Missouri S&T is ranked ninth in the nation for “Best Salaries,” and second for a public university in that category, according to a new ranking from The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and College Pulse.

The 2025 WSJ/College Pulse 2025 Best Colleges in the United States ranking, released today (Thursday, Sept. 5), evaluates colleges and universities based on a variety of metrics, including measures designed to show how well schools improve the trajectories of their students’ careers. The “Best Salaries” ranking puts Missouri S&T first in the state.

This ranking scores colleges based on their salary impact, years to pay off tuition, and the value added to graduates’ median salary attributable to attending the college. This is calculated from the median earnings of the school’s graduates and the median earnings of high-school graduates in the state where the college is located and across the U.S. in proportion to the ratio of students who are in-state versus out-of-state. According to the website, the value added for S&T graduates is $55,308.

Top 20 for best value

Missouri S&T claims No. 18 in the nation and No. 1 in the state on the WSJ/College Pulse “Best Value” ranking.

This ranking scores colleges based on “years to pay off net price.” This measure combines two figures — the average net price of attending the college, and the value added to graduates’ median salary attributable to attending the college. According to the website, it takes 11 months to pay off S&T’s net price of $13,799.

500 colleges ranked

Each of the 500 colleges included in the 2025 WSJ/College Pulse 2025 Best Colleges in the United States rankings received a minimum of 50 survey responses, with most receiving more than 100. Missouri S&T ranked 182 overall, third in the state, and first for a public university in Missouri. In all, tens of thousands of survey responses are factored into the ranking. The Wall Street Journal and College Pulse asked dozens of questions on topics covering student life, career preparation and the quality of classrooms, dining halls and sports facilities.  This year’s ranking also features a finer-tuned model for calculations related to how much colleges boost their students’ graduation rates and salaries, known as the “value added.”

For more information about Missouri S&T, please visit futurestudents.mst.edu.