MISSOURI — Federal Data, September 2026
The Best Trade Schools in Missouri, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
5 accredited institutions in Missouri report enough federal data to be compared. They are ranked here on a single measure: how many months of gross pay it takes a graduate to cover the median debt.
See The Missouri RankingU.S. Department of Education data. No school paid to be listed.
Across the 5 ranked trade schools in Missouri, the median graduate needs 3.3 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $10,750, against median earnings of $45,004 one year after completion.
That puts Missouri faster than the national median of 3.6 months measured across the 153 institutions in our national ranking. The best performer in the state is Metropolitan Community College-Kansas City in Kansas City, at 2.1 months.
Only schools that are currently operating, accredited, predominantly certificate or associate granting, and reporting both debt and earnings on at least four trade programs appear here. That is why this list is short: most institutions do not publish enough for a fair comparison.
MISSOURI At A Glance
What the federal data says about trade schools in Missouri
The Ranking
5 trade schools in Missouri, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion | Programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Metropolitan Community College-Kansas CityKansas City, MO | Public | 2.1 | $8,342 | $48,229 | 34% | 4 |
| 2 | State Technical College of MissouriLinn, MO | Public | 2.7 | $12,000 | $50,931 | 84% | 7 |
| 3 | Ranken Technical CollegeSaint Louis, MO | nonprofit | 3.3 | $13,208 | $45,004 | 53% | 15 |
| 4 | Midwest Technical Institute-MissouriSpringfield, MO | for-profit | 3.6 | $9,500 | $31,768 | 80% | 4 |
| 5 | Ozarks Technical Community CollegeSpringfield, MO | Public | 4.2 | $10,750 | $32,725 | 33% | 4 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most Recent Cohorts by Field of Study and by Institution (published 9 June 2026). Debt is the median federal Stafford and Grad PLUS loan debt of completers; earnings are median earnings one year after completion; both are medians across the school’s trade programs. Completion is the institution’s published rate.
The Top Five, In Detail
The five fastest payback schools in Missouri, one by one
Metropolitan Community College-Kansas City
Kansas City, MO
Metropolitan Community College-Kansas City is a public institution in Kansas City. Across its 4 trade programs with publishable figures, the median graduate leaves with $8,342 of federal debt and reports median earnings of $48,229 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 2.1 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 1.2 months faster than the Missouri state median of 3.3. It reports a 34% completion rate. Its fastest program here is Criminal Justice and Corrections.
State Technical College of Missouri
Linn, MO
State Technical College of Missouri is a public institution in Linn. Across its 7 trade programs with publishable figures, the median graduate leaves with $12,000 of federal debt and reports median earnings of $50,931 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 2.7 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and 0.6 months faster than the Missouri state median of 3.3. It reports a 84% completion rate. Its fastest program here is Ground Transportation.
Ranken Technical College
Saint Louis, MO
Ranken Technical College is a private nonprofit institution in Saint Louis. Across its 15 trade programs with publishable figures, the median graduate leaves with $13,208 of federal debt and reports median earnings of $45,004 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.3 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and right on the Missouri state median of 3.3. It reports a 53% completion rate. Its fastest program here is Plumbing and Related Water Supply Services.
Midwest Technical Institute-Missouri
Springfield, MO
Midwest Technical Institute-Missouri is a private for-profit institution in Springfield. Across its 4 trade programs with publishable figures, the median graduate leaves with $9,500 of federal debt and reports median earnings of $31,768 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.6 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and 0.3 months slower than the Missouri state median of 3.3. It reports a 80% completion rate. Its fastest program here is Ground Transportation.
Ozarks Technical Community College
Springfield, MO
Ozarks Technical Community College is a public institution in Springfield. Across its 4 trade programs with publishable figures, the median graduate leaves with $10,750 of federal debt and reports median earnings of $32,725 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 4.2 months of gross pay: fifth in the state, and 0.9 months slower than the Missouri state median of 3.3. It reports a 33% completion rate. Its fastest program here is Precision Metal Working.
Read It Carefully
Why this list is short, and what it does not measure
Absence from this page is not a verdict. Most trade schools in Missouri are missing because the Department of Education suppresses figures for programs with small cohorts, not because they scored badly. A small, excellent school will often have no publishable data at all.
The measure is also a ratio, not a repayment plan, and it counts federal loan debt only. Cash payments, private loans and employer sponsorship are invisible here. Local wages shape earnings as much as the school does, which is exactly why comparing within a state, as this page does, is more informative than comparing across the country.
By Trade
Or narrow it down to one trade in Missouri
For MISSOURI School Operators
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