Checking the mail or hitting refresh on a portal to see if your hard work actually translated into a better paycheck is a universal experience. If you’re at the University of Missouri, that experience is basically documented in one massive, 15-megabyte PDF.
The mizzou salary report 2025 is finally out, and honestly, it’s a lot to digest. We’re talking about a system that employs over 15,000 people in Columbia alone, with a total payroll and retirement impact of about $1.1 billion. That’s a massive amount of taxpayer and tuition money.
Whether you're a grad student trying to see if your stipend is even close to a living wage, or a local resident curious about what the dean makes, this data matters. It’s about transparency. But let's be real—raw data is usually boring and confusing.
What’s Actually in the Mizzou Salary Report 2025?
Basically, the university system is required by law to show where the money goes. This isn't just a list of "Professor Smith makes $X." It covers everyone from the groundskeepers and office support staff to the high-level administrators and SEC-winning coaches.
One thing you’ve probably noticed if you’ve lived in Missouri for more than a week is that the cost of living is shifting. While Missouri’s minimum wage hit $13.75 at the start of 2025, the university has to balance those state mandates with its own internal "salary floors."
The 2025 data shows a median pay for the UM System sitting around $70,679. But "median" is a tricky word. It means half make more and half make less. When you have football coaches making $9 million and student workers making $15 an hour, that average gets pulled in a lot of directions.
The Big Earners: Coaches and Admins
It’s no secret that the highest-paid employees at Mizzou aren't usually in the classroom. Eli Drinkwitz, the head football coach, is a prime example. In 2025, his salary is reported at roughly $9 million.
Why? Because college sports is a business. A big one. The Board of Curators approved a massive pool for assistant coaches and strength staff too. They’re betting that winning games brings in more revenue than the salaries cost. It’s a gamble, but that’s the current state of the SEC.
Then you have the administrators. Deans and VPs often land in the $200,000 to $400,000 range. For example, the Director of the School of Natural Resources, Patrick Market, was recently listed with a gross pay of over $213,000.
What About the "Rest of Us"?
If you aren't calling plays on Saturday or running a multi-million dollar research lab, the numbers look a bit different. Staff roles—the people who actually keep the lights on and the emails answered—have seen some adjustments lately.
- Academic Advisors: Most are landing between $42,000 and $46,000.
- Business Support Specialists: These roles vary wildly, but many sit in the $40,000 to $50,000 bracket.
- Postdoctoral Fellows: This is a tough spot. Some report earnings as low as $20,000 if they're part-time or grant-funded, though many full-time roles are closer to $52,000.
- Adjunct Professors: They're the backbone of many departments, often making around $65,700 on average if they have a full load, though many work "per course" which makes their take-home much lower.
The Problem With Salary Inversion
Here’s a term you might not know: salary inversion. It’s a huge topic in the mizzou salary report 2025 discussions.
Basically, it happens when a new person is hired at a higher rate than someone who has been there for five years. Why? Because the "market rate" for new hires goes up faster than the university gives raises to existing staff.
It’s frustrating. Imagine training your new boss who makes $10,000 more than you do. The University has been trying to fix this by raising "salary floors," but as groups like the AAUP have pointed out, raising the floor doesn't always help the people who were already standing just a few inches above it.
Why the Data Sometimes Looks "Off"
When you look at the public pay databases—like the ones provided by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch or the official MOspace repository—you might see some weird numbers.
Gross pay isn't always the same as "base salary."
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If a professor takes on extra summer teaching, or if a staff member gets a one-time bonus for a special project, that shows up in the "gross pay" column. Also, some data reflects the 2024 calendar year because that's the last full cycle of "actuals." The 2025 report often refers to the "salary rate" as of November 2024.
It’s easy to get mad at a number without knowing if that person worked 80 hours a week or had three different job titles rolled into one.
How to Use This Information
So, what do you do with this?
If you work at Mizzou, use the mizzou salary report 2025 as leverage. If you see that your job title has a "floor" of $55,000 and you’re making $48,000, that’s a conversation for HR.
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If you’re a student, it helps you see where your tuition goes. Are you paying for more advisors or more administrators?
Practical Next Steps
- Access the PDF: Go to the UM System "MOspace" repository. Search for the "Annual Salary Report 2024-25." It’s a public document.
- Check Your Department: Don't just look at names. Look at the "Department" averages. If the "eLearning" department has a median pay of $62,321 but "IT Services" is at $80,184, that tells you which skills are currently valued higher by the curators.
- Understand the "JFI": If you're a manager, look into the "Justification for Increase" (JFI) process. The university uses these reports to determine if a pay bump is "data-driven" or just a whim.
- Compare to Peer Institutions: Mizzou uses "Salary Comparators" to see how they stack up against other big schools like Illinois or Iowa. If Mizzou is significantly lower, expect more turnover in those departments.
The 2025 report shows a university in transition. It’s trying to stay competitive in a high-inflation world while keeping the "Tiger" pride alive. It isn't perfect, and the gaps between the top and bottom are still pretty wide, but the data is there for anyone who wants to look.