 – $67,837 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $14,750 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $11,000 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 42% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $37,207 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 69% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.33× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $17,378 | derived |

**42% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $14,750 (≈ 33% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $18,506 to $62,664 across 27 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Business/Commerce, General. | Master's Degree | $62,664 | $45,860 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | Associate's Degree | $56,488 | $25,247 |
| Management Information Systems and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $50,859 | $26,033 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $50,570 | $25,718 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Master's Degree | $46,715 | $52,896 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,410 | $31,000 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,904 | $18,750 |
| Accounting and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,432 | $20,812 |
| Business/Commerce, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,380 | $23,187 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision. | Master's Degree | $43,845 | not reported |
| International Business. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,369 | not reported |
| Human Resources Management and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,929 | $29,500 |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,088 | $31,600 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,030 | $21,494 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. | Associate's Degree | $40,813 | $17,447 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Associate's Degree | $40,020 | $26,418 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,785 | $24,839 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,931 | $23,575 |
| Marketing. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,889 | $22,000 |
| Business/Commerce, General. | Associate's Degree | $36,628 | $23,258 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,771 | $24,361 |
| Curriculum and Instruction. | Master's Degree | $34,629 | $39,652 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,264 | $16,875 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,753 | $23,002 |
| Human Services, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,656 | $30,612 |
| Human Services, General. | Associate's Degree | $25,704 | $28,454 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $18,506 | $26,023 |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore Columbia College by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?177065

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/columbia-college-mo.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`