Complete Total Student Loan Debt Outstanding 2024
Complete Total Student Loan Debt Outstanding 2024
Based on the government Reserve’s most recent quarterly calculation, student loan debtors in the US owe an outstanding amount of a total of $1.77 trillion in government and private student loan debt as of 2024.
Presently, almost 50% of students graduate from college in debt. Over the past 30 years, college costs have risen substantially.
Over that period, tuition at public four-year universities increased from $4,160 to $10,740, while tuition at private nonprofit institutions increased from $19,360 to $38,070 (inflation-adjusted).
The need for student loans and other forms of financial aid has increased along with expenditures. The Biden administration attempted to reduce that sum by an estimated $430 billion, but the Supreme Court halted the president’s student loan forgiveness scheme in late June.
This was shattering news for borrowers who’d previously been authorized for up to $20,000 in student loan relief. Furthermore, federal student loan repayments will resume in October following a hiatus since March 2020.
Important Data about Student Loan Outstanding Debt
According to census data, around 43 million Americans have outstanding federal student loan debt, accounting for roughly 13% of the US population. Borrowers aged 35 to 49 have the largest college debt, on average.
(1)
Americans owe $1.77 trillion in government and private student loans as of the second quarter of 2023. That is up 1.25% from the second quarter of 2022. Private student loan debt accounts for $128.77 billion of the total through March 31, 2023.
(2)
Students and parents loaned an outstanding estimated $94.7 billion during the 2021-22 academic year. This included 46% federal unsubsidized loans, 16% federal subsidized loans, 13% Grad PLUS loans, 13% private or other non-federal loans, and 11% Parent PLUS loans.
(3)
54% of bachelor’s degree recipients from four-year public and private nonprofit universities in 2021 owed money on their loans. They graduated with an average of $29,100 in federal and private student loan debt.
Graduates from private nonprofits owed $33,000, but those from public colleges owed $27,400. Private school graduates were marginally more likely to graduate with debt than public school graduates (55% against 53%).
(4)
As of the second quarter of fiscal year 2022, 45.3 million borrowers owed federal student debt. That’s a little decrease from 45.4 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2021.
(5)
As of the second quarter of 2023, 0.63% of student loans were 90 days or more behind in payments. That’s down from 4.55% in Q2 2022 and 10.75% in Q1 2020 when the COVID-19 epidemic began.
Check Out How U.S Student Loan Debt Became A $1.7 Trillion Problem From a YouTube Video Below:
Federal Student Loan Debt Outstanding Statistics
Federal Student Loan Debt Outstanding Statistics by Loan Program
| Loan program | outstanding | Recipients |
|---|---|---|
| Direct loans | $1,446.0 billion | 38.3 million borrowers |
| FFEL loans | $194.7 billion | 8.7 million borrowers |
| Perkins loans | $3.7 billion | 1.2 million borrowers |
| Total (all federal) | $1,644.5 billion | 43.6 million unduplicated borrowers |
Federal Student Loan Debt Outstanding Statistics by Loan Status
| Loan status | outstanding | Recipients |
|---|---|---|
| Loans in repayment | $10.1 billion | 0.3 million borrowers |
| Loans in deferment | $113.8 billion | 3.1 million borrowers |
| Loans in forbearance | $1,082.2 billion | 26.7 million borrowers |
| Loans in default | $101.4 billion | 4.6 million borrowers |
| Loans in the grace period | $18.4 billion | 1.0 million borrowers |
Federal Student Loan Debt Outstanding Statistics by Loan Debt
| Loan debt | outstanding | Recipients |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford subsidized | $296.2 billion | 30.3 million borrowers |
| Stafford unsubsidized | $584.9 billion | 30.7 million borrowers |
| Stafford combined | $881.1 billion | 34.9 million unique recipients |
| Grad PLUS | $100.7 billion | 1.7 million borrowers |
| Parent PLUS | $111.7 billion | 3.7 million borrowers |
| Perkins | $3.7 billion | 1.2 million borrowers |
| Consolidation | $547.3 billion | 10.7 million borrowers |
Federal Student Loan Debt Outstanding Statistics by Repayment Plan
| Repayment plan | outstanding | Recipients |
|---|---|---|
| Level repayment plan (10 years or less) | $211.2 billion | 10.7 million borrowers |
| Level repayment plan (greater than 10 years) | $77.3 billion | 1.8 million borrowers |
| Graduated repayment plan (10 years or less) | $84.8 billion | 2.9 million borrowers |
| Graduated repayment plan (greater than 10 years) | $15.7 billion | 0.3 million borrowers |
| Income-contingent (ICR) | $39.0 billion | 0.8 million borrowers |
| Income-based (IBR) | $162.9 billion | 2.6 million borrowers |
| Pay As You Earn (PAYE) | $113.5 billion | 1.5 million borrowers |
| Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) | $197.1 billion | 3.3 million borrowers |
| Alternative | $44.2 billion | 1.3 million borrowers |
Private Student Loan Debt Outstanding Statistics
- $131 billion in outstanding private student loan debt.
- Private student loans account for only 7.6% of total school debt.
- 89% of private loans are owed for undergraduate degrees, with 11% owed for graduate education.
- 92% of undergraduate private loans are co-signed, and 66% of graduate private loans require a cosigner.
- Almost all private loans (99.9%) require school certification, a process by which the school certifies the borrower’s student status and the cost of attendance.
1. Americans owe private student lenders an estimated $128.77 billion by the first quarter of 2023. This accounts for around 7.3% of all outstanding federal and private student loan debt.
2. Citizens Bank, Discover Bank, Navient, PNC Bank, Sallie Mae Bank, SoFi, College Ave Student Loans, Navy Federal Credit Union, and six Education Finance Council members account for $58.48 billion of the $128.77 billion total.
3. Undergraduate loans account for 88.93%, while graduate loans account for 11.07% of the outstanding total held by the 14 donors.
4. As of the end of the first quarter of 2023, 76.3% of those donors’ private student loans were in repayment, 19.3% were deferred, 3.0% were in a grace period, and 1.4% were in forbearance.
5. In the first quarter of 2023, 1.44% of private student loans were 90 days or more late, up from 1.30% the previous year.
6. During the 2022-23 academic year, 90.30% of undergraduates and 65.42% of graduates cosigned private loans.
Average Student Loan Debt Outstanding Statistics
According to the latest College Board data, 54% of bachelor’s degree recipients graduated with student debt in 2020-21. The average student debt burden for these graduates was $29,100.
According to the 2023 household debt survey, the typical U.S. household owes $55,347 in college debt.
Average student loan debt by type:
|
Debt type |
Average debt |
|---|---|
|
Bachelor’s degree debt |
$29,100 |
|
Graduate school loan debt |
$77,300 |
|
Parent PLUS loan debt |
$29,526 |
|
Law school debt |
$132,740 |
|
MBA student debt |
$51,850 |
|
Medical school debt |
$206,924 |
|
Dental school debt |
$293,900 |
|
Pharmacy school loan debt |
$167,711 |
|
Nursing school student debt |
$40,000 – $54,999 |
|
Veterinary school debt |
$147,258 |
Full breakdown by age group:
|
Age group |
Total outstanding debt |
Number of borrowers |
Average debt per borrower |
|---|---|---|---|
|
24 and younger |
$100 billion |
7.1 million |
$14,085 |
|
25-34 |
$491.4 billion |
15 million |
$32,760 |
|
35-49 |
$624.4 billion |
14.6 million |
$42,767 |
|
50-61 |
$278.5 billion |
6.3 million |
$44,206 |
|
62 and older |
$109.8 billion |
2.7 million |
$40,666 |
According to the American Association of University Women’s 2021 data study, women borrow an average of $31,276, while males borrow an average of $29,270.
Black women have a disproportionate quantity of school debt. According to an April 2022 report by The Education Trust, they have 43% more undergraduate debt and roughly 99% more graduate school debt than their white female colleagues 12 months after graduation.
Statistics On Student Loan Outstanding Debt Relief
(a) 55% of Americans support canceling up to $10,000 per borrower in federal student loans, while 47% support canceling up to $50,000 per borrower.
(b) 34% of student borrowers owe $10,000 or less in federal debt, with 79% owing $40,000 or less.
(c) 31% of Americans are opposed to student loan debt forgiveness.
(d) 78% of those identifying as “liberal” support student loan relief.
(e) Among those who identify as “conservative,” 39% support student loan forgiveness.
(f) Those who strongly favor up to $10,000 in student loan forgiveness are 20% more likely to be women than men.
(g) 56.0% of those who strongly support student loan forgiveness earn less than $50,000 per year, while 14.3% make more than $100,000.
(h) In May 2020, 9% of borrowers who attended public colleges fell behind on their student loan payments.
(i) 7% of borrowers who attended private, nonprofit universities and 24% of borrowers who attended private, for-profit colleges fell behind on their loan payments.
(j) By July, 11.2% of persons with student loan debt had reported being unable to make at least one payment for the year.
(k) In early 2020, 75.3% of private student loans were in repayment, with 20% in deferment.
(l) While many private lenders allowed payment suspensions for up to three months, few (if any) delayed interest.
FAQs
What is the total student loan debt owed?
As of September 2023, the United States’ student loan debt was $1.74 trillion.
How is student loan debt calculated?
Student loan installments, like other loan payments, are calculated depending on the specifics of your loan. This contains the loan repayment period, the interest rate, and the total amount borrowed. The greater your interest rate and debt, the larger your monthly payment will be.
Does the amount of student loan debt exceed credit card debt in the US?
The average student loan debt is $36,720. The typical student loan is over 4.1 times greater than the average credit card debt. Credit cards frequently carry interest rates of more than 20%.
What is the average time to pay off the student loan debt?
20 years. The average student borrower takes 20 years to repay their student loan debt. Some professional graduates take more than 45 years to repay their education loans. In the first five years of their loan, 21% of borrowers experience a rise in their total student loan debt.
Is student loan debt?
Yes. Loans are available from both private and federal sources. Tuition, textbooks, other fees, and room & board can all be paid for with debt. The first federal student loan payments after the COVID-19 epidemic are due on October 1, 2023.
