Alarming Student Debt Statistics & Facts for 2024

The number above translates to 13.6% of the total US population. According to a 2021 survey, 42.5% of Americans who have attended college — more than 2 out of 5 — have acquired some form of student loan debt during their studies. And while more than half (22.5%) of these adults have since repaid their debt, 20% of former college students still haven’t paid off their loans.

(The Washington Post, The Federal Reserve)

Federal loans accounted for nearly $1.62 trillion of the total sum, making up the vast majority (92.6%) of the total outstanding debt. Meanwhile, private student loan debt accounted for the remaining 130 billion (7.4%). Looking at historical data, the student loan debt first exceeded the $1 trillion mark in Q2 of 2012, when the total stood at $1.01 trillion. Growing each quarter since then, the total outstanding debt has seen a staggering 73.3% increase over the last decade.

(The Federal Reserve, The Chicago Reporter)

The 2021 total marked a 0.7% decrease from $29,928, which is the amount of debt students from the graduating class of 2020 had amassed during their undergraduate studies. For the last seven years, the average debt has been relatively stable, hovering around $30,000. Still, the current debt is significantly higher than before that period. On that note, students graduating in 2009 had an average loan debt of $23,765, pointing to a 25.3% increase over the last 12 years.

(US News)

Looking at the average student loan debt, statistics reveal the sum has steadily gone up each year since 2009. Back then, the average balance sat at $20,560, pointing to a 92% increase over the last 13 years. At $39,381, student loan debt is the consumer debt type with the second-highest average balance after mortgages. What’s more, the increase in average student debt is far higher than the mere 36% growth in the median household income since 2009.

(Experian)

Although it doesn’t rank among the most expensive colleges, Northwestern is ahead of other US universities in terms of the debt its students accumulate during their undergraduate studies. Other universities with high average debt include Cornell ($30,254), Columbia ($29,757), Notre Dame ($28,696), University of Chicago ($26,560), Brown ($24,443), and Stanford ($24,337).

(Statista)

According to projections for Q4 of 2022, 25.6 million current and former public school students owe $720.9 billion in unpaid student loan debt — accounting for 44% of the total projected debt. At $570.5 billion (34.9%), students at private not-for-profit schools rank second, whereas private for-profit school students rank third at $276.7 billion (16.9%). The remainder is divided between foreign school students ($21.1 billion; 1.3%) and students of other schools ($47.9 billion; 2.9%).

(Federal Student Aid)

Stafford loans account for $873.6 billion (53.5%) of the projected outstanding debt for Q4 of 2022. Of that total, $579.3 billion is owed in subsidized and $294.3 billion in unsubsidized loans. Consolidated loans are second at $550.6 billion (33.7%), with Parent PLUS ($108.5 billion; 6.7%), Grad PLUS ($97.9 billion; 5.9%), and Perkins ($3.9 billion; 0.2%) rounding out the list.

(Federal Student Aid)

Besides being more likely to hold student debt, women also have more difficulty paying it off. According to research, despite making high monthly payments, women need two years more on average to pay off their student loan debt than male borrowers — partly because they earn 26% less money than men upon graduation. It’s also interesting to note that parents of male students are more likely than parents of female students to take out loans on their children’s behalf.

(Education Data Initiative)

According to projections for Q4 of 2022, the 14.6 million borrowers in this age group hold 38.7% of the total US student loan debt. People in the 25–34 bracket (15 million borrowers) currently owe $497.6 billion (30.4% of the total), while those aged 50–61 (6.5 million) rank third at $293.4 billion (17.9%). Finally, borrowers aged 62 and over (2.6 million) rank fourth at $107.3 billion (6.5%), and those aged 24 and under (7.3 million) round out the list at $104.5 billion (6.4%).

(Federal Student Aid)

Student loan debt statistics by race reveal that this is $25,000 more than the average White American college graduate. And though White Americans hold 54% of all student debt, Black and American Indian students are most likely to have financial struggles due to student loans. To that point, while 24.5% of White students make monthly repayments that exceed $350, the number goes up to 28.8% for Black students and 39% for American Indian students.

(Education Data Initiative)

Interestingly, a person’s household income is directly proportional to their average student debt. As such, America’s biggest earners hold the largest amount of student loan debt. Namely, the top 10% of earners ($216,372 or more per year) average $58,408 in outstanding student debt, while those earning $121,317–$216,371 have an average debt of $51,529. Meanwhile, the bottom 25% of earners (up to $33,769) have the lowest average student loan debt at $32,518.

(Education Data Initiative)

This makes California the state that holds the largest share of the country’s student debt. The top 10 also includes Texas ($125.1 billion), Florida ($104.6 billion), New York ($94.6 billion), Georgia ($70.6 billion), Pennsylvania ($65.9 billion), Ohio ($63.1 billion), Illinois ($62.9 billion), Michigan ($51.8 billion), and North Carolina ($51 billion). Unsurprisingly, at nearly 3.99 million people, California also has the highest number of student loans borrowers in the United States.

(Federal Student Aid)

The list of states with a high average student debt also includes Maryland ($42,861), Georgia ($41,639), Virginia ($39,165), Florida ($38,459), South Carolina ($38,414), Illinois ($37,757), North Carolina ($37,721), New York ($37,678), and Delaware ($37,559). As the state with the highest total student debt, California only ranks 13th with an average debt of $37,084.

(Education Data Initiative)

The number above makes Wyoming the state with the lowest share of the national student loan debt. Other states with low student debt totals include Alaska ($2.4 billion), North Dakota ($2.6 billion), Vermont ($2.9 billion), South Dakota (3.7 billion), Montana ($4.4 billion), Hawaii ($4.6 billion), Rhode Island ($4.7 billion), Delaware ($5 billion), and Maine ($6.4 billion). Wyoming and Alaska also have the fewest student loan borrowers at 55,500 and 68,100, respectively.

(Federal Student Aid)

According to student loan debt statistics, the list of states with the lowest average student loan debt also includes North Dakota ($28,604), Iowa ($30,464), South Dakota ($30,954), Wyoming ($31,250), Oklahoma ($31,525), West Virginia ($31,690), Wisconsin ($31,894), Nebraska ($31,919), and Rhode Island ($32,056). Meanwhile, Alaska — which has the second lowest student debt overall — ranks outside the bottom 10 with an average student debt of $34,024.

(Education Data Initiative)

Although 26% of US adults with outstanding student debt owe less than $10,000 and another 19% owe $10,000–$19,999, the share of those with more significant debt is substantial. To that point, 15% owe $20,000–$29,999, 7% owe $30,000–$39,999, and 6% are $40,000–$49,999 in debt. Additionally, 10% of adults still owe between $50,000 and $74,999, whereas another 5% of Americans have to pay between $75,000 and $99,999 to repay their student debt in full.

(The Federal Reserve)

The percentage of student loans in default has declined in recent years; according to data from 2018, it last stood at 7.3%. Two years later, the US Government froze all student loan defaults as part of its COVID-19 relief program, a measure that has since been extended multiple times. Research reveals that defaulting — going for 270 or more days without a loan repayment — is by no means uncommon, with 35% of US student borrowers having done so at least once.

(MassMutual, Pew Trusts)

College student debt statistics point to a significant decline from 17% in 2019. Analysts attribute this trend to the government’s pandemic relief plan and the freezing of student loan defaults, which is currently in its fifth year. Interestingly, people with less education were more likely to be behind on their repayments — the delinquency rate for those with less than an associate degree in 2021 was 18%, while it stood at 6% for bachelor’s and 5% for graduate degree holders.

(The Federal Reserve, Forbes)

The US Department of Education’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program — which lasted from October 6, 2021, to October 31, 2022 — allowed full-time employees who had made 120 monthly payments to have the rest of their student debt canceled. Thanks to this program, 233,320 Americans had nearly $14.9 billion in student loan debt wiped from their balances.

(Federal Student Aid)

Amid the growing student debt crisis, facts pointed to insufficient federal support to resolve the problem. To help mend the crisis, the White House launched an initiative under which Pell Grant recipients would have up to $20,000 of their student loan debt canceled, whereas non-recipients would have up to $10,000 forgiven. The key requirement was for individuals to have an annual income under $125,000 (under $250,000 for married couples). As of November 1, 2022, 26 million Americans had submitted applications, and 16 million had been preliminarily approved.

(The White House, Forbes)