COLLEGES · 30-YEAR ROI · SPRINGFIELD, MO
Is Missouri State University-Springfield worth the money?
Yes — at resident pricing. A Missouri State University-Springfield degree clears +$948K in 30-year projected net value over skipping college and investing the difference.
A public four-year school in Springfield, Missouri, priced as a Missouri resident — earnings rolled up from 58 FREOPP-reported programs.
IPEDS 2023 cost · FREOPP 2021 earnings · BEA 2023 cost-of-living · same model as /worth-it · this school clears positive net value.
- 30-year net value · resident pricing
- +$948K
- Total cost of attendance (4 years, sticker)
- $77,016
- Median earnings · 10 yrs after entry
- $47,950
- Breaks even by age
- —
- FREOPP program coverage
- 58 programs
Coming from out of state?
Still worth it — at non-resident tuition, Missouri State University-Springfield clears +$645K over the same 30-year horizon, on a total sticker cost of $112,632. The residency line is worth $303K to you here — same school, same degree (the out-of-state tax in Missouri, ranked).
How this is computed (and what it isn’t)
Missouri State University-Springfield runs through the /worth-it model at its resident tuition rate, with the standard loan assumptions, a 30-year horizon, and Missouri’s own cost-of-living on the skip-college path. The “30-year net value” is the projected accumulated value of going vs. skipping and investing the difference, in real dollars.
What it isn’t: a verdict on every major. The school-level number averages across 58 FREOPP-reported programs — the field you pick swings it by over a million dollars on its own. We only publish school pages that clear positive net value at resident pricing; earnings roll up from at least three FREOPP programs (ADR-0032), so a single high-earning major can’t fake the number.
Questions
- Is Missouri State University-Springfield worth the money?
- At resident pricing, yes: Missouri State University-Springfield clears +$948K in 30-year projected net value versus skipping college and investing the difference. That is computed from a total cost of attendance of $77,016 and median earnings of $47,950 ten years after entry (IPEDS 2023 cost, FREOPP 2021 earnings, BEA 2023 cost-of-living — the same model as the LE TEEN calculator).
- How long until a Missouri State University-Springfield degree pays for itself?
- Under our defaults the degree path finishes +$948K ahead at the 30-year horizon; the year-by-year crossover depends on your loan share and time horizon — run your own assumptions on the calculator.
- What could change the number for Missouri State University-Springfield?
- Two levers dominate. Residency: this page prices Missouri State University-Springfield as a Missouri resident; at non-resident tuition it still clears +$645K, but the gap is real money (see the out-of-state tax in Missouri). And the major: the field you pick swings lifetime ROI by over a million dollars on its own (see the majors pages).
Keep going
Cite this:
LE TEEN (2026). “Is Missouri State University-Springfield worth the money? 30-year ROI.” Data: IPEDS 2023 · FREOPP 2021 · BEA 2023. https://le-teen.com/colleges/missouri-state-university-springfield