Most debt belongs to 25- to 34-year-olds; 35- to 49-year-olds owe the most on average, exceeding 50- to 61-year-olds by 8.0%. 104,800 federal borrowers aged 24 years and younger owe an average $14,599 each for a total of $1.53 billion.
Black women owe a disproportionate amount of student debt. They hold 43% more undergraduate debt and nearly 99% more graduate school debt than their white woman counterparts 12 months after graduation, according to an April 2022 study by the nonprofit organization The Education Trust.
Analysis of the debt share in the U.S. shows that people aged 40-49 hold the largest amount of debt at $4.21 trillion in total. People aged 50-59 have the most credit card debt in total at $0.21 trillion, and people aged 30-39 have the most student loan debt at $0.5 trillion.
Unsurprisingly, younger people hold the majority of student loan debt. Borrowers between the ages of 25 and 34 carry about $500 billion in federal student loans—the majority of people in this age group owe between $10,000 and $40,000. However, people carry their education debt well into middle-age and beyond.
Black students take out the most student loan debt for a bachelor's degree, followed by white students. Black bachelor's degree holders have an average of $52,000 in student debt. Eighty-six percent of Black students take out student loans to pay for college, compared to 68 percent of white students.
Gen Xers carry the most nonmortgage debt, on average, of any generation. The average nonmortgage debt among Gen Xers ($45,781) is more than double that of Gen Zers ($21,665).
Student loan debt for Gen Z
66.7% of older Gen Zers had $20,000 or less in student debt in 2022. The largest percentage (28%) of college students aged 24 and younger have between $5,000 and $9,999 in Federal Direct Loans as of March 31, 2022. 6.8 million of federal student loan borrowers are 24 years old or younger.
As of 2019, 2.5 million young households bear a student debt-to-income ratio surpassing 0.5, with an average ratio of 1.03 for those in the bottom 50 percent of earners.
Only a small percentage—about 6% of borrowers—owe $100,000 or more. Nationally, the average student loan balance per borrower is $39,032, so if you have $100,000 in student loan debt, you have about 2.5 times the national average balance. But your loan principal is just one part of the problem.
On average, men have more debt than women across all categories, except for student loans. While there isn't much data yet, early studies have shown that nonbinary students undergo more financial strain than their cisgender peers, and are more likely to have student loan debt.
Top student loan statistics by age
6.1% for 25 to 34-year-olds. 17.9% for 35 to 49-year-olds. 25.6% for 50 to 61-year-olds. 25.6% for those 62 and older.
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.
According to the Department of Education, at the end of 2023, the average student loan debt for federal loans was about $37,090. That's approximately $1.6 trillion of outstanding debt divided by a total of 43.2 million borrowers. However, what individual borrowers owe varies considerably.
It is true that people with higher incomes hold more debt – often because they attended graduate school and, if the loan is bigger, it would be more of a "windfall" to them. But people with lower incomes also attend college, and on an individual level may benefit proportionately more from student loan debt forgiveness.
Data Summary. The average federal student loan payment is about $302 for bachelor's and $208 for associate degree-completers. The average monthly repayment for master's degree-holders is about $688.
Interest can make student loans more expensive, while inflation can make that debt harder to manage alongside other bills. Paying off some of your debt during your studies could ease the burden later on and save you money on interest.
Around 23% of Americans are debt free, according to the most recent data available from the Federal Reserve. That figure factors in every type of debt, from credit card balances and student loans to mortgages, car loans and more.
The average federal student loan debt is $37,338 per borrower. Private student loan debt averages $54,921 per borrower. The average student borrows over $30,000 to pursue a bachelor's degree. A total of 45.3 million borrowers have student loan debt; 92% of them have federal loan debt.
The rise and fall of interest rates are also a logical factor. According to the Federal Reserve, 30-39 year-olds have an average student loan debt of $42,748. 40-49-year-olds possess an average student loan debt of $44,864. Borrowers 24 and younger owe an average of $14,563 in student loan debt.
Gen Z faces unique financial challenges
Yet, more than a third of young Gen Zers have also faced setbacks in the past year, the survey found, which may have led them to stop saving or take on more debt. Gen Z faces unique financial challenges compared to older generations.
"The world is rapidly evolving — and so is the college experience." Srivastava is one of a soaring number of Gen Zers who has decided to skip college altogether. Four million fewer teenagers enrolled at a college in 2022 than in 2012. For many, the price tag has simply grown too exorbitant to justify the cost.
Boomers—born between 1946 and 1964—are currently the wealthiest generation on the planet. Their mean net worth falls between $970,000 to $1.2 million, according to Fortune. In the late 1950s through the 1980s, many families lived relatively well without attending a university and working in the trades.
Overall, the national average card debt among cardholders with unpaid balances in the fourth quarter of 2023 was $6,864, down from $6,993 in the third quarter. That includes debt from bank cards and retail credit cards.