Missouri·Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations·SOC 29-2032

Best Diagnostic Medical Sonographer programs in Missouri, ranked by enrollment

Produce ultrasonic recordings of internal organs for use by physicians.

5 schools in Missouri run programs that feed this job, graduating 72 people a year. The job pays a median of $100,130 in Missouri across about 1,930 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledSonographerUltrasonographerDiagnostic Medical SonographerRegistered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer (RDMS)EchocardiographerStaff SonographerUltrasonic TesterUltrasound Tester
Graduates / yr
72
in Missouri
Median pay · Missouri
$100,130
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
1,930
people employed
Schools
5
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
54%
across those schools
Median net price
$29,551
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Missouri that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

1 programs in Missouri that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Missouri (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Missouri page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 51.0910In Missouri
72
100.0%
5$53,520$20,250

Top 5 schools in Missouri

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 4 of the 5 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Saint Louis Community College
Bridgeton, MO Public · 1 feeder programs
31Diagnostic Medical Sonography/Sonographer and Ultrasound Technician$55,75421%
2Concorde Career College - Kansas City
Kansas City, MO Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
14Diagnostic Medical Sonography/Sonographer and Ultrasound Technician$58,45053%$29,55196%
3State Fair Community College
Sedalia, MO Public · 1 feeder programs
12Diagnostic Medical Sonography/Sonographer and Ultrasound Technician$52,13844%
4University of Missouri - Columbia
Columbia, MO Public · 1 feeder programs
9Diagnostic Medical Sonography/Sonographer and Ultrasound Technician$65,66075%78%
5Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Cape Girardeau, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
6Diagnostic Medical Sonography/Sonographer and Ultrasound Technician75%$25,189100%

All 5 schools in Missouri

Every school in Missouri with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Missouri that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Saint Louis Community CollegeBridgetonPublic311
Concorde Career College - Kansas CityKansas CityPrivate for-profit141
State Fair Community CollegeSedaliaPublic121
University of Missouri - ColumbiaColumbiaPublic91
Southeast Missouri Hospital College of Nursing and Health SciencesCape GirardeauPrivate not-for-profit61

What diagnostic medical sonographers earn in Missouri

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Missouri
$100,130
Mean annual
$94,550
Jobs in state
1,930
What the range looks like
10th pct$76,820Median$100,13090th pct$106,090
Versus the national median
+3.7%

U.S. median $96,590. Missouri pays above the national figure.

Job concentration
1.13×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Missouri

Kansas City, MO-KS
$100,450median
660 jobs
St. Louis, MO-IL
$98,990median
730 jobs
St. Joseph, MO-KS
$96,240median
40 jobs
Springfield, MO
$81,490median
130 jobs
Columbia, MO
$88,540median
50 jobs
Joplin, MO-KS
$81,990median
70 jobs
Cape Girardeau, MO-IL
$81,430median
40 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+13.0%
Much faster than average
Openings per year
5,800
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
11,700
90,000 → 101,700
Typical entry education
Associate's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Diagnostic Medical Sonographers page.

How to become a Diagnostic Medical Sonographer

Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0
Typical entry education
Associate's degree

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Top skills

Active ListeningSpeakingReading ComprehensionMonitoringCritical ThinkingActive Learning

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Missouri

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 1 majors mapped to Diagnostic Medical Sonographers1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 51.0910Diagnostic Medical Sonography/Sonographer and Ultrasound Technician

Common questions

Answers for people weighing diagnostic medical sonographers programs in Missouri.

What degree do you need to become a Diagnostic Medical Sonographer?+

Associate's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Diagnostic Medical Sonography/Sonographer and Ultrasound Technician, which awarded 72 degrees in Missouri in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Diagnostic Medical Sonographer?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Allied Health Diagnostic. Together they graduate about 72 people a year in Missouri.

How much do diagnostic medical sonographers earn in Missouri?+

The median is $100,130 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 3.7% above the U.S. median of $96,590. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for diagnostic medical sonographers growing?+

BLS projects a +13.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 5,800 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Missouri?+

5 institutions in Missouri reported graduates from at least one of the 1 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do diagnostic medical sonographers work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Sonographer, Ultrasonographer, Diagnostic Medical Sonographer, Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer (RDMS) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 29-2032.

Diagnostic Medical Sonographers in other statesCaliforniaFloridaTexasNew YorkPennsylvaniaOhioGeorgiaKansas

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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