Missouri·Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations·SOC 29-2042

Best Emergency Medical Technician programs in Missouri, ranked by enrollment

Assess injuries and illnesses and administer basic emergency medical care.

14 schools in Missouri run programs that feed this job, graduating 353 people a year. The job pays a median of $42,160 in Missouri across about 2,800 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledFirst ResponderEmergency Medical Technician (EMT)EMT-PEMT-I/85EMT-I/99ParamedicDispatcherRescue Worker
Graduates / yr
353
in Missouri
Median pay · Missouri
$42,160
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
2,800
people employed
Schools
14
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
46%
across those schools
Median net price
$17,436
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 51.0904In Missouri
353
100.0%
14$53,520$20,250

Top 14 schools in Missouri

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 6 of the 14 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Mineral Area College
Park Hills, MO Public · 1 feeder programs
66Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)49%
2Saint Louis Community College
Bridgeton, MO Public · 1 feeder programs
46Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$55,75421%
3Jefferson College
Hillsboro, MO Public · 1 feeder programs
42Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$46,76938%
4Ozarks Technical Community College
Springfield, MO Public · 1 feeder programs
38Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$51,28233%
5Missouri Southern State University
Joplin, MO Public · 1 feeder programs
31Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$53,92742%97%
6Crowder College
Neosho, MO Public · 1 feeder programs
25Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)49%
7East Central College
Union, MO Public · 1 feeder programs
21Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)48%
8Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center
Cape Girardeau, MO Public · 1 feeder programs
17Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)71%
9Grand River Technical School
Chillicothe, MO Public · 1 feeder programs
15Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)89%88%
10Lindenwood University
Saint Charles, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
15Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)49%$17,43657%
11Metropolitan Community College - Kansas City
Kansas City, MO Public · 1 feeder programs
13Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$51,90134%
12St Charles Community College
Cottleville, MO Public · 1 feeder programs
12Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)25%
13Three Rivers College
Poplar Bluff, MO Public · 1 feeder programs
10Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)$27,02233%
14North Central Missouri College
Trenton, MO Public · 1 feeder programs
2Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)58%

All 14 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
Mineral Area CollegePark HillsPublic661
Saint Louis Community CollegeBridgetonPublic461
Jefferson CollegeHillsboroPublic421
Ozarks Technical Community CollegeSpringfieldPublic381
Missouri Southern State UniversityJoplinPublic311
Crowder CollegeNeoshoPublic251
East Central CollegeUnionPublic211
Cape Girardeau Career and Technology CenterCape GirardeauPublic171
Grand River Technical SchoolChillicothePublic151
Lindenwood UniversitySaint CharlesPrivate not-for-profit151
Metropolitan Community College - Kansas CityKansas CityPublic131
St Charles Community CollegeCottlevillePublic121
Three Rivers CollegePoplar BluffPublic101
North Central Missouri CollegeTrentonPublic21

What emergency medical technicians earn in Missouri

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

Median annual in Missouri
$42,160
Mean annual
$43,330
Jobs in state
2,800
What the range looks like
10th pct$34,390Median$42,16090th pct$58,090
Versus the national median
-5.2%

U.S. median $44,470. Missouri pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.82×

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

Metro areas in Missouri

Kansas City, MO-KS
$42,670median
500 jobs
Springfield, MO
$43,700median
280 jobs
St. Joseph, MO-KS
$38,680median
50 jobs
Columbia, MO
$43,980median
80 jobs
St. Louis, MO-IL
$41,910median
1,550 jobs
Joplin, MO-KS
$39,670median
80 jobs
Jefferson City, MO
$36,770median
100 jobs
Cape Girardeau, MO-IL
$35,550median
50 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+5.1%
Faster than average
Openings per year
14,100
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
9,200
181,000 → 190,200
Typical entry education
Postsecondary nondegree award

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 Emergency Medical Technicians page.

How to become a Emergency Medical Technician

Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0
Typical entry education
Postsecondary nondegree award

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.

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 Emergency Medical Technicians1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 51.0904Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)

Common questions

Answers for people weighing emergency medical technicians programs in Missouri.

What degree do you need to become an Emergency Medical Technician?+

Postsecondary nondegree award is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic), which awarded 353 degrees in Missouri in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming an Emergency Medical Technician?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Allied Health Diagnostic. Together they graduate about 353 people a year in Missouri.

How much do emergency medical technicians earn in Missouri?+

The median is $42,160 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 5.2% below the U.S. median of $44,470. 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 emergency medical technicians growing?+

BLS projects a +5.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 14,100 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

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

14 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 emergency medical technicians work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records First Responder, Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 29-2042.

Emergency Medical Technicians in other statesFloridaCaliforniaTexasWisconsinArizonaColoradoOhioIllinois

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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