Which college has the highest student debt?

Asked by: Sean Rippin  |  Last update: May 1, 2026
Score: 4.5/5 (70 votes)

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.

What college majors have the most debt?

Student Loan Debt by Major
  • Law Degree. $160,000 upon graduating. ...
  • Medical Degree. $243,483 upon graduating. ...
  • Dental School. $296,500 upon graduating. ...
  • Nursing. Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN): $23,302. ...
  • Business Administration. $41,000 to $170,000 for MBA students. ...
  • Architecture. $40,000 in debt. ...
  • Veterinary Medicine. ...
  • Pharmacy.

Is $100,000 in college debt bad?

Going into $100000 of student loan debt for a degree is very risky. Only one in four who matriculate graduate and get a good job. The odds are that you will end up trying to pay off your debt while working for Starbucks. There are different protocols used to determine the amount of debt advisable.

Which state has the highest debt?

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.

What state has the highest student debt?

Washington, D.C. leads the U.S. in average federal student loan debt at $54,795 per borrower and has the highest share of borrowers, with 17.2% of residents in debt.

What Everyone's Getting Wrong About Student Loans

28 related questions found

What state has the lowest debt?

The lowest-liability states—Arizona, Idaho, Nebraska, Tennessee, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming—owe less than 3 percent of GDP. The highest-liability states—Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, and Vermont—owe more than 20 percent of GDP.

At what age do people pay off student loans?

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.

How many people have over 100k in student 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.

Do student loans affect credit scores?

How student loans affect your credit score. Student loans are a type of installment loan, similar to a car loan, personal loan, or mortgage. They are part of your credit report, and can impact your payment history, length of your credit history and credit mix. Paying on time could help your score.

What will students who drop out of college have to do with their student loans?

Do I Have To Pay Back My Student Loans If I Drop Out of School? Regulations dictate that if you leave college or drop below half-time enrollment, you have to start paying back your federal student loans. You may have a grace period (generally, six months) before your first payment is due.

Who suffers the most from student debt?

Meanwhile, adults between the ages of 35 and 49 years old on average owe the most student loan debt.
  • 34% of adults between the ages of 18 and 29 owe student loan debt.
  • 22% of adults between the ages of 30 and 44 owe student debt.
  • 7% of those between the ages of 45 and 59 owe student debt.

What profession has the worst debt-to-income ratio?

Dentists' debt-to-income ratios worse than other health workers. Though school debt consistently exceeded income for healthcare occupations -- except for physicians -- between 2017 and 2022, dentists had the highest debt-to-income ratios. The study was published in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education.

Are most med students in debt?

The average debt of medical school graduates with both medical school and premedical debt, but no non-educational debt was $264,519. 73% of medical school graduates have educational debt. 31% of indebted medical school graduates have premedical educational debt.

Is it a parent's responsibility to pay back their children's student loans?

When the time comes to start making payments, only the student is obligated to repay these loans — not the parents. In fact, there's no co-signer. If the student defaults on a federal student loan, it will affect the student's credit and won't be reported on the parent's credit history.

How many people are not paying student loans?

The Qualtrics/Intuit Credit Karma report found 20 percent of borrowers hadn't made any payments on their loans. The percentage was even higher, at 27 percent, for borrowers who made less than $50,000 a year.

What is the average debt for a 40 year old?

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.

Do student loans stop at age 65?

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.

What country owns most of the United States debt?

Japan and China have been the largest foreign holders of US debt for the last two decades. From 2000 to 2023, annual totals are based on data from December, while the 2024 data is updated through April.

Which US city has the most debt?

Americans in these US cities have the most debt
  • Residents of the 50 largest U.S. cities carry an average debt of $37,800.
  • Austin, Texas, is the most debt-ridden city, a LendingTree study found.
  • San Jose, California, is the least debt-ridden.

Who has the worst debt in the world?

United States. The United States boasts both the world's biggest national debt in terms of dollar amount and its largest economy, which resolves to a debt-to GDP ratio of approximately 121.31%. The United States' government's spending exceeds its income most years, and the US has not had a budget surplus since 2001.