Americans with income higher than the national average owe an estimated 63% of the nation's outstanding student loan debt. Graduate degree holders make up only 14% of the population over 25 years old, yet they contribute to 56% of the outstanding educational debt.
The average federal student loan debt is highest for women, Black borrowers, and those who attended for-profit colleges. Note: Data reflects the average cumulative federal student loan amount owed, including principal and interest, for undergraduate and graduate education 12 months after completing a bachelors degree.
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.
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.
Black adults are more than twice as likely than white adults to have student loan debt. The following graph includes federal and private student loan debt among all adults. On average, Black adults in the U.S. also hold higher student loan debt balances than borrowers of other races.
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.
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).
Approximately three-quarters of Black- and White-headed families have debt, but the median debt-to-asset ratio is 50% higher among Black than White families (Copeland, 2020), with Black borrowers less likely to fully repay loans (Brevoort et al., 2021).
Cancelling student loan debt may reduce unemployment by adding up to 1.5 million new jobs. Federal student loans represent 90.8% of all student loan debt, public and privately held ($1.77 trillion total).
Billionaire Robert F. Smith pledged to pay off student loans for every member of Morehouse College's graduating class. The Ivy League-educated business leader made his fortune investing in software firms and other tech companies.
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.
Overall, only 1% of all U.S. adults owed at least $100,000. Young college graduates with student loans are more likely than those without this kind of debt to say they struggle financially.
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.
Asian households overall had more wealth than other households two years since the start of the pandemic. In 2021, Asian households had a median net worth of $320,900, compared with $250,400 for White households. The median net worth of Hispanic households ($48,700) and Black households ($27,100) was much less.
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.
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.
Black Americans donated a higher percentage of their income to religious congregations and secular causes in 2018 than all other racial groups, except for White Americans. The main findings of this report are based on the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy's Philanthropy Panel Study (PPS).
Black college students generally take on more debt than white students, and they are more likely to struggle with loan repayment after graduating, in part because they typically have lower levels of family wealth.
Most student loans — about 92.4% — are owned by the government. Total federal student loan borrowers: 42.7 million.
Whether your family is rich, poor, or somewhere in between, you can take advantage of student loans provided by the US government. These loans (known as Federal Loans, Direct Loans or Stafford Loans) offer lower rates and more flexible payback options than you can find from almost any other source.