LPN SCHOOLS IN MISSOURI — Federal Data, September 2026
LPN Schools in Missouri, Ranked On What Graduates Owe And Earn
21 accredited institutions in Missouri report enough federal data on this program 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 RankingU.S. Department of Education data. No school paid to be listed.
Across the 21 ranked programs in Missouri, the median graduate needs 4.1 months of gross pay to cover a median federal debt of $14,959, against median earnings of $43,456 one year after completion.
That is faster than the national median of 4.3 months for this field, measured across the 650 institutions in our national LPN schools ranking. The best performer in the state is Mineral Area College in Park Hills, at 2.3 months.
Every figure on this page is recalculated on Missouri institutions only. Nothing is carried over from the national page.
At A Glance
What the federal data says about LPN schools in Missouri
The Ranking
21 LPN schools in Missouri, ranked by months of gross pay to cover the debt
Lower is better.
| # | School | Type | Award | Months | Debt | Earnings | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mineral Area CollegePark Hills, MO | Public | Certificate | 2.3 | $10,500 | $55,389 | 49% |
| 2 | Cass Career CenterHarrisonville, MO | Public | Certificate | 2.9 | $12,064 | $50,718 | 100% |
| 3 | North Central Missouri CollegeTrenton, MO | Public | Certificate | 3.2 | $15,750 | $59,889 | 58% |
| 4 | Waynesville Career CenterWaynesville, MO | Public | Certificate | 3.4 | $10,463 | $36,530 | 78% |
| 5 | Four Rivers Career CenterWashington, MO | Public | Certificate | 3.5 | $14,913 | $50,931 | 100% |
| 6 | Hannibal-LaGrange UniversityHannibal, MO | nonprofit | Certificate | 3.6 | $12,848 | $43,254 | 50% |
| 7 | Southern Missouri Technical InstituteWest Plains, MO | Public | Certificate | 3.6 | $9,500 | $31,297 | 83% |
| 8 | Lex La-Ray Technical CenterLexington, MO | Public | Certificate | 3.7 | $14,727 | $48,192 | 100% |
| 9 | Franklin Technology Center Adult EducationJoplin, MO | Public | Certificate | 3.7 | $14,959 | $47,995 | 73% |
| 10 | Kirksville Area Technical CenterKirksville, MO | Public | Certificate | 3.9 | $11,639 | $35,582 | 100% |
| 11 | Moberly Area Community CollegeMoberly, MO | Public | Certificate | 4.1 | $15,112 | $44,405 | 44% |
| 12 | Saline County Career CenterMarshall, MO | Public | Certificate | 4.4 | $14,027 | $38,243 | 92% |
| 13 | Cape Girardeau Career and Technology CenterCape Girardeau, MO | Public | Certificate | 4.6 | $14,750 | $38,814 | 71% |
| 14 | Ozarks Technical Community CollegeSpringfield, MO | Public | Certificate | 4.6 | $15,125 | $39,101 | 33% |
| 15 | Texas County Technical CollegeHouston, MO | for-profit | Certificate | 4.7 | $16,950 | $43,248 | 25% |
| 16 | Carthage R9 School District-Carthage Technical CenterCarthage, MO | Public | Certificate | 4.7 | $18,495 | $47,524 | 75% |
| 17 | Applied TechSunset Hills, MO | Public | Certificate | 4.9 | $17,750 | $43,456 | 34% |
| 18 | Metropolitan Community College-Kansas CityKansas City, MO | Public | Certificate | 5.6 | $21,365 | $46,147 | 34% |
| 19 | Concorde Career College-Kansas CityKansas City, MO | for-profit | Certificate | 6.4 | $25,421 | $47,421 | 53% |
| 20 | St Louis College of Health Careers-St LouisSaint Louis, MO | for-profit | Certificate | 7.4 | $24,434 | $39,609 | 53% |
| 21 | St Louis College of Health Careers-FentonFenton, MO | for-profit | Certificate | 7.4 | $24,434 | $39,609 | 59% |
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 in this program; earnings are median earnings one year after completion. Where a school offers the program at both certificate and associate level, the shorter payback is shown. Completion is the institution’s published rate, not the program’s.
The Top Five, In Detail
The five fastest payback programs in Missouri, one by one
Mineral Area College
Park Hills, MO
Mineral Area College is a public institution in Park Hills. Its practical nursing graduates leave with a median federal debt of $10,500 and report median earnings of $55,389 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 2.3 months of gross pay: the fastest payback in the state, and 1.8 months faster than the Missouri state median of 4.1. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 49% completion rate.
Cass Career Center
Harrisonville, MO
Cass Career Center is a public institution in Harrisonville. Its practical nursing graduates leave with a median federal debt of $12,064 and report median earnings of $50,718 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 2.9 months of gross pay: the second fastest in the state, and 1.2 months faster than the Missouri state median of 4.1. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 100% completion rate.
North Central Missouri College
Trenton, MO
North Central Missouri College is a public institution in Trenton. Its practical nursing graduates leave with a median federal debt of $15,750 and report median earnings of $59,889 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.2 months of gross pay: the third fastest in the state, and 0.9 months faster than the Missouri state median of 4.1. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 58% completion rate.
Waynesville Career Center
Waynesville, MO
Waynesville Career Center is a public institution in Waynesville. Its practical nursing graduates leave with a median federal debt of $10,463 and report median earnings of $36,530 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.4 months of gross pay: fourth in the state, and 0.7 months faster than the Missouri state median of 4.1. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 78% completion rate.
Four Rivers Career Center
Washington, MO
Four Rivers Career Center is a public institution in Washington. Its practical nursing graduates leave with a median federal debt of $14,913 and report median earnings of $50,931 a year after completing, so the debt is covered by 3.5 months of gross pay: fifth in the state, and 0.6 months faster than the Missouri state median of 4.1. The award measured here is a certificate. The institution reports a 100% completion rate.
Read It Carefully
What this ranking does not measure
Absence from this page is not a verdict. The Department of Education suppresses figures for programs with small cohorts, so a small, excellent school will often have no publishable data at all. Schools that enroll no students on federal aid are outside this dataset entirely.
The measure is 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 inside one state, as this page does, is more informative than comparing across the country.
Other States
The same program, another state
Other Programs in Missouri
Comparing a different trade in Missouri
For MISSOURI School Operators
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