Most student loans — about 92.4% — are owned by the government. Total federal student loan borrowers: 42.7 million. Total outstanding federal student loan debt: $1.64 trillion.
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.
How Many People Are Currently in Default on Their Student Loans? By the end of 2021, roughly 3 million people were in student loan default — that's about 7% of all borrowers. Another 270,000 were 90-270 days delinquent on their student loans — meaning they missed a payment but hadn't defaulted yet.
Really, really bad. Approximately one in six college students end up with debt but no degree, and a whopping 40 percent of all borrowers do.
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.
What is considered a lot of student loan debt? A lot of student loan debt is more than you can afford to repay after graduation. For many, this means having more than $70,000 – $100,000 in total student debt.
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.
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.
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.
Parents are the most common cosigners for student loans, but they're not the only ones. A relative, family friend, or creditworthy adult can cosign as long as they meet the lender's cosigner eligibility requirements.
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.
Overall, more than 10% of graduate and professional students owe $100,000 or more in federal and private student loan debt, according to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. (For comparison, less than 1% of students borrow above that amount for bachelor's degree programs.)
The average monthly student loan payment is an estimated $500 based on previously recorded average payments and median average salaries among college graduates. The average borrower takes 20 years to repay their student loan debt.
Let's say you have $200,000 in student loans at 6% interest on a 10-year repayment term. Your monthly payments would be $2,220. If you can manage an additional $200 a month, you could save a total of $7,796 while trimming a year off your repayment plan.
A large cadre of research now shows that student debt disproportionately burdens Black borrowers. Not only are Black students more likely to borrow, and to need to borrow more, but they struggle much more with paying back their loans.
According to a recent Forbes Advisor and Talker Research survey of 2,000 adults, one in three respondents said they regret using student loans to finance their education and would not choose that route again if given the opportunity.
The average debt for a 4-year Bachelor's degree is $35,530. The average 4-year Bachelor's degree debt from a public college is $31,960. 61% of students who completed a Bachelor's degree have received student loans. The average 4-year Bachelor's degree debt from a private for-profit college is $47,730.
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.
Moreover, 16% of borrowers are behind on their loan repayments, which can have a negative impact on credit scores. And more students each year are taking out loans to pay for tuition. Student loan policy is in flux. In 2023, payments on federal student loans restarted after a pause during the COVID-19 pandemic.
What student loans are not eligible for forgiveness? Private student loans, by definition, are private and are not eligible to be forgiven. These are loans the borrower owes to student loan providers and not the federal government.
Key Takeaways. More than four in ten students at public four-year universities complete their bachelor's degree with zero debt.