Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This may influence which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations.
At the end of 2022, the Federal Reserve reported that roughly 43.5 million Americans have student loan debt, which totals over $1.7 trillion. Each borrower owes an average of $37,787.
If you owe tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt, you’re not alone. According to the Federal Reserve’s Consumer Credit report, 43.5 million Americans have some form of federal or private student loan debt. That’s 13 percent of the population. Not only can you not declare bankruptcy on many forms of student loan debt, but it can also harm your credit.
Here, we’re going to help you better understand the student loan debt dilemma that millions of Americans are facing. We’ll cover both federal and private student loan statistics, which states have the most student loan debt as well as delinquency rates. This will help you see where you stand in comparison to others in a similar situation.
Table of contents:
- Average student loan debt
- How many Americans have student loan debt?
- Student loan debt by state
- Total federal student loan debt
- Total private student loan debt
- Average student loan debt by age group
- Student loan repayment status
- Student loan default and delinquency rates
- Student loan debt forgiveness
- Student loan debt FAQ
Average student loan debt
The Education Data initiative is a primary source for tracking data on student loan debt and other educational statistics. In a January 2023 report, their analysis showed that the average debt per borrower was over $37,000 for federal student loans and nearly $55,000 for private loans.
Student loan debt has reached new highs in recent years and has been rising since 2007. Less than 20 years ago, the average student loan debt per borrower was just $18,200. This means that by 2022, we saw a 106 percent increase.
Here’s some more interesting data from their report:
- Those with a medical degree have an average student loan debt of over $300,000
- The least amount of student loan debt is those with a Master of Education, which is $67,500
- Stafford loan borrowers owe $25,249 on average
- 10 percent of borrowers owe more than $100,000 and 45 percent owe less than $20,000
How many Americans have student loan debt?
Over 43 million Americans have student loan debt. The following table from the U.S. Department of Education shows how many Americans have debt by federal loan type.
|
Year (Q4) |
Direct loans (in millions) |
Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) (in millions) |
Perkins loans (in millions) |
Total (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2018 |
34.2 |
13.5 |
2.3 |
42.9 |
|
2019 |
35.1 |
12.1 |
2.0 |
42.9 |
|
2020 |
35.9 |
11 |
1.7 |
42.9 |
|
2021 |
37 |
10.2 |
1.5 |
43.4 |
|
2022 |
37.8 |
9.2 |
1.3 |
43.5 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education
As you can see, more people are accumulating different types of federal student loans, with a one-and-a-half percent increase in recipients between 2018 and 2022.
Student loan debt by state
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York tracks student loan debt by state. Below, we’ve provided a chart with each state listed in alphabetical order.
The state with the lowest average student loan debt per borrower as of the fourth quarter in 2021 is South Dakota, where borrowers owe an average of $28,218. The District of Columbia has the highest average owed per borrower at $53,769, which is nearly $16,000 higher than the national average.
|
State |
Average balance |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Alabama |
$37,730 |
|
|
Alaska |
$30,427 |
|
|
Arizona |
$36,682 |
|
|
Arkansas |
$31,851 |
|
|
California |
$37,783 |
|
|
Colorado |
$37,235 |
|
|
Connecticut |
$36,391 |
|
|
Delaware |
$39,238 |
|
|
District of Columbia |
$53,769 |
|
|
Florida |
$38,653 |
|
|
Georgia |
$41,826 |
|
|
Hawaii |
$34,608 |
|
|
Idaho |
$34,196 |
|
|
Illinois |
$37,869 |
|
|
Indiana |
$32,045 |
|
|
Iowa |
$29,845 |
|
|
Kansas |
$33,954 |
|
|
Kentucky |
$33,155 |
|
|
Louisiana |
$34,839 |
|
|
Maine |
$33,584 |
|
|
Maryland |
$42,543 |
|
|
Massachusetts |
$35,400 |
|
|
Michigan |
$36,221 |
|
|
Minnesota |
$33,161 |
|
|
Mississippi |
$36,366 |
|
|
Missouri |
$35,095 |
|
|
Montana |
$32,459 |
|
|
Nebraska |
$31,551 |
|
|
Nevada |
$35,688 |
|
|
New Hampshire |
$33,094 |
|
|
New Jersey |
$37,003 |
|
|
New Mexico |
$32,944 |
|
|
New York |
$38,668 |
|
|
North Carolina |
$37,511 |
|
|
North Dakota |
$30,542 |
|
|
Ohio |
$35,806 |
|
|
Oklahoma |
$32,102 |
|
|
Oregon |
$38,248 |
|
|
Pennsylvania |
$35,349 |
|
|
Rhode Island |
$33,838 |
|
|
South Carolina |
$36,698 |
|
|
South Dakota |
$28,218 |
|
|
Tennessee |
$36,155 |
|
|
Texas |
$32,998 |
|
|
Utah |
$33,474 |
|
|
Vermont |
$34,595 |
|
|
Virginia |
$39,001 |
|
|
Washington |
$34,846 |
|
|
West Virginia |
$32,214 |
|
|
Wisconsin |
$31,482 |
|
|
Wyoming |
$30,581 |
States with the most student loan borrowers
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York also tracks how many borrowers there are per state. This gives us a good sense of how many individuals are seeking college degrees, but we should also keep in mind that the cost of living varies in different states as well as how much there is for state funding.
|
State |
Total borrowers |
|
|---|---|---|
|
California |
4,021,200 |
|
|
Texas |
3,759,300 |
|
|
Florida |
2,646,400 |
|
|
New York |
2,579,600 |
|
|
Pennsylvania |
2,032,400 |
|
|
Ohio |
1,810,900 |
|
|
Illinois |
1,713,900 |
|
|
Georgia |
1,641,600 |
|
|
Michigan |
1,430,900 |
|
|
North Carolina |
1,340,500 |
|
|
New Jersey |
1,339,800 |
|
|
Virginia |
1,143,200 |
|
|
Massachusetts |
1,046,800 |
|
|
Indiana |
924,000 |
|
|
Minnesota |
902,500 |
|
|
Arizona |
872,600 |
|
|
Tennessee |
872,000 |
|
|
Maryland |
864,700 |
|
|
Missouri |
829,100 |
|
|
Washington |
816,900 |
|
|
Colorado |
804,300 |
|
|
Wisconsin |
785,600 |
|
|
South Carolina |
745,500 |
|
|
Louisiana |
644,600 |
|
|
Alabama |
615,800 |
|
|
Kentucky |
588,800 |
|
|
Oregon |
556,000 |
|
|
Connecticut |
542,800 |
|
|
Oklahoma |
480,800 |
|
|
Iowa |
465,500 |
|
|
Mississippi |
414,300 |
|
|
Kansas |
395,200 |
|
|
Arkansas |
374,900 |
|
|
Nevada |
351,300 |
|
|
Utah |
325,100 |
|
|
Nebraska |
261,000 |
|
|
Idaho |
219,400 |
|
|
New Hampshire |
219,000 |
|
|
West Virginia |
217,200 |
|
|
New Mexico |
215,500 |
|
|
Maine |
203,200 |
|
|
Rhode Island |
153,200 |
|
|
Delaware |
137,300 |
|
|
South Dakota |
135,600 |
|
|
Montana |
132,900 |
|
|
District of Columbia |
125,000 |
|
|
Hawaii |
123,600 |
|
|
North Dakota |
114,000 |
|
|
Vermont |
96,300 |
|
|
Alaska |
70,600 |
|
|
Wyoming |
57,600 |
States with the highest delinquency rates per borrower
As stated by the U.S. Department of Education, a student loan payment is considered delinquent the first day after missing a payment. If the payment goes unpaid for at least 270 days, the loan then goes into default.
The following are some consequences of going into default:
- The entirety of the loan and the interest is due immediately
- You lose the ability to obtain additional federal student aid
- It will harm your credit score
The state with the highest borrower delinquency rate, `per the Federal Reserve of New York, is Maryland at a rate of 11 percent. This is followed by the state of Washington at 10.7 percent and Utah at 10 percent.
Total federal student loan debt
Included in the U.S. Department of Education’s report is the total amount of outstanding federal and private student loans. Outstanding FFEL loans have dropped over 50 percent since the fourth quarter of 2013, and outstanding Perkins loans have fallen the same amount.
Now, you may be wondering, “Then how is there more outstanding student loan debt than in previous years?” This is due to the rise in outstanding direct loans, which have risen over 133 percent since 2013.
Here’s a look at the past five years of outstanding federal student loan debt:
|
Year (Q4) |
Direct loans (in millions) |
Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) (in millions) |
Perkins loans (in millions) |
Total (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2018 |
$1,150.3 |
$281.8 |
$7.1 |
$1,439.2 |
|
2019 |
$1,242.6 |
$261.6 |
$6.1 |
$1,510.3 |
|
2020 |
$1,315.2 |
$245.9 |
$5.2 |
$1,566.3 |
|
2021 |
$1,375.9 |
$230.4 |
$4.4 |
$1,610.7 |
|
2022 |
$1,422.8 |
$207.8 |
$3.9 |
$1,634.5 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education
Total private student loan debt
When taking out a student loan, you can receive federal student loans or private student loans. Private student loans aren’t provided by the federal government, and they often come with much higher interest rates. While federal student loans sometimes have forgiveness programs that can help eliminate some of your debt, private loans don’t have the same benefit.
- Less than two percent of private student loan borrowers default on their student loans (MeasureOne)
- The average interest rate on private loans is between four and 15 percent (Education Data Initiative)
- Refinancing a private student loan can range between 2.25 to 12 percent (Education Data Initiative)
- 53 percent of private loan borrowers did not borrow the maximum amount of Stafford loans (TICAS)
- 11 percent of these borrowers didn’t apply for federal financial aid (TICAS)
Average student loan debt by age group
The debt among Americans is divided by age group in the U.S. Department of Education report, and it shows that people ages 35 to 49 owe the most in federal student loans. While this age group owes a total of $634 billion, those under 24 years of age only owe $104 billion, followed by people 62 and older at $107 billion.
|
Age group |
Total outstanding loan balances (in billions) |
|---|---|
|
Under 24 |
$104 |
|
25 to 34 |
$497 |
|
35 to 49 |
$634 |
|
50 to 61 |
$293 |
|
62 and older |
$107 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education
Student loan repayment status
While many Americans are paying their student loans on a monthly basis, for a variety of reasons, some people may need to apply for a deferment or forbearance. If you’re facing financial hardships, you can apply for these services to pause your loan payments. It’s also helpful to know that you may still accrue interest while in forbearance or deferment.
The following table shows the total number of Americans by loan status as per the U.S. Department of Education during the fourth quarter in 2022:
|
Loan status |
Recipients (in millions) |
|---|---|
|
Currently in school |
6.3 |
|
In grace period |
1.3 |
|
Repayment |
0.4 |
|
Deferment |
3.0 |
|
Forbearance |
25.6 |
|
Cumulative in default |
4.8 |
|
Other |
0.1 |
Source: U.S. Department of Education
Student loan default and delinquency rates
When graduating from college, it can take some time for people to begin making enough money to pay back their student loans. But remember, missed payments turn delinquent the day after missing the first payment and then go into default after 270 days.
Here are some notable statistics from the Education Data Initiative:
- The majority of borrowers have at least one late payment in the first five years of repayment
- Over 40 percent of borrows in default status owe between $20,000 and $40,000
- Almost 11 percent of borrowers default within their first year of repayment
- Less than 20 percent of borrowers are delinquent at least five times
- Graduates with Arts and Humanities majors have the highest default rate at 26 percent
Student loan debt forgiveness
The most common form of federal student loan forgiveness is the Public Student Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF). This is a student loan forgiveness program for a variety of different service jobs. According to the PSLF website, there are no specific jobs, and all a company needs to do is qualify for PSLF. Although there are no specific jobs listed, here are some of the typical careers that qualify, as reported by Kristen Kuchar at SavingforCollege.com:
- Law enforcement
- Public health
- Education
- Social work
- Emergency management
- Public safety
- Government jobs
PSLF releases a monthly report with some interesting information. The following is data from their December 2022 report:
- There were 1.8 million forms processed for people qualifying for PSLF
- Of the more than 1.9 million forms processed, 88,202 did not qualify for PSLF
- The largest portion of borrowers qualified for income-driven repayment, which allows for lower payments based on current income
- 34,000 people who applied have employers that do not qualify for PSLF
- The primary sector qualifying for PSLF is government employees, who accounted for 61 percent of the processed forms
Student loan debt FAQ
We’ve covered a lot of data about student loan debt statistics in America, but you may have some lingering questions. Below is a list of some frequently asked questions, along with their answers.
What is the average student loan debt in 2023?
The average American graduate owes $37,787 in student loans.
Who suffers the most from student loan debt
According to the Education Data Initiative, Black and African American graduates owe $25,000 more than white graduates on average. About 48 percent of these former students also owe six percent more than they borrowed.
Is student loan debt increasing or decreasing?
The credit bureau Experian® shows the average student loan balance increased 91 percent between 2009 and 2022.
Who owns the most student loan debt?
As of September 2022, the U.S. Department of Education reported that people ages 35 to 49 owe the most student loan debt at a total of $634 billion.
Don’t let student loan debt affect your credit score
If you’re having trouble paying your student loan debt, you’re not alone. With 4.8 million Americans in default and 28.6 million in deferment or forbearance status, it’s clear to see that many people are in the same situation. Unfortunately, not paying your student loan debt can harm your credit score, which can make your financial life difficult and cause additional stress.
Fortunately, Credit.com is here to help. We offer different tools that can help you work to repair and improve your credit. We’re also here to help you learn how to manage your debt so you can make your payments on time and avoid any dings to your credit in the future. If you’re curious about your current credit status, sign up for your free credit report card today.
