Bachelor's · Cape Girardeau, Missouri

Is Social Work at Southeast Missouri State University worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 13.9 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $45,475; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $46,466; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $22,318; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $73k (likely $73k – $97k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $8k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in MO; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 13.9 years (likely 6.9–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$186k (likely −$267k – −$112k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$125k (likely −$248k – $19k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 61%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26