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From residing within the dorms to assembly new folks, many college students eagerly await their probability to start the school expertise. And irrespective of your main, virtually all school college students have one factor in frequent — they know school may be costly. So costly, the truth is, that over 43 million college students are dealing with excellent pupil mortgage debt.
Over the previous 30 years, the common value of school tuition has almost tripled, inflicting many college students to graduate with not solely the freshman 15, but additionally pupil mortgage debt. So, simply how dangerous is the scholar debt disaster? Check out these pupil mortgage debt statistics and see for your self.
Common Scholar Mortgage Debt Statistics
When deciding whether or not or to not attend school, one of many primary questions college students might ask themselves is, “Can I afford school?” For some, this can be a straightforward query to reply. However hundreds of thousands of others depend on scholarships, grants, and, after all, pupil loans.
Listed below are some pupil mortgage information and statistics that will help you perceive how pupil mortgage debt impacts these searching for increased training:
- The common pupil mortgage debt per borrower is roughly $35,000. (Mint, 2022)
- The median whole pupil mortgage debt per borrower is round $17,000. (Mint, 2022)
- Just below 35% of these in some kind of debt have pupil mortgage debt. (Mint, 2022)
- In 2022, the scholar debt whole within the U.S. reached over $1.7 trillion. (Federal Reserve)
- 6% of pupil mortgage debtors owe over $100,000 in pupil mortgage debt. (Brookings)
- 3 in 10 adults have taken on debt to assist pay for faculty. (Federal Reserve)
- Scholar mortgage debt is the second largest kind of client debt, second to mortgage debt. (Experian)
- Within the U.S., the excellent worth of pupil mortgage debt is bigger than that of auto mortgage debt. (Federal Reserve)
- Scholar mortgage debt has elevated by almost 76% prior to now decade. (Federal Reserve)
Federal Scholar Mortgage Debt Statistics
To assist pay for faculty, many college students will borrow federal pupil loans. Over the previous decade, federal pupil mortgage debt has elevated almost 70%.
Whole Federal Scholar Mortgage Debt (2012-2022)
Here’s a decade’s overview of the full federal pupil mortgage debt, based on Federal Scholar Support:
12 months | Whole Excellent Debt | Whole Debtors |
---|---|---|
2022 | $1,606.4 billion | 43.4 million |
2021 | $1,565.2 billion | 42.9 million |
2020 | $1,515.0 billion | 42.8 million |
2019 | $1,447.1 billion | 43.0 million |
2018 | $1,375.5 billion | 42.8 million |
2017 | $1,299.7 billion | 42.4 million |
2016 | $1,220.3 billion | 41.8 million |
2015 | $1,140.1 billion | 41.1 million |
2014 | $1,051.8 billion | 40.0 million |
2013 | $961.9 billion | 38.7 million |
2012 | $948.2 billion | 38.3 million |
And in the case of federal pupil loans, there are a lot of completely different mortgage sorts you possibly can select from. The preferred choices are the Stafford Sponsored and Stafford Unsubsidized loans, which collectively make up over half of all federal pupil loans mixed.
Federal Scholar Mortgage Portfolio (2022)
Here’s a breakdown of the federal pupil mortgage portfolio based on Federal Scholar Support:
Mortgage Sort | Whole Excellent Debt | Whole Variety of Debtors |
---|---|---|
Stafford Sponsored | $290.9 billion | 30.1 million |
Stafford Unsubsidized | $562.5 billion | 30.1 million |
Grad PLUS | $90.6 billion | 1.6 million |
Guardian PLUS | $104.8 billion | 3.7 million |
Perkins | $4.2 billion | 1.5 million |
Consolidation | $553.3 billion | 11.2 million |
To grasp simply how standard federal pupil loans are, take a look at the next statistics on pupil mortgage debt:
- In 2020-21, college students obtained almost $84 billion in federal loans. (School Board)
- Over 43 million People owe cash for federal pupil loans. (Federal Scholar Support)
- Up to now 30 years, pupil assist obtained by way of federal loans has elevated by over 300%. (School Board)
Personal Scholar Mortgage Debt Statistics
In its place, many debtors as a substitute select to take out personal loans, borrowing from banks, credit score unions, and different personal pupil mortgage lenders. To higher perceive personal pupil loans and who makes use of them, learn these useful statistics:
- 7.61% of excellent pupil loans within the U.S. are personal loans. (MeasureOne)
- In 2020-21, personal pupil loans from credit score unions, personal lenders, and banks reached almost $12 billion. (School Board)
- The full excellent personal pupil mortgage debt is estimated at $131.1 billion. (MeasureOne)
- 89% of personal pupil loans are used for undergraduate levels. (MeasureOne)
Scholar Mortgage Forgiveness Statistics
Regardless of differing opinions on pupil mortgage forgiveness, some people have been in a position to get some if not all of their pupil loans forgiven because of the Public Service Mortgage Forgiveness (PSLF) program. The PSLF program affords debt forgiveness to those that conform to work full time for a qualifying employer and meet the PSLF necessities.
Nevertheless, attributable to their complicated eligibility necessities, only a few individuals are eligible for debt forgiveness. To study extra in regards to the state of pupil mortgage forgiveness, scroll by way of these statistics:
- 41% of U.S. adults consider that at the very least some pupil debt needs to be forgiven. (YouGov)
- 12,523 debtors have efficiently had their federal mortgage debt forgiven by way of the PSLF program as of Might 2022. (Federal Scholar Support)
- As of Might 2022, the PSLF program has forgiven over $1.2 billion in pupil debt. (Federal Scholar Support)
- The common quantity of pupil mortgage debt forgiven by way of the PSLF program is over $97,000. (Federal Scholar Support)
- Solely 2% of PSLF program purposes qualify for pupil mortgage forgiveness. (Federal Scholar Support)
Scholar Mortgage Reimbursement Statistics
With a monumental quantity of excellent federal pupil mortgage debt, you might surprise what precisely is happening with these loans. Whereas everybody’s monetary state of affairs could also be completely different, listed here are the frequent mortgage statuses of federal pupil loans based on Federal Scholar Support:
Standing | Definition |
---|---|
In-College | The borrower is attending faculty and has not begun to repay their present pupil mortgage debt. |
Grace Interval | As soon as the borrower is not enrolled at school at the very least half time, they don’t seem to be required to make funds for six months. |
Reimbursement | The borrower is actively repaying their pupil loans. |
Deferment | The borrower’s pupil loans have been deferred attributable to navy service, returning to high school, or financial hardship. |
Forbearance | The borrower is presently experiencing pupil mortgage forbearance, often known as a short lived suspension or decreased fee of their mortgage funds. |
Cumulative in Default | The borrower has been late on their mortgage funds for over 360 days. |
Different | The borrower’s mortgage is in non-default chapter or incapacity standing. |
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many loans are presently in forbearance attributable to halted or lower funds.
Federal Scholar Mortgage Reimbursement Statistics (Direct Mortgage Program)
Right here is the full excellent debt and the full variety of debtors as of 2022 for every mortgage standing based on Federal Scholar Support:
Mortgage Standing | Whole Excellent Debt | Whole Variety of Debtors |
---|---|---|
In-College | $110.7 billion | 6.1 million |
Grace Interval | $23.6 billion | 1.2 million |
Reimbursement | $16.0 billion | 0.5 million |
Deferment | $100.5 billion | 2.9 million |
Forbearance | $1.0 trillion | 24.8 million |
Cumulative in Default | $110.5 billion | 5.0 million |
Different | $7.7 billion | 0.2 million |
No matter present mortgage standing, many debtors take care of repaying their pupil loans nicely after they go away school. To grasp how pupil mortgage compensation impacts debtors, learn by way of these stats:
- 16% of People assume they’ll by no means have the ability to repay their pupil loans. (YouGov)
- 54% of these with pupil debt owe lower than $20,000. (School Board)
- 60% of faculty graduates with debt age 35 and below anticipate to repay their pupil loans into their 40s. (Residents Monetary Group)
- On common, it takes debtors 21 years to repay their pupil loans. (One Wisconsin Institute)
- School graduates below the age of 35 spend almost one-fifth of their present salaries on pupil mortgage funds. (Residents Monetary Group)
Scholar Debt Statistics by Demographics
Like many different issues, pupil mortgage debt doesn’t have an effect on all people equally. To higher perceive how completely different teams are affected by pupil debt, learn by way of these statistics sorted by completely different demographics:
Scholar Mortgage Debt Statistics by Race
- 57% of Black feminine school grads expertise monetary difficulties whereas repaying their pupil loans. (American Affiliation of College Girls)
- Over two instances as many Black college students borrow federal pupil loans than Asian college students. (Nationwide Heart for Training Statistics)
- On common, Black school college students graduate with $7,400 extra in pupil debt than their white friends. (Brookings)
- Practically 20% extra Black college students take out federal pupil loans than white college students. (Nationwide Heart for Training Statistics)
- Over 80% of Black bachelor’s diploma recipients graduated with a median of $34,000 in pupil mortgage debt in 2016. (The Institute for School Entry & Success)
- Over 25% extra Hispanic and Latino college students use federal pupil loans than Asian college students. (Nationwide Heart for Training Statistics)
- In 2016, 66% of Hispanic and Latino bachelor’s diploma recipients graduated with pupil mortgage debt. (The Institute for School Entry & Success)
- Of Black graduates with bachelor’s levels in 2016, solely 14% didn’t take out pupil loans. (Postsecondary Nationwide Coverage Institute)
- Lower than half of Asian bachelor’s diploma recipients graduated with pupil mortgage debt in 2016. (The Institute for School Entry & Success)
- As of 2019, the common white male borrower has paid off 44% of his pupil mortgage stability 12 years after beginning school, whereas the common Black feminine borrower noticed her pupil mortgage stability improve by 13% in the identical time interval. (Demos)
- Over 60% of white bachelor’s diploma recipients graduated with pupil mortgage debt in 2016. (The Institute for School Entry & Success)
Scholar Mortgage Debt Statistics by Age
Beneath you will see a breakdown of the full quantity of excellent debt and the full variety of debtors by age group based on Federal Scholar Support:
Age Group | Whole Excellent Debt | Whole Variety of Debtors |
---|---|---|
24 and youthful | $103.4 billion | 7.4 million |
25 to 34 | $493.6 billion | 14.9 million |
35 to 49 | $622.9 billion | 14.4 million |
50 to 61 | $284.2 billion | 6.4 million |
62 and older | $100.3 billion | 2.5 million |
Age not reported | $0.3 billion | 0.1 million |
- Over $100 billion of the excellent pupil mortgage debt is held by debtors over age 62. (Federal Scholar Support)
- Practically half a trillion {dollars} of the federal pupil mortgage debt is held by debtors between the ages of 25 and 34. (Federal Scholar Support)
- Multiple-third of adults below 30 have pupil mortgage debt. (Pew Analysis Heart)
- Practically 85% of federal pupil mortgage debtors are below 50. (Federal Scholar Support)
- Debtors below the age of 24 owe over $100 billion in federal pupil mortgage debt. (Federal Scholar Support)
Scholar Mortgage Debt Statistics by Diploma Sort
- Undergraduate loans make up almost 90% of the excellent stability of personal pupil loans. (MeasureOne)
- Roughly 25% of pupil mortgage debtors went to graduate faculty. (Brookings)
- The common undergraduate pupil has $28,400 in pupil mortgage debt. (School Board)
- 23% of bachelor’s diploma recipients graduate with lower than $20,000 in pupil mortgage debt. (Brookings)
- On common, pupil loans make up 30% of the funds an undergraduate pupil makes use of to pay for faculty. (School Board)
- 30% of bachelor’s diploma holders graduate with no debt. (Brookings)
- In 2020-21, federal pupil loans made up 65% of the full funding for graduate college students. (School Board)
- 48% of the full excellent pupil mortgage debt may be attributed to loans related to graduate levels. (Brookings)
- In 2020-21, 47% of federal pupil loans went to graduate college students. (School Board)
Scholar Mortgage Debt Statistics by College Sort
- On common, personal faculty college students graduate with over $5,000 extra in pupil debt than their public faculty counterparts. (Statista)
- Within the class of 2020, 57% of scholars graduating from personal nonprofit four-year colleges had pupil mortgage debt. (School Board)
- College students from public establishments maintain 43% of the full federal pupil mortgage debt. (Federal Scholar Support)
- Within the 2019-20 educational yr, 68% of first-time college students attending personal for-profit establishments took out pupil loans. (Nationwide Heart for Training Statistics)
- Over $0.5 trillion of federal pupil mortgage debt is owed by debtors who attended personal establishments. (Federal Scholar Support)
- Within the 2019-20 educational yr, over half of first-time college students attending personal nonprofit establishments took out pupil loans. (Nationwide Heart for Training Statistics)
- Within the class of 2020, 55% of scholars graduating from public four-year colleges had pupil mortgage debt. (School Board)
- Within the 2019-20 educational yr, 42% of first-time college students attending public establishments took out pupil loans. (Nationwide Heart for Training Statistics)
Scholar Mortgage Debt Statistics by Gender
- Girls maintain roughly two-thirds of U.S. pupil mortgage debt. (American Affiliation of College Girls)
- On common, ladies maintain $31,276 in pupil debt. (American Affiliation of College Girls)
- For girls, the common month-to-month fee for pupil loans is $307 one yr after school. (American Affiliation of College Girls)
- One-third of girls say that over 25% of their revenue goes towards paying off pupil loans. (Scholar Debt Disaster)
- On common, ladies repay their school debt at a slower fee than males. (American Affiliation of College Girls)
- Feminine school graduates are 1.1% extra prone to attain mortgage default inside 4 years after school than male school graduates. (American Affiliation of College Girls)
Scholar Mortgage Debt Statistics by State
Common Scholar Mortgage Debt by State (Class of 2020)
In response to The Institute for School Entry & Success, the common pupil mortgage debt is over $30,000 in 19 states. For an entire breakdown of the common pupil debt by state, comply with the desk under:
State | Common Scholar Mortgage Debt |
---|---|
Alabama | $30,996 |
Alaska | $26,356 |
Arizona | $24,298 |
Arkansas | $27,319 |
California | $21,125 |
Colorado | $26,424 |
Connecticut | $35,853 |
Delaware | $39,705 |
District of Columbia | $32,966 |
Florida | $24,454 |
Georgia | $27,759 |
Hawaii | $24,926 |
Idaho | $24,983 |
Illinois | $28,552 |
Indiana | $28,521 |
Iowa | $29,560 |
Kansas | $26,002 |
Kentucky | $28,356 |
Louisiana | $26,284 |
Maine | $32,764 |
Maryland | $30,461 |
Massachusetts | $33,457 |
Michigan | $29,863 |
Minnesota | $32,012 |
Mississippi | $29,714 |
Missouri | $28,713 |
Montana | $27,114 |
Nebraska | $26,781 |
Nevada | $21,357 |
New Hampshire | $39,928 |
New Jersey | $35,117 |
New Mexico | $20,868 |
New York | $30,951 |
North Carolina | $29,681 |
North Dakota | $31,939 |
Ohio | $30,605 |
Oklahoma | $27,876 |
Oregon | $26,504 |
Pennsylvania | $39,375 |
Rhode Island | $36,791 |
South Carolina | $32,635 |
South Dakota | $32,029 |
Tennessee | $26,852 |
Texas | $26,273 |
Utah | $18,344 |
Vermont | $34,866 |
Virginia | $29,616 |
Washington | $23,993 |
West Virginia | $29,208 |
Wisconsin | $30,270 |
Wyoming | $23,510 |
Whereas a few of these pupil mortgage debt statistics might make affording school appear not possible, there are a lot of methods you possibly can efficiently navigate the scholar mortgage waters. From spending further time saving for faculty to selecting a lower-cost college, you can also be on the way in which to paying off your pupil debt.
FAQs About Scholar Mortgage Debt
With many college students pursuing various kinds of loans, colleges, and levels, understanding pupil mortgage debt generally is a tough matter to wrap your head round. Beneath, you’ll discover the solutions to among the most typical pupil mortgage debt questions.
As of 2022, the full pupil mortgage debt in America has reached over $1.7 trillion.
The common pupil mortgage debt within the U.S. for an undergraduate pupil is $28,400. For graduate college students, the common pupil mortgage debt can vary from $55,000-$75,000, relying on the diploma program.
Roughly 20% of People maintain pupil loans.
Whether or not you’ve graduated, have a baby at school, or wish to repay your pupil loans whereas in school, you might be questioning the way to eliminate pupil mortgage debt.
If attainable, it could be finest so that you can begin making funds whereas nonetheless at school. This will enable you lower into your debt earlier than it grows, particularly attributable to curiosity. In the event you’re already out of faculty, there are a lot of completely different debt payoff strategies you possibly can select from that will help you repay your pupil mortgage debt.

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