In 2024, the generation Z in the United States had an average of roughly 22,950 U.S. dollars in student loan debt. By contrast, Generation X had the highest student loan debt, amounting to approximately 44,240 U.S. dollars.
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.
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.
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.
Race: Higher rate of Black families owe student loan debt — and they owe more. The Survey of Consumer Finances also breaks down the student loan data by race — white, Black and Hispanic. Black families borrow student loans at higher rates than other races and owe more.
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.
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.
Key findings. When adjusted for inflation, millennials appear to be in a better financial condition than Gen Xers or baby boomers at similar points. In 2022, millennials (ages 26 to 41 at the time) had a median net worth of $84,941.
According to a 2022 survey, Gen Z talent is more likely than any other generation to leave or consider leaving a job due to inflexible work policies. Fortunately, there are alternatives to increasing connection. Developing robust onboarding practices is one way Gen Z talent can be re-engaged and ultimately retained.
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.
Four years after graduation, black students owe an average of 188% more than white students borrowed. Black and African American student borrowers are the most likely to struggle financially due to student loan debt making monthly payments of $260.
Higher percentages of Black (88 percent) and American Indian/Alaska Native (87 percent) students received grants than students who were of Two or more races (79 percent), White (74 percent), and Asian (66 percent).
Inflation Forces Gen Z to Rack Up Debt
Younger workers, who earn less and have smaller savings, have turned to credit to bridge the gap. In fact, Gen Zers are racking up credit card debt faster than any generation.
The majority of today's incoming college students are members of Generation Z, a.k.a. “zoomers.” As digital natives born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s, Gen Z students have high expectations of your schools' technical savvy and specific preferences for their college experience.
Overview. Black and Hispanic or Latino student loan borrowers are more likely to have difficulty repaying their loans than their White peers, according to a significant body of research.
Baby boomers have the highest net worth, averaging $1.6 million per household. Baby boomers have the highest household net worth of any US generation.
Millennials were somewhat better off than Gen X—those born between 1965 and 1980—when they were the same age. Zoomers, however, are much better off than millennials were at the same age. The typical 25-year-old Gen Z-er has an annual household income of over $40,000, more than 50% above baby-boomers at the same age.
The price of everything, from a sack of flour to a winter coat, keeps climbing every year. Since 1970, the Consumer Price Index saw a 500%-plus increase. Even after adjusting for inflation, today's dollar buys a whole lot less than it did 50 or even 25 years ago.
Experts address what might be the root of helping the Gen Z population deal with their mental states. You might think the elderly feel the highest level of loneliness, but research shows that's not the case. "Actually, it's Gen Z. That's the loneliest generation," said Cat Moore, the Director of Belonging at USC.
Young Americans are a lot less happy than older Americans, according to Gallup's 2024 World Happiness Report. People under the age of 30 are so unhappy, in fact, that they've dragged the United States out of the top 20 happiest countries in the world for the first time in the report's history.
The report found that millennials had substantially higher diagnoses for eight of the top 10 health conditions than Generation X, and based on their current health status, millennials are more likely to be less healthy when they're older, compared to Gen Xers.
"Shark Tank" investor Kevin O'Leary has said the ideal age to be debt-free is 45, especially if you want to retire by age 60. Being debt-free — including paying off your mortgage — by your mid-40s puts you on the early path toward success, O'Leary argued.
At the close of 2019, the average household had a credit card debt of $7,499. During the first quarter of 2021, it dropped to $6,209. In 2022, credit card debt rose again to $7,951 and has increased linearly. In 2023, it reached $8,599 — $75 shy of the 2024 average.
(NewsNation) — Mortgages make up the bulk of household debt but a new analysis shows most Americans owe thousands of dollars beyond their home loans, with members of Gen X carrying the highest balances.