According to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Education, about 42.9 million Americans have federal student loans. According to Census data, roughly 1 in 8 Americans (12.9 percent) have student loan debt.
How many college students are in debt in the US?
Highlights of the report. Over $1.75 trillion is owed in student loans in the United States, which has grown six times faster than the national economy.*
- 42.9 million Americans owe an average of $37,105 to the federal government in student loan debt.
- They were eligible for general student debt reduction under the CARES Act of 2020, which covers more than 35 million people.
- A bachelor’s degree requires an average of $30,030 in student loans from a public university.
Despite the fact that the total student loan debt has climbed at an average monthly rate of $56 million, growth slowed while several million federal loans were under 0% interest deferment.
COVID’s Impact on Student Debt
A surge in unemployment and 3.2 million new federal student loan borrowers contributed to the highest increase in student loan debt since 2013. However, it’s possible that debt relief initiatives for students have contributed to a decrease in the average amount owed by students.
- Nearly 9% of public school students will be late on their student loan payments in May of 2020.
- Borrowers who went to private, nonprofit schools accounted for 7 percent of defaults, whereas private, for-profit school borrowers accounted for 24 percent of defaults.
- Private student loans will be in repayment 75.3 percent of the time in 2020, while 20 percent of them will be in deferment.
- Few private lenders (if any) postponed interest while suspending payments for up to three months.
Federal Loan Debt Under CARES
Student loan debt totals $1.59 billion, with 42.9 million borrowers holding the balances. In the second and third quarters of 2020, the CARES Act gave relief from student loan debt to at least 20 million borrowers who qualified for the program.
- Under the CARES Act of 2020, an estimated 35 million Americans may be eligible for college debt reduction.
- While student loan debt in repayment declined by 82 percent between 2020’s second and third quarters, student loan debt in forbearance climbed by 375 percent.
- There was a 0.44 percent decrease in forbearance rates between the third and fourth quarters.
- 60% of all federal student loan debt is currently on forbearance until September 2021.
- This figure is 97% lower than the figure for the second quarter of the financial year when 40.1 percent of federal student loan borrowers had debts under repayment, which is the lowest level since the second quarter of 2012.
- There is an 8 percent default rate among kids who are still attending school.
The CARES Act may not apply to all government loans. Other payment options, such deferral or income-driven repayment plans, may still be available to borrowers with these types of loans.
How many students end up in debt?
There were 69 percent of students who took out student loans, and they graduated with an average debt of $29,900. This included both private and federal loans. Meanwhile, 14% of their parents took out federal parent PLUS loans totaling $37,200 on average.
Another ominous statistic is this: A total of 44.7 million Americans are saddled with student loan debt totaling over $1.71 trillion dollars.
How much is 2020 student debt?
According to data from U.S. News, the average graduate debt varies depending on the type of university. Private college graduates in 2020 borrowed an average of $32,029, compared to $26,627 for public college grads. Student loan debt has decreased as a percentage of students.
What is the average student loan debt in 2021?
According to Federal Reserve figures for the second quarter of 2021, borrowers in the United States owe $1.73 trillion in total student loan debt.
According to the Department of Education’s most recent data from March 2021, the average student loan debt in the United States is $37,062.
It is estimated that $1.59 trillion of the overall student debt is federal loans, and $136.31 billion is private loans according to a private student loan report for the first quarter of 2021 from Measure 1.
All other forms of debt in the United States have been overtaken by student loans, save for mortgage debt.
While mortgages are the most common kind of debt, student loans are a close second, surpassing credit card and other consumer debt in terms of their total amount. In order to earn an undergraduate or graduate degree, you may have to fork over hundreds of thousands of dollars.
We’ve broken down the average student loan debt as well as other student loan debt information for you to help you better comprehend the student debt landscape.
What percentage of US population has student debt?
One in every eight Americans (13.9%) is saddled with student loan debt. U.S. Department of Education data shows that 42.9 million Americans hold federal student loans.
What is the average student loan monthly payment in the US?
Student Loan Payments in the United States The average student loan payment is $393 per month, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. They also discovered that 50 percent of student loan borrowers owing more than $19,281.
How many Americans are in debt?
Patrick Henry, the renowned American patriot, declared “If you don’t give me my freedom, I’ll kill you.
Economic shock from the COVID-19 pandemic led to the country’s motto being re-evaluated “Instead of financial freedom, I’ll take debt!”
According to the Federal Reserve, household debt in the United States set a record $14.6 trillion in the spring of 2021. It would be $14,600,000,000.00 if you had to write it down.
Fortunately for you, there are over 340 million people who feel the same way. When it comes to getting into debt, who are the most likely?
It all comes down to age, income, ethnicity, family structure, and education. Although one’s debt isn’t solely determined by one’s demographics, it’s nevertheless necessary to know them.
It can inspire you to defy the odds and achieve financial independence. In this section, we’ll take a look at the recent history of debt and some key demographics.
Who owns most student debt?
The U.S. Department of Education owns nearly 92 percent of all student loans, according to a July 2021 analysis from MeasureOne, an academic data firm. 42.9 million people are currently enrolled in federal student loans.
Why are American student loans so high?
Because more and more students are going to college, the amount of student loan debt has increased. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, fewer than half of graduating high school seniors attended a four-year college or university. More and more high school students are going to college, and many of them are taking out student loans as a result.
According to U.S. News & World Report, the average student’s debt has increased by 26% between 2009 and 2020. Increasing college costs have resulted in an increase in the amount of student debt. The cost of college in the United States is higher than in most wealthy countries, where higher education is generally free or significantly subsidized. In the wake of the Great Recession, states in the United States have reduced funding for public institutions and colleges.
Why are college students broke?
51 percent of those polled said they went penniless because to unexpected expenses, not enough financial help, excessive textbook fees, too much college, and a change in financial circumstances for themselves or their parents (42.4 percent) (30.9 percent).
What is the average student loan debt after 4 years of college?
In most cases, graduates of four-year public universities leave school with a manageable level of student debt. In four-year public universities, 42% of students graduated debt-free*, and 78% did so with debts of less than $30,000*. Only 4% of public university graduates earned more than $60,000 in their first year of employment. More over $100,000 in student loan debt is even rarer: less than half of all four-year public university undergraduates complete their degrees with more than $100,000 in debt. 1
Student Debt in Perspective
Tuition, fees, accommodation and board, and other educational expenses, such as textbooks, are all covered by student loans. The average debt at graduation for those who borrow is $25,921 $6,480 per year for a four-year degree at a public university. The average debt of all graduates of public universities, including those who did not borrow, is $16,300. 1 Debt can be put into perspective if you consider that a bachelor’s degree holder makes around $25,000 more per year than a high school graduate. 2 Over the course of their lifetime, those with a bachelor’s degree earn an additional $1 million more. 3
Over the past two decades, the percentage of student-loan borrowers’ income that goes toward debt payments has remained stable or even decreased.
4 Student debt payments at public four-year colleges average $269 per month, despite the fact that 42 percent of undergraduates at these institutions graduate with no student loan debt. 5 As of the past few years, most students with federal loans have been able to enroll in an income-driven repayment plan. Ten percent is a common percentage of students’ discretionary income under these arrangements. As of 2011, income-driven repayment plan borrowers from four-year public institutions were paying an average of $117 per month. 6
Since the beginning of this century, some have argued that student loan debt prohibits graduates from becoming property owners. However, the White House Council of Economic Advisors found that college attendance actually increases the likelihood of a person owning a property. “The White House survey found that at the age of 26, households with student debt are more likely to purchase a home than those who did not attend college. “As of the age of 34, college students with and without student loan debt are just as likely to buy a property as those without a college degree,” according to a new study. 6
Total Student Debt
Concerns have also been expressed about the $1.5 trillion in national student debt, which includes graduate student debt. Over the past two decades, the total amount of student debt has grown. However, rising student numbers at the nation’s colleges and universities are a contributing factor in this rise. While only 15% of post-secondary students are graduates, they own an estimated 40% of the existing student loan debt. 7 In order to seek a higher-paying career, students in these schools must take on additional debt. Workers with higher degrees earn an average of $58,000 more per year than those with only a high school diploma. 2
National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, 201516, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.
CPS, a survey conducted every five years by the Bureau of Labor Statistics
“Do the Benefits of College Still Outweigh the Cost,” Current Issues in Economics and Finance, 2014.
“Is Student Debt Crisis on the Horizon?” by Akers & Chingo 2014.
This is based on the payback estimator on studentloans.gov, which estimates that the student owes $29,490, with an interest rate of 4.53 percent.
Investing in Higher Education: Benefits, Challenges, and the Current State of Student Debt, White House Council of Economic Advisors, July 2016.
“The Graduate Student Debt Review,” New American Foundation. Delisle, 7.
