Private nonprofit · College

Columbia College

Columbia, Missouri · Midsize city

Admit rate
$22,715
Avg net price
42%
Graduation rate
$45,378
Median earnings

Columbia College is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Columbia, Missouri (midsize city setting), enrolling 4,950 undergraduates. It has a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) religious affiliation.

Private nonprofitMidsize · 4,950 undergradsMidsize cityNAIA Division ICold winters

About Columbia, Missouri

Columbia is a city in Boone County, Missouri, United States, and its county seat. Columbia's origins begin with the settlement of American pioneers from Kentucky and Virginia in an early 1800s region known as the Boonslick. The Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts and Jesse Auditorium are Columbia's largest fine arts venues. Ragtag Cinema annually hosts the True/False Film Festival. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Midsize city
Highest degree offered
Graduate
Nearest big city
1 mile to Columbia, MO
To Great Lakes shore
317 miles
Nearest airport
11 miles to Columbia (COU)

How Columbia College compares

Graduation rate42%

Higher than 26% · #40 of 51 in Missouri

First-year retention75%

Higher than 46%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$45,378

Higher than 25% · #33 of 53 in Missouri

Average net price$22,715

Cheaper than 37% · #37 cheapest of 51 in Missouri

Median debt at graduation$23,879

Lower than 46%

Student–faculty ratio20 : 1

Lower than 10%

Undergraduate enrollment4,950

Larger than 78%

Percentiles compare Columbia College with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Missouri.

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

5,432students
  • Undergraduate4,95091%
  • Graduate4829%

Undergraduates by gender

4,950undergrads
  • Women3,08762%
  • Men1,86338%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White53%
  • Black21%
  • Hispanic12%
  • Asian1.9%
  • Other or multiracial12%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
4,950
Graduate enrollment
482
Student–faculty ratio
20 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
45%
First-generation students
49%
Students over 25
65%
Median family income
$25,623
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$73,845
Endowment
$159,246,801

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Cost

In-state tuition
$25,826
Room & board
$9,552
Books & supplies
$480
Total cost of attendance
$37,207
Average net price
$22,715

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated (within 6 years)
42%
Graduated on time (4 years)
33%
First-year retention
75%
Transferred to another college
0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$40,747
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$45,378
Median debt at graduation
$23,879
Students with federal loans
41%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
28%

About 9% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
33%
Low-income (Pell)
21%
First-generation
22%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
Yes
Dorm capacity
412
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
8%
Housing charge (year)
$5,202
Meal plan (year)
$3,672
Application fee
Free
Athletics
NAIA Division I
Varsity athletes
444 (244 men · 200 women)

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Varsity sports (10)

Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)180
Soccer67
Baseball43
Basketball33
Golf23
Volleyball22
Other Sports22
Lacrosse21
Softball21
Bowling12

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade
B
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.9 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
1
Property offenses (2022–2024)
15

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 14 campuses (5,689 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

5.3reported offenses a year
0.3 violent a year5.0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Motor vehicle theft
3.3
Burglary
1.7
Rape
0.3

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$23,967
$30–48k
$21,168
$48–75k
$21,550
$75–110k
$23,015
$110k+
$21,545

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Four-year (or more) true cost

Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.

Est. total to a degree
$93,088

$21,550/year × about 4.3 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

61%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$15,277
average award, among those who get one

A meaningful share of freshmen — 61% — get grant money from Columbia College itself, averaging $15,277, which softens the sticker price.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 290 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$45,378
Typical debt at graduation
$23,879
Debt vs. one year's pay
53%
Out-earn a HS grad
60%

Typical debt would take roughly 5.3 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Solid value

A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women
$41,751
Men
$54,760

Men out-earn women by $13,009 (31%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high
89°F
Winter low
22°F
Annual rain
44.8″
Annual snow
17.4″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°60°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.65.2JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Columbia U OF M, MO US station (1.1 mi from campus).

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Columbia College

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Columbia College side by side →

Colleges near Columbia College

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.