Student loan borrowers by age
As of 2022, the 25 to 34 age group has the highest number of borrowers at 14.5 million. The 62 and over age group has the fewest borrowers with student loan debt at 1.5 million.
According to data on 78.2 million Credit Karma members, members of Generation X (ages 43 to 58) carry the highest average total debt — $61,036. In this study, debt includes the following account types: auto leases, auto loans, credit cards, student loans and mortgages.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Gen X debt situation
The cohort also has the largest share of people with debt, nearly 99% carry some type of balance, LendingTree found. Gen Xers led the way in three of the four categories analyzed. The group — between 44 and 59 years old — has the highest median credit card, auto loan and student loan balances.
2. Highly educated. Generation Z students are on track to become the most educated generation. They have higher high school graduation rates and lower dropout rates than those who came before.
Which generation has the lowest credit score? As of 2023, the generation with the lowest credit score is Gen Z (18 – 26). That said, the generation with the lowest credit score is almost always going to be the youngest generation of adults.
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.
Running up $50,000 in credit card debt is not impossible. About two million Americans do it every year. Paying off that bill?
Gen X (ages 43 to 58) not only carries the most debt on average of all the generations, but is also the debt leader in credit card and total non-mortgage debt.
64% of all student loan debt belongs to women. The average student debt for women in the U.S. is $31,726. Women have a median annual salary of $56,170 following college graduation, which is 26% of what men can expect to earn following graduation.
The Standard Route is what credit companies and lenders recommend. If this is the graduate's choice, he or she will be debt free around the age of 58. It will take a total of 36 years to complete. It's a whole lot of time but it's the standard for a lot of people.
Gen Z Is the unhappiest generation in America: Report. Jessica Burbank and Amber Duke react to new findings in the world happiness report that a great percentage of the Gen Z population is unhappy.
Total outstanding federal student loan debt U.S. 2023, by age group. As of September 2023, federal student loan borrowers aged between 35 to 49 years had the most student debt out of all age groups in the United States, with a total outstanding debt of 624.4 billion U.S. dollars.
Gen Z Has an Overall Higher Income Than Their Millennial and Baby Boomer Counterparts. Despite economic challenges and unconventional ways of working, Gen Zers are earning more money than older generations.
Federal student loan repayment
Federal loan borrowers in repayment: 18.7 million. Federal loan borrowers in deferment: 3.2 million.
Globally, student loan debt in the U.S. is second only to the United Kingdom, according to a 2022 Lending Tree report.
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.
Don't borrow more in total student loans than what you think you'll make in salary in your first year out of college. Your monthly payments should be no more than 8% of what you expect your gross income will be. Your monthly payments should not exceed 20% of your discretionary income.
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.