Average Student Loan Debt: 2024 Statistics

Updated on May 30, 2024

Edited by

• Fact-checked by Marley Rose

About 43 million Americans share $1.6 trillion in federal student loan debt. Discover the average student loan debt and more student debt statistics in our guide.

Asian American female college student using her credit card to pay her student loan bill. She is looking at her mobile phone, looking shocked at the amount she has to pay.

Credit: Image Credit: MTStock Studio / E+ / Getty Images

Data Summary

The average federal student loan debt in the U.S. is about $37,850.^{Note Reference [1]}
1 in 5 federal student loan borrowers (20%) is 50 or older.^{Note Reference [1]}
In 2019-2020, the average student loan amount borrowed for a four-year bachelor’s degree was $30,500.^{Note Reference [2]}
Today’s total federal student loan debt balance is just over $1.6 trillion.^{Note Reference [1]}
The total student debt balance — including federal and private loans — was roughly $1.75 trillion.^{Note Reference [3]}
Total federal student loan debt has roughly tripled since 2007.^{Note Reference [1]}
30% of all U.S. adults have at some point taken out loans for their education.^{Note Reference [4]}
On average, women carry more student debt than men^{Note Reference [5]}; Black borrowers have higher student debt levels than borrowers of other races^{Note Reference [6]}; and people who attended for-profit colleges have higher student debt levels than those who attended public and nonprofit schools.^{Note Reference [7]}

A college degree is typically associated with higher earnings.^{Note Reference [8]} At the same time, the cost of college is rising, and Americans are taking on more student debt in the form of federal and private loans.

When you have information about student loan debt, you can make decisions that benefit your long-term educational, career, and life goals. We’ve rounded up the latest data about the state of student loan debt in the U.S.

Average Student Loan Debt in 2024

According to the Department of Education, as of March 2024, the average student loan debt for federal loans was about $37,850. That’s approximately $1.6 trillion of outstanding debt divided by a total of 42.8 million borrowers.^{Note Reference [1]} However, what individual borrowers owe varies considerably.

Average Student Loan Debt Statistics

The Federal Reserve reports that the median student debt for all borrowers in 2023 was between $20,000 and $24,999.^{Note Reference [4]} That means about half of student loan borrowers owe more than that, and half owe less.
The average student loan debt borrowed for a four-year bachelor’s degree was $30,500 in 2019-2020, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).^{Note Reference [2]}
The average federal student loan debt has more than doubled since 2007, from $18,233 in 2007 to $37,850 in 2024.^{Note Reference [1]}
Between 2010 and 2020 alone, the average federal student loan debt grew by about 40%.^{Note Reference [1]} That’s about the same growth rate as the total cost of college over the years in current dollars, not accounting for inflation.^{Note Reference [9]}

Explore student loan debt over the years

Average Student Loan Debt by State

Find the average student loan debt by state in the table below. Locations in the table are ranked from having the highest average student loan debt (1) to having the lowest average student loan debt (52).

Average Student Loan Debt by State (2024)

State⇅	Average Student Loan Debt⇅	Rank⇅
Alabama	$37,390	15
Alaska	$35,350	26
Arizona	$35,510	24
Arkansas	$33,620	35
California	$37,810	12
Colorado	$37,110	16
Connecticut	$36,480	21
Delaware	$38,030	11
District of Columbia	$54,150	1
Florida	$38,860	5

…

Explore more average student debt data by state

Total Student Loan Debt

The nation’s total student loan debt includes federal student loans and private student loans. It does not include other education-related debt, such as credit card debt, home equity loans, and other loans that students or their parents/guardians may use to pay for school.

Total Student Loan Debt Statistics

The federal student loan debt balance in the U.S. has almost tripled in the past 15 years.
As of March 2024, federal and private student loan debt in the U.S. was roughly $1.75 trillion.^{Note Reference [3]}
Borrowers owed about $131 billion in private student loans.^{Note Reference [10]}
In the same period, Americans owed $1.6 trillion in federal student loans.^{Note Reference [1]}
Student loan debt made up one-third (32.7%) of non-housing debt, according to the Center for Microeconomic Data at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.^{Note Reference [11]}

Private vs. Federal Student Loan Debt

Banks, schools, state agencies, and other lending institutions may offer private student loans. Federal student loans come from the federal government.

Federal Student Loan Debt Statistics

Federal loans include subsidized loans — meaning the government pays all or part of your loan interest if you demonstrate financial need — and unsubsidized loans.

Federal student loans account for roughly 93% of all student loan debt.^{Note Reference [10]}
In 2021-2022, about 38.6% of first-time, full-time students borrowed federal student loans.^{Note Reference [12]}
Interest rates for federal student loans disbursed between July 2023 and July 2024 are:^{Note Reference [13]}
- 5.50% for undergraduates
- 7.05% for graduate students using direct unsubsidized loans
- 8.05% for parents and graduate students using direct PLUS loans

Read about federal student loan default rates in our report

Private Student Loan Debt Statistics

While private student loan debt comprises less than a tenth of all student debt, some trends are troubling. Private loan interest rates can be double to triple that of federal loans. Over half of students who rely on private loans are not taking full advantage of federal loans and almost a third don’t take out any federal loans at all.^{Note Reference [14]}

As of September 2023, private student loans accounted for about 7.5% of student loan debt.^{Note Reference [10]}
Fixed interest rates on private student loans can range between 4.4-16.2%.
Private student loan debt among current students and graduates grew 47% between March 2014 and March 2021.^{Note Reference [14]}
In 2015-2016, 53% of undergrads using private student loans did not take out all the federal loan dollars available to them, and 30% of undergraduates with private student loans did not take out any federal loans at all.^{Note Reference [14]}

Find the average student loan payment

Who Has Student Loan Debt?

As of 2023, 30% of all adults have incurred education-related debt.^{Note Reference [4]}
Of adults who went to college, over 40% went into debt for school.^{Note Reference [4]}
18% of adults who went to college still carry student debt.^{Note Reference [4]}
In spring 2024, 42.8 million people owed money on a federal student loan.^{Note Reference [1]}

While many students take out student loans, debt amounts vary by race/ethnicity, gender, and degree type, among other characteristics.

Student Loan Debt by Race and Ethnicity

The racial wealth gap creates inequities in higher education and perpetuates trends whereby Black students carry more debt. Researchers have even called student debt a new mechanism of wealth inequality.^{Note Reference [15]}

According to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, as of 2019:^{Note Reference [6]}

Over one-third of Black adults (36%) had student loan debt, compared to:
- 1 in 5 white adults (20%)
- 15% of Hispanic or Latino/a adults
- About one-quarter of adults of other races (24%)

Additionally, Black borrowers’ median student loan debt was $26,000. It’s $25,000 for white borrowers, $13,000 for Hispanic borrowers, and $25,000 for borrowers of other races.^{Note Reference [6]}

In the 2019-2020 academic year, Black undergraduates borrowed student loans at far higher rates than students of other races.^{Note Reference [2]}

Several factors impact the Black student debt crisis in America, including generational wealth, first-generation student status, and workplace discrimination.

Explore more student loan debt by race statistics

Student Loan Debt by Gender

Women have higher student debt levels than other genders. According to survey data collected by NCES in 2017:^{Note Reference [5]}

71% of women owed student loan debt 12 months after graduation compared to 64% of men and 59% of transgender, genderqueer, nonconforming, and questioning graduates and those who are other or multiple genders.
Women had a median of $20,625 in student loan debt 12 months after graduation. That’s 37.5% higher than men’s median debt of $15,000.

Student Loan Debt by Gender
Self-Reported Sex or Gender	Percentage of Group with Student Loans 12 Months After Graduation	Median Amount of Student Loans 12 Months After Graduation
Male	64%	$15,000
Female	71%	$20,625
Trangender, genderqueer, nonconforming, questioning, other, or multiple genders	59%	$9,680-$20,320

Source: NCES^{Note Reference [5]}

Behind the Numbers

Transgender, genderqueer, nonconforming, and questioning graduates and those who are other or multiple genders represented about 1.25% of the survey respondents. Because of the small sample size, there’s a larger standard error. That’s why we included a range in the table above.

Student Loan Debt by Age

Today, fewer young people have federal student loan debt compared to previous years. But as students age, they’re taking their debt with them through their forties and sometimes beyond.^{Note Reference [1]}

1 in 5 federal student loan borrowers (20%) is 50 or older.
In spring 2024, there were:
- 6.8 million federal student loan borrowers with active balances under 25 years old
- 14.8 million borrowers aged 25-34
- 14.6 million borrowers aged 35-49
- 6.3 million borrowers aged 50-61
- 2.8 million borrowers 62 and older
Compared to the end of 2017, the number of borrowers under 25 years old has decreased by roughly 21%.
Meanwhile, the number of borrowers over 62 has increased by 65%, from 1.7 million to 2.8 million borrowers.

Student Loan Debt by Degree Level

Graduate students are more likely to take out a federal student loan than students pursuing other degrees or certificates. Students also tend to borrow more for doctoral and professional degrees, less for bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and the least for associate degrees.

In 2023, among people between the ages of 18-29:^{Note Reference [4]}

60% of graduate degree-holders went into debt for their education.
57% of bachelor’s degree-holders incurred student debt.
39% of associate degree-holders incurred student debt.

In addition, 71% of borrowers with a graduate degree, 48% of borrowers with a bachelor’s degree, and 31% of borrowers with an associate degree had student debt balances of over $25,000.^{Note Reference [4]}

A report by the Texas Public Policy Foundation found that among borrowers who graduated in 2017-18 and 2018-19:^{Note Reference [16]}

Undergraduate certificate-holders took out a median of roughly $10,000.
Associate degree-holders took out a median of about $14,000 in student loan debt.
Bachelor’s degree-holders borrowed a median of nearly $24,000.
Master’s degree-holders borrowed a median of almost $43,000.
Doctoral degree-holders borrowed a median of about $81,000.
Professional degree-holders, such as those with law or medical school debt, borrowed a median of over $168,000.

Student Loan Debt by School Type

In March 2024:^{Note Reference [1]}

25.2 million student loan debt borrowers had attended public colleges.
13.7 million had attended private nonprofit colleges.
12 million had attended private for-profit colleges.

People who went to private colleges were more likely to have borrowed for their education than those who attended public colleges.^{Note Reference [4]}

40% of public college attendees took on student loan debt.
57% of private nonprofit college attendees borrowed.
63% of private for-profit college attendees borrowed.

Graduates of for-profit colleges are more likely to have higher debt. Half of graduates (50.7%) of private for-profit schools borrowed $40,000 or more for school.^{Note Reference [7]}

References

Federal Student Loan Portfolio. Federal Student Aid, an Office of the U.S. Department of Education. May 2024. (back to footnote 1 in content ⤶)
Table 331.95. Percentage of undergraduate degree/certificate completers who ever received federal loans and parent PLUS loans and average cumulative loan amount, by degree level, selected student characteristics, and institution control: Selected academic years, 1999-2000 through 2019-20. NCES. December 2023. (back to footnote 2 in content ⤶)
Federal Reserve Statistical Release: Consumer Credit, The Federal Reserve. May 2024. (back to footnote 3 in content ⤶)
Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2023, The Federal Reserve. May 2024. (back to footnote 4 in content ⤶)
Table: Cumulative amount of federal loans, 12 months after BA completion (median) with zeros by Gender, as of B&B:16/17 interview. National Center for Education Statistics. Baccalaureate and Beyond 2016/17. Accessed January 2024. (back to footnote 5 in content ⤶)
Survey of Consumer Finances, 1989-2033. The Federal Reserve. November 2023. (back to footnote 6 in content ⤶)
Table: Cumulative amount borrowed for undergrad by NPSAS institution control. National Center for Education Statistics. Baccalaureate and Beyond 2016/17. Accessed January 2024. (back to footnote 7 in content ⤶)
Earnings and unemployment rates by education attainment, 2022. Bureau of Labor Statistics. September 2023. (back to footnote 8 in content ⤶)
Table 330.10. Average undergraduate tuition, fees, room, and board rates charged for full-time students in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, by level and control of institution: Selected years, 1963-64 through 2022-2023. National Center for Education Statistics. December 2023. (back to footnote 9 in content ⤶)
Calculated using data from Federal Reserve Statistical Release: Consumer Credit and the Federal Student Loan Portfolio. (back to footnote 10 in content ⤶)
Household Debit and Credit Report, Center for Microeconomic Data, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Q1 2024. (back to footnote 11 in content ⤶)
Table 331.20. Full-time, first-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students enrolled in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, by participation and average amount awarded in financial aid programs, and control and level of institution: 2000-01 through 2021-22. NCES. November 2023. (back to footnote 12 in content ⤶)
Federal Interest Rates and Fees, Federal Student Aid, an Office of the U.S. Department of Education. November 2022. (back to footnote 13 in content ⤶)
Student Debt and the Class of 2020 (PDF), The Institute for College Access and Success. November 2021. (back to footnote 14 in content ⤶)
Houle, Jason N., Addo, Fenaba R., Racial Disparities in Student Debt and the Reproduction of the Fragile Black Middle Class, Sociology of Race and Ethnicity. August 2018. (back to footnote 15 in content ⤶)
Gillen, A, College Student Loan Debt 2022 (PDF), Texas Public Policy Foundation. April 2022. (back to footnote 16 in content ⤶)