Sixteen percent of Americans with student loans are behind on their payments, putting them at risk of accumulating interest and lowering their credit scores. Those with lower incomes and less education are more likely to be behind on their payments. Source: Federal Reserve (2024). Source: Federal Reserve (2024).
Demographic data: Who has student loan debt? Roughly 42.7 million Americans have outstanding federal student loan debt — that's about 12.5% of the U.S. population, per census data. $96.3 billion. 6.8 million.
Here are the key takeaways: The government can still collect on your defaulted loan, even after 20 years. You have several options to resolve your default, including loan rehabilitation, consolidation, and the Fresh Start program.
Both federal and private student loans fall off your credit report about seven years after your last payment or date of default. You default after nine months of nonpayment for federal student loans, and you're not in deferment or forbearance.
The average student borrower takes 20 years to pay off their student loan debt. 43% of borrowers are on the standard 10 years or less plan with fixed payments. Some professional graduates take over 45 years to repay student loans.
Adults with a postgraduate degree are especially likely to have a large amount of student loan debt. About a quarter of these advanced degree holders who borrowed (26%) owed $100,000 or more in 2023, compared with 9% of all borrowers. Overall, only 1% of all U.S. adults owed at least $100,000.
Your interest charges will be added to the amount you owe, causing your loan to grow over time. This can occur if you are in a deferment for an unsubsidized loan or if you have an income-based repayment (IBR) plan and your payments are not large enough to cover the monthly accruing interest.
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According to Experian, average total consumer household debt in 2023 is $104,215. That's up 11% from 2020, when average total consumer debt was $92,727.
20% of U.S. adults report having paid off student loan debt. The 5-year annual average student loan debt growth rate is 15%. The average student loan debt growth rate outpaces rising tuition costs by 166.9%. In a single year, 31.5% of undergraduate students accepted federal loans.
Defaulted loans are not eligible for any of our student loan forgiveness programs. But if you take advantage of Fresh Start, you'll get out of default status. Then you'll regain the ability to apply for forgiveness programs, including Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
Collection activities are currently paused for all federal student loans through September 2024, which should protect your 2022 and 2023 federal and state tax refunds. But you may need to take action.
Who has the most student loan debt by race? Black adults are more likely to have student loan debt than those in other racial or ethnic groups. They are more likely than white adults to hold student debt at every level of educational attainment.
If the debt forgiveness program is permitted to move forward, at a time when consumer spending already is high, it could lead to more inflation, Jones said. “We certainly don't have a consumer spending problem right now,” he said.
Student loan debt
Young people are more likely to have student loan balances: 24.3% of millennials and 20.2% of Gen Z are in student debt, compared to 14.9% of Gen X, 6.1% of boomers and only 1.4% of the silent generation. But among those who have student loan debt, Gen X owes the most, on average.
No, the federal government doesn't forgive student loans at age 50, 65, or when borrowers retire and start drawing Social Security benefits. So, for example, you'll still owe Parent PLUS Loans, FFEL Loans, and Direct Loans after you retire.
Here's the average debt balances by age group: Gen Z (ages 18 to 23): $9,593. Millennials (ages 24 to 39): $78,396. Gen X (ages 40 to 55): $135,841.
Average Student Loan Payments
As of May 30, 2023, the average monthly payment for federal student loans was estimated to be about $500 per month when adjusted for inflation. However, the final number depends on the type of loan, loan amount, interest rates, and repayment plan.
For example, the interest on a $30,000, 36-month loan at 6% is $2,856. The same loan ($30,000 at 6%) paid back over 72 months would cost $5,797 in interest. Even small changes in your rate can impact how much total interest amount you pay overall.