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Student Loans

Average Student Loan Debt Statistics

01/07/2020

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It’s no secret that student loans are a hot topic in the United States nowadays. They are mentioned in the news, both in a positive and negative light, almost every day.

With all of this news circulating around, it’s natural to become curious about the numbers behind student loan debt.

This page takes a look at key student loan statistics and serves as a directory of other pages where you can find more information.

On this page:

Average Student Loan Debt Statistics

  • $1.61 trillion: the total amount of outstanding student loan debt (source)
  • 44.5 million: the total number of student loan borrowers (source)
  • $28,565: the average student loan debt per borrower from the Class of 2018 (source)
  • $16,649: the average student loan debt per graduate from the Class of 2018 (source)
  • 57%: the percentage of graduates from the Class of 2018 with student debt (source)
  • 10.9%: the percentage of student debt that is 90+ days delinquent or in default (source)
  • $393: the average monthly student loan payment for borrowers with loans not in delinquency or default (source)
  • $222: the median monthly student loan payment for borrowers with loans not in delinquency or default (source)

Federal Student Loans Statistics

By Loan Status (as of March 2019)

Status# BorrowersTotal Amount
In-School7.06 million$138.2 billion
Grace Period1.29 million$23.9 billion
Repayment20.18 million$708.4 billion
Deferment3.87 million$132.5 billion
Forbearance2.80 million$126.0 billion
Other0.19 million$9.1 billion

By Loan Type (as of March 2019)

Loan Type# BorrowersTotal Amount
Stafford Unsubsidized28.7 million$503.5 billion
Stafford Subsidized29.5 million$280.0 billion
Parent PLUS3.5 million$93.9 billion
Grad PLUS1.3 million$70.7 billion
Perkins2.2 million$6.6 billion
Consolidation11.8 million$521.8 billion

By ​Repayment Plan (as of March 2019)

Repayment Plan# BorrowersTotal Amount
Standard14.2 million$309.7 billion
Graduated3.7 million$111.0 billion
Income-Contingent700 thousand$31.9 billion
Income-Based3.6 million$194.0 billion
Pay As You Earn1.3 million$89.8 billion
Revised PAYE2.7 million$153.1 billion
Alternative1.2 million$33.2 billion
OtherN/A$37.1 billion

By Debt Size (as of March 2019)

Debt Size# BorrowersTotal Amount
<$5K7.9 million$20.2 billion
$5k – $10k7.7 million$55.7 billion
$10k – $20k9.4 million$136.2 billion
$20k – $40k9.5 million$270.0 billion
$40k – $60k4.1 million$201.4 billion
$60k – $80k2.5 million$171.2 billion
$80k – $100k1.3 million$113.5 billion
$100k – $200k2.1 million$290.4 billion
>$200k800 thousand$222.3 billion

By Borrower Age (as of March 2019)

Age# BorrowersTotal Amount
24 or Younger8.13 million$124.6 billion
25 – 3415.12 million$497.6 billion
35 – 4914.07 million$557.6 billion
50 – 615.91 million$230.4 billion
62+2.0 million$70.44 billion

Source: Federal Student Aid site

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Statistics (as of September 2018)

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program discharges the debt of borrowers who work in the public sector after 120 monthly payments are made.

Here are some statistics about the program:

  • 1,173,420: Borrowers who requested to certify their loans and employment as eligible for PSLF
  • 890,516: Borrowers who had their employment and loans certified as eligible for
  • 19,321: Borrowers who submitted a loan forgiveness application under PSLF
  • 55: Borrowers who were approved for forgiveness under PSLF

Source: United States Government Accountability Office

What Congress Thinks About Student Debt

In February 2017, LendEDU analyzed what members of Congress thought about various issues related to paying for college including federal student loans, federal student loan refinancing, Pell Grants, tax benefits, and more. For each issue, we found what overall proportion of congressmen supported legislation and also broke it down on by party.

Click below to view the PDF of the study to learn more about what congressmen around the nation think about these issues.

Open PDF

Private Student Loan Statistics

  • $123.14 billion: the total amount of private student loan debt (source)
  • 7.71%: the percentage of total outstanding student debt that is from private student loans (source)
  • $13,780: the average private student loan amount (source)
  • 8.86%: the average interest rate on private student loans (source)
    • 8.81%: average variable rate
    • 9.97%: average fixed rate
  • 21.04%: the average approval rate for all private student loan applications (source)
    • 40.51%: average approval rate with a cosigner
    • 8.66%: average approval rate without a cosigner
  • 737: the average credit score of approved private student loan applicants (source)
  • $72,947: the average income of approved private student loan applicants (source)
  • 2.48%: percent of private student loans that are 30 to 89 days past due (source)
  • 1.50%: percent of private student loans that are 90+ days past due (source)
  • Over 100: the number of private student loan lenders

Graduate Student Loan Statistics

  • Average Graduate School Debt: $57,600* (source)
  • Average Medical School Debt: $196,520** (source)
  • Average Law School Debt: $48,000 to $340,000** (source)
  • Average Dental School Debt: $285,184* (source)
  • Average Vet School Debt: $143,757* (source)
  • Average Pharmacy School Debt: $166,528** (source)

*Cumulative undergraduate & graduate debt.

**Graduate debt only.

More Student Loan Debt Statistics Articles

Student Loan Debt Studies

Author: Dave Rathmanner

Dave Rathmanner, a graduate of the University of Delaware, regularly plans and writes content about student loans, personal loans, credit cards, small business loans, mortgages, and a variety of other financial products. Dave’s work has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, Bloomberg, Forbes, CNBC, U.S. News, International Business Times, Consumer Reports, VICE, Yahoo Finance, NPR, and more.