At the end of 2023, 43.2 million Americans have federal student loans. Approximately 13% of all Americans had federal student loan debt in 2021. In 2023, 9.9 million borrowers have between $20,000-$40,000 of student loan debt.
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.
The average federal student loan debt is $37,853 per borrower. Outstanding private student loan debt totals $128.8 billion. The average student borrows over $30,000 to pursue a bachelor's degree.
You're not alone if you are still paying off your student loans from your college education years ago. In fact, many Americans are paying their student loans well into middle age. A 2019 study from New York Life found that the average age when people finally pay off their student loans for good is 45.
Americans owe $1.74 trillion in federal and private student loan debt as of the second quarter of 2024. That's down 0.96% from the second quarter of 2023.
The average household has about $6,100 in credit card debt, but that number varies by demographic factors including age, family structure and education. Couples with children have higher credit card balances than singles and those with no children, carrying an average of $7,050 in credit card balances.
Atop the list is Maine Maritime Academy, where 2019 graduates who borrowed left with an average debt load of $56,897 – nearly $27,000 above the average among all ranked colleges.
The Qualtrics/Intuit Credit Karma report found 20 percent of borrowers hadn't made any payments on their loans.
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 your monthly payment does not cover the accrued interest, your loan balance will go up, even though you're making payments. Unpaid interest will also capitalize each year until your total balance is 10% higher than the original balance. This means you will pay interest on your interest.
Reason Foundation finds California has twice the total liabilities of any other state. California had $498 billion in total liabilities at the end of fiscal year 2022.
Running up $50,000 in credit card debt is not impossible. About two million Americans do it every year. Paying off that bill?
The average FICO credit score in the US is 717, according to the latest FICO data. The average VantageScore is 701 as of January 2024.
Behind the numbers (WSJ): Due to escalating tuition and easy credit, the U.S. has 101 people who owe at least $1 million in federal student loans, according to the Education Department. Five years ago, 14 people owed that much. More could join that group.
On average, people with student loans have spent just over 21 years paying back their loans. Federal student loans offer repayment plans that last from 10 to 30 years. Private student loan repayment terms vary.
If you are delinquent on your student loan payment for 90 days or more, your loan servicer will report the delinquency to the national credit bureaus, which can negatively impact your credit rating. If you continue to be delinquent, you risk your loan going into default.
Nearly eight in ten students graduate with less than $30,000 in debt. Among those who do borrow, the average debt at graduation is $27,100 — or $6,775 for each year of a four-year degree at a public university.
There is no specific age to pay off your mortgage, but a common rule of thumb is to be debt-free by your early to mid-60s. It may make sense to do so if you're retiring within the next few years and have the cash to pay off your mortgage, particularly if your money is in a low-interest savings account.