Average Student Debt Statistics [2024]

As the cost of college has risen over the years, student loan borrowing has increased along with it. Americans owe $1.73 trillion in student loans today, according to Federal Reserve data — nearly three times the amount they owed 15 years ago. More than half of college students graduated with debt in the 2021-22 academic year, according to College Board. 

Here’s a closer look at the average student debt in the U.S. today, including how it breaks down by state, age, gender, and other factors. 

Average student loan debt in 2024

Total student loan debt in the U.S. stands at $1.73 trillion as of the third quarter of 2023. The majority of the debt (85%) is federal, while the remaining 15% comes from private lenders. 

Currently, the outstanding federal loan portfolio adds up to more than $1.6 trillion. Here’s how that federal student loan debt breaks down by loan type, according to data from the Department of Education. 

According to College Board, 49% of students who attended public four-year schools graduated with federal loans in 2021-22. Among students who attend private four-year schools, 52% graduated with debt. Among all student loan borrowers, the average debt upon graduation was $29,400. 

Related: How Long Does It Take To Pay Off Student Loans?

Average student debt by state

When looking at recent state averages, Utah has the lowest average student debt load for the class of 2020 at $18,344, while New Hampshire has the highest at $39,928, according to The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS). Here’s how the average education debt for college graduates breaks down by state.

Student debt demographics

The average student loan debt varies when you break it down by various demographics.

Average student debt by age and gender

The age group with the highest number of borrowers falls between 25 and 34, according to the most recent Federal Student Aid data.

Women also tend to borrow more than men. According to the American Association of University Women, women owe almost two-thirds of student loan debt in the U.S., while men owe just one-third of the amount. Women who graduate with a bachelor’s degree also owe an average of $2,700 more than men, and take two years longer to pay off their student debt. 

Average student debt by race and ethnicity

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, as well as the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), found that Black adults owe more in student loans than white adults. The average federal student loan debt is also high among Asian borrowers, according to NCES data from the 2015-16 academic year. Below is an overview of that data: 

Average student debt by degree

Graduate students tend to borrow significantly more than undergraduate students, according to College Board. The average full-time undergraduate borrower took out $3,860 in federal loans for the 2022-23 year, while the average full-time graduate borrower took out $17,490 in federal loans. 

Some graduate students leave school with six figures of debt. In the 2019-20 school year, 13% of those who earned master’s degrees, 13% of doctoral program graduates, and 57% of professional degree recipients took out $100,000 or more to pay for college and graduate school. 

Medical and law school graduates tend to have some of the highest balances. The median debt among medical school borrowers is $200,000, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. The average law student owes $108,000 in J.D. loans and $130,000 altogether, an American Bar Association survey found.

Private student loan debt averages

About 15% of the $1.73 trillion student loan debt balance in the U.S. comes from private lenders, such as banks, credit unions, and online lenders. In the 2021-22 year, students took out around $14.7 billion in private student loans. 

College Board found that student loan borrowers at public four-year schools graduated with an average of $34,600 in debt, and students at private four-year institutions averaged $44,600.

Many of these private student loans were borrowed with the help of a cosigner, such as a parent. In fact, 93% of private undergraduate loans and 69% of private graduate loans had a cosigner in the 2023-24 year, according to data from Enterval Analytics. 

Defaulted student loan rates

Federal student loans usually enter default after 270 days of missed payments, while private student loans typically go into default after 90 days. During the COVID-19 emergency forbearance, the government paused payments and interest on federal student loans and stopped collecting on defaulted student loans. 

Before the payment pause started, 220,000 federal student loans were between 271 and 360 days late, and 60,000 student loans were in collections. Through September 2024, federal student loans won’t go into default if you miss payments, due to the temporary on-ramp period created by the Department of Education. You also have the option of getting defaulted student loans back into good standing with the Fresh Start program. 

As for private student loans, about 3% were 30 to 89 days past due in the third quarter of 2023, and about 1.5% were 90 or more days past due, according to Enterval Analytics data. 

Student debt forgiveness statistics

Although the Biden-Harris administration’s proposal for widespread student loan forgiveness was struck down by the Supreme Court, the administration has approved nearly $132 billion in student debt cancellation for more than 3.6 million Americans for other reasons. 

In December 2023, for instance, the administration announced $4.8 billion in student loan debt relief for 80,300 borrowers. This included $2.6 billion for 34,400 borrowers through Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and $2.2 billion for nearly 46,000 borrowers thanks to updates to income-driven repayment (IDR) forgiveness.

The administration also canceled $11.7 billion for almost 513,000 borrowers with a total and permanent disability, and $22.5 billion for 1.3 million borrowers who were defrauded by their schools or had another qualifying reason.