In the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, the federal government took swift action to help Americans who were hurting economically. The CARES Act included a temporary pause on all Federal student loan payments.
Though the measure was intended to be a form of short-term relief, the temporary measure paved the way for sweeping changes.
By late 2020, 60% of student loan borrowers were receiving some form of assistance on their student loans.2 Since that time, the moratorium on student loan payments has been extended until mid-2023, and the Biden-Harris Administration announced the nation’s first one-time loan forgiveness program (which is currently paused by the Supreme Court).
The administration also announced potential changes to the way income-driven repayment programs are structured. This means loan balances would not increase as long as an individual was on a loan repayment program.
Nationwide Student Loan Fast Facts
The descriptive statistics below reflect the state of student loan borrowers across the United States in 2021. In 2021, debt delinquency and default fell, but overall debt loads continued to rise. Given the payment pause, updated data isn't really going to be helpful until 2024.
- Number of Borrowers: 43 million
- Median Debt Balance: $18,767
- Number of Borrowers with delinquent or defaulted loans: 3.3 million (7.5% of all borrowers)
- Number of borrowers that saw their debt decrease in 2021: 11.5 million (26.6% of all borrowers)
- Percentage of student loan borrowers who have paid off their debt: 49%
- Estimated number of borrowers eligible for loan forgiveness: 38.6 million
Note, given the pandemic and all federal student loan payments being paused, the average student loan payment data is skewed. You can see the past average student loan payment and average student loan debt by graduating class here.
Although debt levels continue to rise, some student loan borrowers are seeing their debt loads fall. Nearly half (49%) of all borrowers who took out loans to pay for their education have paid the loans off in full.
Among current borrowers, 26.6% saw their debt loads shrink in 2021. Additionally, the vast majority of all current borrowers will be eligible for some amount of student loan forgiveness under the Biden-Harris Student Debt Relief Plan.
Student Loans By State Fast Facts
While the nationwide debt statistics paint a concerning picture, the actual debt loads vary significantly from state to state. In these fast facts, we highlight both average and median debt loads by state.
Typically, commentators talk about median debt loads because half the borrowers have higher debt loads and half have lower.
But in some cases, seeing both average and median debt levels is instructive. While the median shows the midway point of borrowers, the average better illustrates how high-debt borrowers are influencing overall debt loads in the state.
- Most borrowers: California (4.1 million)
- Fewest borrowers: Wyoming (57,600)
- Lowest Average Balance: South Dakota ($28,218)
- Lowest Median Balance: Wyoming ($14,634)
- Highest Average Balance: Maryland ($42,543)*
- Highest Median Balance: Georgia ($21,965)
- Smallest Gap Between Median and Average Balance: South Dakota (Median Debt Load is $15,865 while the average is $28,218 for a gap of $12,353)
- Largest Gap Between Median and Average Balance: Maryland (Median Debt Load is $42,543 while the average is $21,779 for a gap of $20,764) and California (Median Debt Load is $37,783 while the average is $17,019 for a gap of $20,764)
- Lowest Delinquency Rate: New Hampshire (4.8%)
- Highest Delinquency Rate: West Virginia (11%)
*Washington D.C. is a district rather than a state, but its average student loan balance is a whopping $53,769 and its median student debt load is $26,530.
The Expected Impact Of Debt Forgiveness Plan
Right now, debt loads are at all-time highs, but the forthcoming debt forgiveness plan is expected to lead to billions of dollars of debt relief. Individual borrowers are receiving forgiveness ranging from $10,000 for borrowers who didn’t receive Pell Grants to $20,000 for those who received Pell Grants.
To show the impact of this program, we estimated the proportion of estimated borrowers who are eligible for student loan forgiveness. To do this, we divided the estimated number of eligible borrowers from the Biden-Harris Administrations White House Statement, by the 2021 number of borrowers for The Federal Reserve Bank Of New York’s detailed student loan report.
- Highest Number of Borrowers Eligible For Loan Forgiveness: California (3.5 million)
- Lowest Number of Borrowers Eligible For Loan Forgiveness: Wyoming (31,400)
- Highest Proportion of Borrowers Eligible For Loan Forgiveness: Mississippi and New Mexico (100%)
- Lowest Proportion of Borrowers Eligible For Loan Forgiveness: North Dakota (71.93%)
- Highest Proportion of Borrowers Eligible For $20,000 In Loan Forgiveness: Mississippi (76.4%)
- Lowest Proportion of Borrowers Eligible For $20,000 In Loan Forgiveness: Massachusetts (38.3%)
Student Loan Debt By State Breakdown
You can see a state by state breakdown of the student loan debt situation below.
State | Total Borrowers | Average Debt | Median Debt | Percent Delinquent | Borrowers Eligible For Biden Loan Forgiveness | Borrowers Eligible For $20k Loan Forgiveness |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alabama | 615,800 | $37,730 | $19,718 | 9.5% | 588,000 | 404,900 |
Alaska | 70,600 | $30,427 | $15,106 | 6.9% | 60,500 | 37,300 |
Arizona | 872,600 | $36,682 | $17,818 | 8.7% | 810,800 | 554,900 |
Arkansas | 374,900 | $31,851 | $17,303 | 9.0% | 365,600 | 269,000 |
California | 4,021,200 | $37,783 | $17,019 | 7.1% | 3,549,300 | 2,340,600 |
Colorado | 804,300 | $37,235 | $19,535 | 7.0% | 698,100 | 419,000 |
Connecticut | 542,800 | $36,391 | $19,561 | 6.3% | 454,200 | 238,200 |
Deleware | 137,300 | $39,238 | $19,636 | 6.8% | 116,900 | 68,000 |
District of Columbia | 125,000 | $53,769 | $26,530 | 7.8% | 105,600 | 60,300 |
Florida | 2,646,400 | $38,653 | $19,246 | 8.2% | 2,427,600 | 1,716,300 |
Georgia | 1,641,600 | $41,826 | $21,965 | 9.4% | 1,506,100 | 1,039,100 |
Hawaii | 123,600 | $34,608 | $17,709 | 7.7% | 111,500 | 65,700 |
Idaho | 219,400 | $34,196 | $18,339 | 6.5% | 201,400 | 144,900 |
Illinois | 1,713,900 | $37,869 | $19,391 | 6.7% | 1,486,600 | 863,600 |
Indiana | 924,000 | $32,045 | $17,642 | 9.4% | 856,400 | 555,500 |
Iowa | 465,500 | $29,845 | $16,750 | 7.6% | 408,700 | 248,900 |
Kansas | 395,200 | $33,954 | $18,670 | 7.7% | 360,900 | 225,500 |
Kentucky | 588,800 | $33,155 | $18,219 | 10.0% | 563,300 | 394,000 |
Louisiana | 644,600 | $34,839 | $17,588 | 9.3% | 608,100 | 435,200 |
Maine | 203,200 | $33,584 | $17,654 | 5.9% | 175,000 | 105,300 |
Maryland | 864,700 | $42,543 | $21,779 | 6.8% | 747,100 | 419,400 |
Massachusetts | 1,046,800 | $35,400 | $18,400 | 4.9% | 813,000 | 401,200 |
Michigan | 1,430,900 | $36,221 | $19,412 | 7.9% | 1,316,000 | 849,300 |
Minnesota | 902,500 | $33,161 | $18,645 | 5.8% | 729,700 | 416,300 |
Mississippi | 417,200 | $36,366 | $17,613 | 10.7% | 417,200 | 316,400 |
Missouri | 829,100 | $35,095 | $19,240 | 8.1% | 777,300 | 502,200 |
Montana | 132,900 | $32,459 | $16,924 | 5.6% | 120,400 | 78,600 |
Nebraska | 261,000 | $31,551 | $17,413 | 4.8% | 232,100 | 136,000 |
Nevada | 351,300 | $35,688 | $16,554 | 9.8% | 315,800 | 216,900 |
New Hampshire | 219,000 | $33,094 | $17,648 | 4.8% | 175,100 | 85,300 |
New Jersey | 1,339,800 | $37,003 | $19,253 | 5.8% | 1,082,900 | 590,300 |
New Mexico | 215,900 | $32,944 | $16,923 | 8.7% | 215,900 | 159,000 |
New York | 2,579,600 | $38,668 | $19,647 | 4.9% | 2,258,800 | 1,320,100 |
North Carolina | 1,340,500 | $37,511 | $20,643 | 8.0% | 1,190,500 | 785,500 |
North Dakota | 114,000 | $30,542 | $15,738 | 5.0% | 82,000 | 49,600 |
Ohio | 1,810,900 | $35,806 | $20,224 | 8.2% | 1,677,800 | 1,085,700 |
Oklahoma | 480,800 | $32,102 | $16,729 | 9.6% | 454,300 | 321,600 |
Oregon | 556,000 | $38,248 | $20,525 | 8.3% | 499,000 | 332,100 |
Pennsylvania | 2,032,400 | $35,349 | $19,757 | 7.2% | 1,717,300 | 988,800 |
Rhode Island | 153,200 | $33,838 | $17,014 | 6.1% | 133,900 | 75,300 |
South Carolina | 745,500 | $36,698 | $20,000 | 9.1% | 681,100 | 458,400 |
South Dakota | 135,600 | $28,218 | $15,865 | 5.3% | 109,100 | 65,100 |
Tennessee | 872,000 | $36,155 | $19,714 | 9.0% | 795,300 | 542,000 |
Texas | 3,759,300 | $32,998 | $16,985 | 8.5% | 3,323,200 | 2,306,700 |
Utah | 325,100 | $33,474 | $16,260 | 5.8% | 282,700 | 206,300 |
Vermont | 96,300 | $34,595 | $18,549 | 5.0% | 72,200 | 37,100 |
Virginia | 1,143,200 | $39,001 | $20,996 | 6.4% | 965,100 | 566,500 |
Washington | 816,900 | $34,846 | $17,781 | 6.3% | 697,600 | 423,800 |
West Virginia | 217,200 | $32,214 | $18,273 | 11.0% | 213,100 | 145,000 |
Wisconsin | 785,600 | $31,482 | $17,037 | 6.0% | 685,100 | 412,700 |
Wyoming | 57,600 | $30,581 | $14,634 | 6.6% | 49,600 | 31,400 |
For reference, borrowers eligible for $20,000 in student loan forgiveness are a sub-set of the borrowers eligible for Biden student loan forgiveness (either $10,000 or $20,000).
Daniel Mangrum, Joelle Scally, and Crystal Wang, “Three Key Facts from the Center for Microeconomic Data’s 2022 Student Loan Update,” Federal Reserve Bank of New York Liberty Street Economics, August 9, 2022, https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2022/08/three-key-facts-from-the-center-for-microeconomic-datas-2022-student-loan-update.
“Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2020 - May 2021”, Board of Governors of The Federal Reserve System, October 7, 2022, https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/2021-economic-well-being-of-us-households-in-2020-student-loans.htm
The United States Government. (2022, September 20). “Fact sheet: The Biden-Harris administration's plan for student debt relief could benefit tens of millions of borrowers in all fifty states.” October 7, 2022, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/09/20/fact-sheet-the-biden-harris-administrations-plan-for-student-debt-relief-could-benefit-tens-of-millions-of-borrowers-in-all-fifty-states/
Hannah is a wife, mom, and described personal finance geek. She excels with spreadsheets (and puns)! She regularly explores in-depth financial topics and enjoys looking at the latest tools and trends with money.
Editor: Claire Tak Reviewed by: Robert Farrington