What is the average student loan debt?
Reply
Rick Bormin, Personal Loans Moderator
@rhandoo2020
The average student loan debt is just over $37,000, according to data from the Department of Education. There is approximately $1.592 trillion in outstanding federal student loan debt as of the second quarter of 2021, and there are 42.9 million individual borrowers. Federal loans make up 92% of all student loan debt.
Average Student Loan Debt by Year
Year | Average Student Loan Debt |
2021 | $37,100 |
2020 | $36,200 |
2019 | $35,200 |
2018 | $33,500 |
2017 | $32,100 |
Note: All numbers are for Q4 of the year in question, except for the current year, which is the latest quarter. Numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred.
The average student loan debt is very high in fact, it's actually more than the typical personal income in the U.S., which is $36,000. Student loan debt is also the second largest form of household debt after mortgages.
Some people are hit harder by student loan debt than others, though. People in Utah, Hawaii and California have the most student loan debt on average. People in South Dakota, Pennsylvania and Wyoming have the least.
