Best Marriage programs in Missouri, ranked by enrollment
Diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders, whether cognitive, affective, or behavioral, within the context of marriage and family systems.
21 schools in Missouri run programs that feed this job, graduating 727 people a year. The job pays a median of $60,440 in Missouri across about 390 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
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.
3 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.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 44.0701In Missouri → | 722 | 99.3% | 21 | $37,264 | $26,140 |
| 2 | CIP 51.1505In Missouri → | 3 | 0.4% | 1 | $37,335 | $22,861 |
| 3 | CIP 51.1511In Missouri → | 2 | 0.3% | 1 | $37,335 | $22,861 |
Top 21 schools in Missouri
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 9 of the 21 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Missouri State University - Springfield Springfield, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 141 | Social Work | $35,544 | 58% | — | 91% |
| 2 | Washington University in St Louis St. Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 112 | Social Work | — | 94% | $14,126 | 12% |
| 3 | Saint Louis University Saint Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 106 | Social Work | — | 80% | $24,886 | 75% |
| 4 | University of Missouri - St Louis Saint Louis, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 97 | Social Work | $35,862 | 57% | — | 63% |
| 5 | University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 37 | Social Work | $38,236 | 75% | — | 78% |
| 6 | Missouri Baptist University Saint Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 36 | Social Work | — | 48% | $25,407 | 69% |
| 7 | Maryville University of Saint Louis Saint Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 31 | Social Work | — | 66% | $24,921 | 95% |
| 8 | Missouri Western State University Saint Joseph, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 25 | Social Work | $33,532 | 39% | — | — |
| 9 | Southeast Missouri State University Cape Girardeau, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 24 | Social Work | $32,224 | 58% | — | 74% |
| 10 | University of Missouri - Kansas City Kansas City, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 24 | Social Work | — | 55% | — | 72% |
| 11 | Park University Parkville, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 21 | Social Work | — | 38% | $16,013 | — |
| 12 | University of Central Missouri Warrensburg, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 21 | Social Work | $39,295 | 54% | — | 64% |
| 13 | Avila University Kansas City, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Social Work | — | 52% | $16,721 | 88% |
| 14 | College of the Ozarks Point Lookout, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Social Work | $32,701 | 64% | $8,360 | 12% |
| 15 | Missouri Southern State University Joplin, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Social Work | $27,936 | 42% | — | 97% |
| 16 | Lindenwood University Saint Charles, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Social Work | — | 49% | $17,436 | 57% |
| 17 | Southwest Baptist University Bolivar, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Social Work | — | 55% | $20,939 | 68% |
| 18 | Lincoln University Jefferson City, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Social Work | $32,951 | 21% | — | — |
| 19 | Evangel University Springfield, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Social Work | — | 65% | $17,881 | 72% |
| 20 | Hannibal - LaGrange University Hannibal, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Social Work | — | 50% | $17,325 | 73% |
| 21 | William Woods University Fulton, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Social Work | — | 47% | $22,203 | 71% |
All 21 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.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri State University - Springfield | Springfield | Public | 141 | 1 |
| Washington University in St Louis | St. Louis | Private not-for-profit | 112 | 1 |
| Saint Louis University | Saint Louis | Private not-for-profit | 106 | 3 |
| University of Missouri - St Louis | Saint Louis | Public | 97 | 1 |
| University of Missouri - Columbia | Columbia | Public | 37 | 1 |
| Missouri Baptist University | Saint Louis | Private not-for-profit | 36 | 1 |
| Maryville University of Saint Louis | Saint Louis | Private not-for-profit | 31 | 1 |
| Missouri Western State University | Saint Joseph | Public | 25 | 1 |
| Southeast Missouri State University | Cape Girardeau | Public | 24 | 1 |
| University of Missouri - Kansas City | Kansas City | Public | 24 | 1 |
| Park University | Parkville | Private not-for-profit | 21 | 1 |
| University of Central Missouri | Warrensburg | Public | 21 | 1 |
| Avila University | Kansas City | Private not-for-profit | 11 | 1 |
| College of the Ozarks | Point Lookout | Private not-for-profit | 10 | 1 |
| Missouri Southern State University | Joplin | Public | 10 | 1 |
What marriage and family therapists earn in Missouri
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $66,940. Missouri pays below the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Missouri
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
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 Marriage and Family Therapists page.
How to become a Marriage
Job zone 5 of 5 · SVP 8.0 and above- Typical entry education
- Master's degree
- On-the-job training
- Internship/residency
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.
Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Top skills
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 5 majors mapped to Marriage and Family Therapists4 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 44.0701Social Work
- 51.1505Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling
- 51.1506Clinical Pastoral Counseling/Patient Counseling
- 51.1510Infant/Toddler Mental Health Services(no graduates reported)
- 51.1511Medical Family Therapy/Therapist
Common questions
Answers for people weighing marriage and family therapists programs in Missouri.
What degree do you need to become a Marriage?+
Master's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Social Work, which awarded 722 degrees in Missouri in 2024-25, 99.3% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Marriage?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Social Work, Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions. Together they graduate about 727 people a year in Missouri.
How much do marriage and family therapists earn in Missouri?+
The median is $60,440 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 9.7% below the U.S. median of $66,940. 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 marriage and family therapists growing?+
BLS projects a +12.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 7,700 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Missouri?+
21 institutions in Missouri reported graduates from at least one of the 3 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 marriage and family therapists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Clinical Therapist, Outpatient Therapist, Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT), Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 21-1013.
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 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected 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 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, 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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