How Many People Currently Have Student Loan Debt?

Attending college has become almost synonymous with taking on student debt. It’s no wonder why the majority of current students say affordability was one of the biggest factors in their college decision — or that only one-third of students say college is worth the cost.

Even though the number of student loan borrowers has decreased slowly in the past couple of years, roughly 16.4% of all U.S. adults owe federal student loan debt.^{Note Reference [1],Note Reference [2]}

This report breaks down how many people have student loans in the country and by state, demographic, and debt size.

At the end of 2024, 42.7 million people in the U.S. had federal student loan debt.1 That’s a slight decrease from the previous year when 43.2 million people owed federal student debt.

Federal Student Aid, an office of the Department of Education, has recorded student loan debt data since 2007. According to the office, the number of student loan borrowers grew the most from 2008-2012, around the Great Recession. The number of student loan borrowers has generally decreased since 2022.

In general, larger states tend to have more student loan debt borrowers. However, Georgia, Maryland, and Mississippi have the highest student loan debt per capita.

At the end of 2024:

Over the years, student loan borrowers have gotten older. The number of people with student loan debt aged 35 and older has increased, while the number of student loan borrowers under 35 has decreased.

Federal Student Aid does not track the race and ethnicity of student loan debt borrowers. However, according to data collected by the Federal Reserve, student debt levels vary by race.

In 2022, 36% of Black adults in the U.S., 20% of white adults, and 15% of Hispanic adults had student loan debt.^{Note Reference [3]}

According to U.S. Census population estimates, that means 33 million white adults, 11.1 million Black adults, and 6.7 million Hispanic adults have student loan debt.^{Note Reference [3],[4]}

Over the years, the number of people with large student loan debts (balances between $40,000 and $80,000) and very large debts (over $80,000) has grown. Meanwhile, the number of people with smaller debt amounts has decreased. In 2024:^{Note Reference [1]}

For years, the government has offered income-driven repayment (IDR) plans for federal student loan borrowers. On an IDR plan, borrowers owe monthly payments based on a percentage of their discretionary income.

At the end of 2024, before the removal of the online application for IDR plans, the following number of borrowers were enrolled in these repayment plans.^{Note Reference [1]}