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Home » Loans » Student Loans » Average Student Loan Debt By Year (Graduating Class)

Average Student Loan Debt By Year (Graduating Class)

Last Updated On July 30, 2019 Robert Farrington 1 Comment

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Average Student Loan Debt

The amount of student loan debt in the United States continues to grow - with over $1.5 trillion in student loans outstanding. This includes both Federal and private loans. Almost 45 million Americans currently have student loan debt.

The stats around student loan debt are scary, but how do you compare? We've broken down millennial net worth by age - and today we're tackling average student loan debt by age - or rather by the year you graduated college.

While we would ideally like to hypothesize how much debt you have by age, that's near impossible. But luckily we've been able to compile statistics by the average student loan debt amounts by the year you graduated college.

Let's break it down.

Quick Navigation
The Current State Of Student Loan Debt
Average Student Loan Debt By Year
The Rapid Climb Of Tuition
How Much Student Loan Debt Should You Have?
Final Thoughts

The Current State Of Student Loan Debt

From 1990 to 2013, the growth of student loan debt surpassed the growth in students, going from $24 billion to $110 billion per year, a 352% increase in loans. During that same period, the number of students borrowing increased by 40%:

  • 1992 - 1993: 49%
  • 1999 - 2000: 62%
  • 2011 - 2012: 69%
  • 2015 - 2016: 71%

The increase in borrowing coincides with an increase in tuition.

Going into 2011, 90+ days student loan delinquencies were rising. After a small dip, they jumped to well over 11% at the beginning of 2018 and have since leveled off. You can find out more here.

Average Student Loan Debt By Year

How do you compare to other students who graduated in your class? Here's the average debt by year of graduation. These numbers are the "at graduation" number, for students who graduated with a bachelors degree.

Graduating Class

Average Student Loan Debt

1993

$9,320

1994

$10,349

1995

$11,491

1996

$12,759

1997

$13,767

1998

$14,855

1999

$16,030

2000

$17,297

2001

$17,616

2002

$17,940

2003

$18,271

2004

$18,608

2005

$19,669

2006

$20,790

2007

$21,975

2008

$23,228

2009

$24,634

2010

$26,125

2011

$27,707

2012

$29,384

2013

$29,455

2014

$29,526

2015

$29,597

2016

$29,669

2017

$29,740

2018

$29,812

2019

$29,900

Read the study here.

The Rapid Climb Of Tuition

Large increases in tuition aren’t a recent phenomena. Tuition began rising steadily in the 1980s. Take a look a the chart below? Politicians aren't wrong when they say you used to be able to afford college!

Could you image only paying $617 per year to attend school? Well, that's what it would have cost (not adjusted for inflation). Even when you adjust the 1977 dollar to 2019 for inflation, you're still only at $2,607 per year!

The following are for four year public schools (the data is hard to come by, but we sampled from the past 4 decades):

School Year

Cost of Tuition

1976 - 1977

$2,607

1979 - 1980

$2,294

1983 - 1984

$2,541

1987 - 1988

$3,190

1997 - 1998

$4,740

2007 - 2008

$7,280

2012 - 2013

$8,000

2018 - 2019

$10,230

** Note: the above table is inflation-adjusted for 2019 dollars.

How Much Student Loan Debt Should You Have?

The short answer: as little as possible.

The long answer: it depends on the ROI of your college degree. 

The amount of student loan debt really depends on how much you earn after college. Remember, the goal of your student loan debt was to advance your career goals, which in turn should earn you more money.

Furthermore, it's important to remember that the collateral of your student loan debt is your earnings. 

To make your student loan debt "worth it", you need to maximize your earnings potential.

A good rule of thumb is to never borrow more than you expect to earn in your first year after graduation. For most average student loan debt borrowers this year (where the average is $29,900), that's possible in most career choices.

Where people really get into problems is when they borrow way more than average. Even if you borrow above average, you can see an ROI if you are going to receive student loan forgiveness. 

Final Thoughts

Student loan debt can be worth it - if the loans are borrowed with a clear ROI.

Where most borrowers get into trouble is that they borrow way more than average. They also take on large amounts of private student loans, which have fewer repayment plan options compared to Federal loans.

So, if you have student loan debt - how do you compare? Were you (or are you) above average or below average for your class?

Average Student Loan Debt

Filed Under: Student Loans
Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, or other advertiser and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

Comment Policy: We invite readers to respond with questions or comments. Comments may be held for moderation and are subject to approval. Comments are solely the opinions of their authors'. The responses in the comments below are not provided or commissioned by any advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any company. It is not anyone's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

About Robert Farrington

Robert Farrington is America's Millennial Money Expert, and the founder of The College Investor, a personal finance site dedicated to helping millennials escape student loan debt to start investing and building wealth for the future. You can learn more about him here.

One of his favorite tools is Personal Capital, which enables him to manage his finances in just 15-minutes each month. Best of all - it's free!

He is also diversifying his investment portfolio by adding a little bit of real estate. But not rental homes, because he doesn't want a second job, it's diversified small investments in a mix of properties through Fundrise. Worth a look if you're looking for a low dollar way to invest in real estate.

Comments

  1. Windy Pierre says

    July 31, 2019 at 12:29 pm

    Wow, after eight-year of college and a Masters degree. My student loan payment is the same as my Mortgage. That is mind blowing!

    Reply

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