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The cost of college has steadily increased over the last 30 years. In that timeframe, tuition costs at public four-year colleges grew from $4,160 to $10,740 and from $19,360 to $38,070 at private nonprofit institutions (adjusted for inflation). As costs have risen, so has the need for student loans and other forms of financial aid.
Today, more than half of students leave school with debt. Here’s a snapshot of how much the average student borrows, what types of loans are most common and how those loans are repaid.
Average Student Loan Debt in the United States
- $1.75 trillion in total student loan debt (including federal and private loans)
- $28,950 owed per borrower on average
- About 92% of all student debt are federal student loans; the remaining amount is private student loans
- 55% of students from public four-year institutions had student loans
- 57% of students from private nonprofit four-year institutions took on education debt
Sources: Federal Reserve, The Institute for College Access and Success, College Board, MeasureOne
States with Highest and Lowest Average Student Debt
| Highest debt states | Lowest debt states | ||
|---|---|---|---|
New Hampshire | $39,928 | Utah | $18,344 |
Delaware | $39,705 | New Mexico | $20,868 |
Pennsylvania | $39,375 | California | $21,125 |
Rhode Island | $36,791 | Nevada | $21,357 |
Connecticut | $35,853 | Wyoming | $23,510 |
Source: The Institute for College Access and Success
Average Student Loan Debt by State
The national average balance of federal student loan borrowers is $35,210. The five states and territories with the highest balance are as follows:
1. Washington, D.C. $54,708.52
2. Maryland. $42,350.91
3. Georgia. $40,268.87
4. Virginia. $38,251.37
5. Florida. $37,709.72
| State/territory | Average loan balance |
|---|---|
Alabama | $35,848.13 |
Alaska | $34,055.73 |
Arizona | $34,693.64 |
Arkansas | $32,188.84 |
California | $36,755.80 |
Colorado | $35,932.11 |
Connecticut | $34,713.76 |
Delaware | $36,135.11 |
District of Columbia | $54,708.52 |
Florida | $37,709.72 |
Georgia | $40,268.87 |
Hawaii | $36,238 |
Idaho | $32,228 |
Illinois | $37,233 |
Indiana | $31,483 |
Iowa | $29,350 |
Kansas | $31,502 |
Kentucky | $31,685.24 |
Louisiana | $33,376.54 |
Maine | $32,679.74 |
Maryland | $42,350.91 |
Massachusetts | $33,710.38 |
Michigan | $35,253.08 |
Minnesota | $32,513.98 |
Mississippi | $35,381.31 |
Missouri | $34,412.96 |
Montana | $32,414.91 |
Nebraska | $30,978.93 |
Nevada | $33,663.96 |
New Hampshire | $33,119.66 |
New Jersey | $35,202.31 |
New Mexico | $33,550.79 |
New York | $37,196.72 |
North Carolina | $36,632.59 |
North Dakota | $27,874.56 |
Ohio | $33,490.59 |
Oklahoma | $31,011.14 |
Oregon | $36,230.49 |
Other | $44,150.11 |
Pennsylvania | $34,535.56 |
Puerto Rico | $29,480.74 |
Rhode Island | $31,779.66 |
South Carolina | $36,729.04 |
South Dakota | $29,798.42 |
Tennessee | $35,431.18 |
Texas | $32,285.33 |
Utah | $31,861.93 |
Vermont | $37,037.04 |
Virginia | $38,251.37 |
Washington | $35,223.26 |
West Virginia | $31,121.28 |
Wisconsin | $30,777.92 |
Wyoming | $30,360.53 |
Source: Direct Portfolio Data by Location Q1 2023 |
Average Student Loan Debt by Age
Student loan debt is usually associated with young adults, with those 24 and younger having the lowest average balances. Average balances also increase by age group, with those 62 and older having the highest balance.
| Age group | Average balance |
|---|---|
24 and younger | $13,722.22 |
25 to 34 | $32,707.48 |
35 to 49 | $44,441.67 |
50 to 61 | $47,660 |
62 and older | $49,375 |
Source: Direct Portfolio by Borrower Age Q1 2023
Average Student Loan Debt by Race and Gender
Although most college students take out student loans, women and people of color are more likely to have student loan debt—and higher balances—than their white male counterparts.
Average Student Loan Debt for Men and Women
- 47% of women hold student loan debt
- 40% of men hold student loan debt
Source: Federal Reserve of St. Louis
Average Student Loan Debt by Race
- 50% of Black adults have student loan debt, with an average balance of $9,800
- 44% of white adults have student loan debt, with an average balance of $8,700
- 37% of Hispanic/Latino adults have student loan debt, with an average balance of $7,000
Source: Federal Reserve of St. Louis
Federal Student Loan Portfolio
Federal student loans make up the vast majority of American education debt—about 92% of all outstanding student loans is federal debt. The federal student loan portfolio currently totals more than $1.6 trillion, owed by about 43 million borrowers. Here’s how that debt breaks down by loan type.
| Loan type | Amount owed | Number of borrowers |
|---|---|---|
Direct Unsubsidized Direct Subsidized | $564 billion $292 billion | 34 million, combined |
Grad PLUS | $91 billion | 1.6 million |
Parent PLUS | $105 billion | 3.7 million |
Perkins | $4 billion | 1.5 million |
Consolidation | $555 billion | 11.3 million |
Source: Federal Student Aid
Federal Student Loans by Age
Unsurprisingly, younger people hold the majority of student loan debt. Borrowers between the ages of 25 and 34 carry about $500 billion in federal student loans—the majority of people in this age group owe between $10,000 and $40,000.
However, people carry their education debt well into middle-age and beyond. Borrowers ages 35 to 49 owe more than $620 billion in student loans. This cohort has the highest number of borrowers who owe more than $100,000 in loans.
Even retirees feel the pressure from student loans; there are 2.4 million borrowers aged 62 or older that owe $98 billion in student loans.
| Age group | Amount owed | Number of borrowers |
|---|---|---|
24 or younger | $110 billion | 7.6 million |
25 to 34 | $500 billion | 14.9 million |
35 to 49 | $622 billion | 14.4 million |
50 to 61 | $282 billion | 6.4 million |
62 and older | $98 billion | 2.4 million |
Source: Federal Student Aid
Private Student Loan Portfolio
- $131 billion in outstanding private student loan debt
- Only 7.6% of all education debt comes from private student loans
- 89% of private loans are owed for undergraduate degrees; 11% are owed for graduate school
- 92% of undergraduate private loans are co-signed, 66% of graduate private loans required a co-signer
- Essentially all private loans (99.9%) require school certification, a process where the school confirms the borrower’s student status and cost of attendance
Source: MeasureOne
Student Loan Repayment Statistics
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, student loan payments have been flipped on their head. Federal student loan payments have been paused nationwide since March 2020, and the majority of federal loans are currently in forbearance. However, nearly 37 million student loan borrowers will need to restart their monthly payments in October 2023.
At the beginning of 2020, just 2.7 million borrowers had their federal loans in forbearance. That number had shot up to 24 million borrowers by the end of 2021. However, this reprieve is set to expire in May 2022, when federal student loan payments are expected to resume.
Here are the current repayment statuses of the federal Direct Loan program.
| Status | Amount of debt | Number of borrowers |
|---|---|---|
In-school | $118 billion | 6.4 million |
Grace period | $41 billion | 1.6 million |
Repayment | $16 billion | 0.5 million |
Deferment | $113 billion | 3.1 million |
Forbearance | $968 billion | 24 million |
Default | $112 billion | 5.1 million |
Private student loans, on the other hand, received no widespread forbearance options during the pandemic. The majority of private student debt is actively in repayment. In the third quarter of 2021, 74% of private loans were in repayment, 17.5% were deferred, 6% were in a grace period and 2.4% were in forbearance.
Sources: Federal Student Aid, MeasureOne
Check Out: Best Private Student Loans
Repayment Programs
The federal student loan system has a multitude of repayment options for borrowers to choose from. Some plans require borrowers to qualify based on their income and family size, but other plans are available to anyone.
Here’s how the federal loan portfolio is distributed amongst the most popular repayment plans.
| Repayment plan | Loan amount | Number of borrowers |
|---|---|---|
Standard | $202 billion | 10.5 million |
Graduated | $91 billion | 3.1 million |
Income-contingent (ICR) | $37 billion | 0.8 million |
Income-based (IBR) | $173 billion | 2.8 million |
Pay As You Earn (PAYE) | $112 billion | 1.5 million |
Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) | $200 billion | 3.3 million |
Private student loans don’t have standardized repayment plans—your options are determined by your specific lender. However, many private lenders offer at least a few plans to choose from. It’s common to have the choice to make interest-only payments in school, make small flat payments while in school or defer all payments until after graduation.
After graduation, most private lenders will require you to make full payments that are evenly distributed over your repayment term.
Sources: Federal Student Aid
Delinquencies and Defaults
About 5% of student debt was at least 90 days delinquent or in default in the fourth quarter of 2021. However, that number is artificially low—federal loans that are currently in forbearance due to Covid-19 are reported as current by the Department of Education. Once regular payments resume, a portion of the paused loans will be reported as defaulted.
In the table below, the historical data illustrates the number of borrowers that are delinquent or in default on their federal Direct loans. Direct loans are considered to be in default after 270 days of nonpayment. Reporting between 2020-2021 is not complete due to the Covid-19 forbearance.
| Year | 31-90 days late | 91-180 days late | 181-270 days late | 271-360 days late |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 1.29 million | 0.77 million | 0.43 million | 0.31 million |
| 2014 | 1.25 million | 0.84 million | 0.46 million | 0.34 million |
| 2015 | 1.27 million | 0.83 million | 0.54 million | 0.37 million |
| 2016 | 1.3 million | 0.88 million | 0.49 million | 0.35 million |
| 2017 | 1.27 million | 0.89 million | 0.54 million | 0.37 million |
| 2018 | 1.35 million | 1.08 million | 0.59 million | 0.32 million |
| 2019 | 1.31 million | 0.91 million | 0.54 million | 0.34 million |
| 2020 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2021 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
When you look at private student loans, the rates of delinquency and default have been steadily decreasing over the past decade. Here are the historical delinquency rates for private student loans, listed as a percentage of loans that were in repayment.
| Year | 30-90 days late | 90+ days late |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 3.47% | 3.28% |
| 2014 | 3.24% | 2.60% |
| 2015 | 2.83% | 2.17% |
| 2016 | 2.75% | 2.08% |
| 2017 | 2.63% | 1.56% |
| 2018 | 2.63% | 1.67% |
| 2019 | 2.57% | 1.32% |
| 2020 | 2.08% | 0.87% |
| 2021 | 2.22% | 0.94% |
﹡2021 data is as of the third quarter
Sources: Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Federal Student Aid, MeasureOne
Check Out: Best Student Loan Refinance Lenders
Student Loan Forgiveness
As of September 2021, 10,776 borrowers have successfully had their federal loans forgiven through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. More than $1 billion has been forgiven, with the average applicant discharging about $95,000 in debt. An additional 1.3 million borrowers may be eligible for PSLF in the future, representing about $132 billion in debt.
Between November 9, 2020 and September 30, 2021:
- 678,373 PSLF forms were submitted.
- Most Employment Certification forms were approved—99.7% met the employer requirements.
- Nearly all PSLF forms (98%) were denied because the applicant did not meet requirements. The most common reason for denial was that the applicant had not completed 120 qualifying payments on their Direct loans.
Sources: Federal Student Aid
On June 30, 2023, theSupreme Court ruled outPresident Joe Biden’s plan to forgive $441 billion in federal student loan debt.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do you get rid of student loan debt?
Getting rid of student loans ahead of schedule can help you save money and pursue your other goals. To pay off your loans as quickly as possible:
- Pay more than the minimum payment. Paying a little more than your minimum monthly payment will reduce the amount of interest you owe and help you repay your loan faster.
- Apply windfalls. If you receive a bonus from work or get a tax refund, use it to make a lump sum payment toward your loans. It will reduce the interest that accrues over the life of your loan so you can get out of debt faster.
- Explore employer repayment assistance programs. The Employee Benefit Research Institute reported that 25% of employers offer student loan repayment assistance benefits. Signing up for the program and taking advantage of an employer’s repayment perks can help you accelerate your debt repayment.
- Consider student loan refinancing. If you have loans with high interest rates, refinancing can help you secure a lower rate and save money. But refinancing federal loans will convert them into private loans, and you’ll no longer qualify for federal benefits like income-driven repayment (IDR) plans or loan forgiveness.
What happens to private student loan debt when you die?
Although federal loans are forgiven when the borrower dies, private student loan lenders handle loan discharges differently. The debt is part of your estate and settled according to state rules. However, some private lenders will discharge student loans if the borrower passes away or becomes permanently disabled.
How does student loan debt affect the economy?
Student loan debt has a substantial impact on the economy. Outstanding loan debt can cause people to be unable to save for retirement. They may also have to put off other major expenses, such as buying a home or starting a business, to repay their debt.
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