Best Registered Nurse programs in Missouri, ranked by enrollment
Assess patient health problems and needs, develop and implement nursing care plans, and maintain medical records. Administer nursing care to ill, injured, convalescent, or disabled patients.
55 schools in Missouri run programs that feed this job, graduating 5,352 people a year. The job pays a median of $81,780 in Missouri across about 76,310 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.
13 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 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nursemain feeder CIP 51.3801In Missouri → | 4,045 | 75.6% | 51 | $71,623 | $25,750 |
| 2 | CIP 51.3899In Missouri → | 391 | 7.3% | 3 | $71,623 | $25,750 |
| 3 | Family Practice Nurse/Nursingmain feeder CIP 51.3805In Missouri → | 342 | 6.4% | 8 | $71,623 | $25,750 |
| 4 | Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursingmain feeder CIP 51.3810In Missouri → | 223 | 4.2% | 5 | $71,623 | $25,750 |
| 5 | Nursing Practicemain feeder CIP 51.3818In Missouri → | 183 | 3.4% | 7 | $71,623 | $25,750 |
| 6 | Pediatric Nurse/Nursingmain feeder CIP 51.3809In Missouri → | 56 | 1.0% | 4 | $71,623 | $25,750 |
| 7 | Critical Care Nursingmain feeder CIP 51.3814In Missouri → | 42 | 0.8% | 1 | $71,623 | $25,750 |
| 8 | Geriatric Nurse/Nursingmain feeder CIP 51.3821In Missouri → | 31 | 0.6% | 1 | $71,623 | $25,750 |
| 9 | Adult Health Nurse/Nursingmain feeder CIP 51.3803In Missouri → | 17 | 0.3% | 2 | $71,623 | $25,750 |
| 10 | Nursing Sciencemain feeder CIP 51.3808In Missouri → | 13 | 0.2% | 3 | $71,623 | $25,750 |
| 11 | Nursing Administrationmain feeder CIP 51.3802In Missouri → | 5 | 0.1% | 2 | $71,623 | $25,750 |
| 12 | Clinical Nurse Leadermain feeder CIP 51.3820In Missouri → | 3 | 0.1% | 1 | $71,623 | $25,750 |
| 13 | CIP 51.3812In Missouri → | 1 | 0.0% | 1 | $71,623 | $25,750 |
Top 25 schools in Missouri
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 44 of the 55 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maryville University of Saint Louis Saint Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 8 feeder programs | 719 | Family Practice Nurse/Nursing | $69,116 | 66% | $24,921 | 95% |
| 2 | University of Missouri - Columbia Columbia, MO Public · 3 feeder programs | 358 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $72,300 | 75% | — | 78% |
| 3 | Barnes - Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing Saint Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 296 | Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing, Other | $66,925 | — | — | — |
| 4 | Rockhurst University Kansas City, MO Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 273 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $69,011 | 75% | $21,890 | 70% |
| 5 | Saint Louis University Saint Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 5 feeder programs | 242 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $70,226 | 80% | $24,886 | 75% |
| 6 | Saint Louis Community College Bridgeton, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 228 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $68,262 | 21% | — | — |
| 7 | Missouri State University - Springfield Springfield, MO Public · 2 feeder programs | 213 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $66,183 | 58% | — | 91% |
| 8 | Cox College Springfield, MO Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 203 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $68,174 | 100% | — | 100% |
| 9 | University of Missouri - Kansas City Kansas City, MO Public · 6 feeder programs | 195 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $71,150 | 55% | — | 72% |
| 10 | Southwest Baptist University Bolivar, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 166 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $59,620 | 55% | $20,939 | 68% |
| 11 | Research College of Nursing Kansas City, MO Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 151 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $75,705 | — | — | — |
| 12 | University of Missouri - St Louis Saint Louis, MO Public · 4 feeder programs | 148 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $66,972 | 57% | — | 63% |
| 13 | University of Central Missouri Warrensburg, MO Public · 2 feeder programs | 126 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $70,840 | 54% | — | 64% |
| 14 | Columbia College Columbia, MO Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 110 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $65,768 | 42% | $23,247 | — |
| 15 | Central Methodist University - College of Graduate and Extended Studies Fayette, MO Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 100 | Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing, Other | $73,569 | 0% | $14,535 | 88% |
| 16 | North Central Missouri College Trenton, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 100 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $66,504 | 58% | — | — |
| 17 | Crowder College Neosho, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 97 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $62,875 | 49% | — | — |
| 18 | St Charles Community College Cottleville, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 88 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $68,488 | 25% | — | — |
| 19 | Southeast Missouri State University Cape Girardeau, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 87 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $68,302 | 58% | — | 74% |
| 20 | Webster University Saint Louis, MO Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 79 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | — | 64% | $25,090 | 86% |
| 21 | Missouri State University - West Plains West Plains, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 72 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $56,681 | 41% | — | — |
| 22 | Missouri Western State University Saint Joseph, MO Public · 2 feeder programs | 71 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $70,938 | 39% | — | — |
| 23 | State Fair Community College Sedalia, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 69 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $61,389 | 44% | — | — |
| 24 | Moberly Area Community College Moberly, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 67 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $67,023 | 44% | — | — |
| 25 | Metropolitan Community College - Kansas City Kansas City, MO Public · 1 feeder programs | 66 | Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse | $63,534 | 34% | — | — |
All 55 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maryville University of Saint Louis | Saint Louis | Private not-for-profit | 719 | 8 |
| University of Missouri - Columbia | Columbia | Public | 358 | 3 |
| Barnes - Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing | Saint Louis | Private not-for-profit | 296 | 1 |
| Rockhurst University | Kansas City | Private not-for-profit | 273 | 3 |
| Saint Louis University | Saint Louis | Private not-for-profit | 242 | 5 |
| Saint Louis Community College | Bridgeton | Public | 228 | 1 |
| Missouri State University - Springfield | Springfield | Public | 213 | 2 |
| Cox College | Springfield | Private not-for-profit | 203 | 3 |
| University of Missouri - Kansas City | Kansas City | Public | 195 | 6 |
| Southwest Baptist University | Bolivar | Private not-for-profit | 166 | 1 |
| Research College of Nursing | Kansas City | Private for-profit | 151 | 1 |
| University of Missouri - St Louis | Saint Louis | Public | 148 | 4 |
| University of Central Missouri | Warrensburg | Public | 126 | 2 |
| Columbia College | Columbia | Private not-for-profit | 110 | 2 |
| Central Methodist University - College of Graduate and Extended Studies | Fayette | Private not-for-profit | 100 | 3 |
What registered nurses earn in Missouri
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $97,550. Missouri pays below the national figure.
Concentrated here: Missouri employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
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 Registered Nurses page.
How to become a Registered Nurse
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational 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 21 majors mapped to Registered Nurses21 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 51.3801Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse
- 51.3802Nursing Administration
- 51.3803Adult Health Nurse/Nursing
- 51.3805Family Practice Nurse/Nursing
- 51.3806Maternal/Child Health and Neonatal Nurse/Nursing
- 51.3808Nursing Science
- 51.3809Pediatric Nurse/Nursing
- 51.3810Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse/Nursing
- 51.3811Public Health/Community Nurse/Nursing
- 51.3812Perioperative/Operating Room and Surgical Nurse/Nursing
- 51.3813Clinical Nurse Specialist
- 51.3814Critical Care Nursing
- 51.3815Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing
- 51.3816Emergency Room/Trauma Nursing
- 51.3818Nursing Practice
- 51.3819Palliative Care Nursing
- 51.3820Clinical Nurse Leader
- 51.3821Geriatric Nurse/Nursing
- 51.3822Women's Health Nurse/Nursing
- 51.3824Forensic Nursing
- 51.3899Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing, Other
Common questions
Answers for people weighing registered nurses programs in Missouri.
What degree do you need to become a Registered Nurse?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse, which awarded 4,045 degrees in Missouri in 2024-25, 75.6% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Registered Nurse?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 13 programs to this occupation. The largest are Registered Nursing. Together they graduate about 5,352 people a year in Missouri.
How much do registered nurses earn in Missouri?+
The median is $81,780 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 16.2% below the U.S. median of $97,550. 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 registered nurses growing?+
BLS projects a +4.9% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 189,100 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Missouri?+
55 institutions in Missouri reported graduates from at least one of the 13 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 registered nurses work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Staff Nurse, Charge Nurse, APN (Advanced Practice Nurse), CNS (Clinical Nurse Specialist), Critical Care Nurse Practitioner, Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurse among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 29-1141.
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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