Student loan debt in 2021 is now around $ 1.7 trillion.

The latest student loan debt statistics for 2021 show that there are 45 million borrowers who collectively owe nearly $ 1.7 trillion in student loan debt in the United States. credit cards and auto loans.

The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted student loans. President Joe Biden break in federal student loan payments for eight months until September 30, 2021. This placed millions of borrowers on temporary student loan forbearance, impacting student loan debt statistics. Congress and the White House are fighting to cancel student loans. Some progressive democrats plans to write off $ 50,000 in student loan debt, while Biden wants $ 10,000 student loan cancellation. Biden said he will not cancel $ 50,000 in student loans by decree.

If you are a student borrower, the following student debt statistics can help you make more informed decisions about student loan refinancing, pay off student loans faster and student loan forgiveness.

Student loan statistics: overview

Total student loan debt: $ 1.71 trillion

Total US borrowers with student loan debt: 45 million

Average student debt: $ 37,693

Average federal student loan debt: $ 36,510

Student loan default rate: 11.1% (over 90 days past due)

Direct loans – Accumulation in default: $ 122.2 billion (5.5 million borrowers)

Direct loan in forbearance: $ 887.4 billion borrowers (22.2 million borrowers)

(Source: Federal Reserve, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Educationdata.org, Federal Student Aid)

Public service loan forgiveness statistics

As of November 30, 2020, here are the latest statistics on public service student loan debt:

Cumulative borrowers from the civil service loan forgiveness: 1,378,000

Borrowers who have submitted applications: 227,382

Total number of applications: 296,340

Number of approved applications: 6,493

Number of refused requests: 263 118

% of requests refused due to ineligible payments: 56%

% of requests refused due to missing information: 26%

Borrowers who have benefited from a student loan discount: 3,776

Total amount remitted: $ 290.4 million

Average canceled student loan balance: $ 76,906

(Source: US Department of Education)

States with the most student loan debt

It’s no surprise that the most populous states have higher overall student loan debt. California, Florida, Texas, and New York are among the top four states for total federal student debt outstanding among borrowers.

California, Florida, Texas and New York make up nearly 30% of all US student borrowers. Collectively, borrowers in these states owe more than $ 440 billion in student loan debt.

States with High Student Debt and States with Low Student Debt

New Hampshire has the highest average student debt per student ($ 39,410) in the Class of 2019.

Utah has the lowest average student loan debt per student ($ 17,935) in the Class of 2019.

Student loan debt by state

The following states have the highest average student debt per borrower:

1. Washington DC: $ 52,983

2. Maryland: $ 42,592

3. Georgia: $ 41,256

4. Virginia: $ 38,903

5. Florida: $ 38,160

(Source: Educationdata.org)

Breakdown of student loan borrowers by balance

Over 44 million student loan borrowers have student loan debt of $ 100,000 or less. Over 38 million student loan borrowers have debt of $ 60,000 or less.

Over 3.0 million student loan borrowers have student loan debts greater than $ 100,000, of which approximately 900,000 have student loan debts greater than $ 200,000.

The largest concentration of student loan debt is $ 20,000 to $ 40,000, which represents 9.6 million student loan borrowers.

Number of student loan borrowers by age group

According to the federal student loan portfolio, the largest concentration of student loan borrowers is 25 to 34 year olds, followed by 35 to 49 year olds. There are 22.6 million student loan borrowers under the age of 34, this group making up about half of all student loan borrowers. Surprisingly, there are 2.3 million borrowers aged 62 or older who collectively owe $ 86.8 billion.

Here is the breakdown of student loan borrowers by age:

$ 115.5 billion (7.8 million borrowers)

25 – 34: $ 500.5 billion (14.8 million borrowers)

35 – 49: $ 601.7 billion (14.2 million borrowers)

50 – 61: $ 262.2 billion (6.2 million borrowers)

> 62: $ 86.8 billion (2.3 million borrowers)

Student loan debt owed by the student loan program

There are 36 million student borrowers who hold approximately $ 1.3 billion in direct loans. About 11.0 million student loan borrowers hold $ 246 billion in Federal Family Education Loans (FFELs).

Direct loans: $ 1,315.2 billion (35.9 million borrowers)

Federal loans for family education (FFEL): $ 245.9 billion (11.0 million borrowers)

Perkins Loans: $ 5.2 billion (1.7 million borrowers)

TOTAL: $ 1,566.3 billion

Unpaid student loan debt by type of student loan

Subsidized Stafford: $ 285.7 billion (29.6 million borrowers)

Unsubsidized Stafford: $ 539.8 billion (29.2 million borrowers)

Stafford combined: $ 825.5 billion (33.4 million unique borrowers)

PLUS graduate: $ 82.8 billion (1.5 million borrowers)

Parent PLUS: $ 100.8 billion (3.6 million borrowers)

Perkins: $ 5.2 billion (1.7 million borrowers)

Consolidation: $ 552.1 billion (11.5 million borrowers)

Student Loan Debt Statistics by Loan Status for Direct Loans

About $ 887 billion in direct loans out of 22.2 million student loan borrowers are withholding from student loans due to the Covid-19 pandemic. About 8.7 million student loan borrowers are in deferral or default.

Student loans at school: $ 124.8 billion (6.7 million borrowers)

Student loans in repayment: $ 14.7 billion (0.4 million borrowers)

Deferred student loans: $ 114.4 billion (3.2 million borrowers)

Student loans withheld: $ 887.4 billion borrowers (22.2 million borrowers)

Student loans in default: $ 122.2 billion (5.5 million borrowers)

Student loans during grace period: 43.7 billion borrowers (1.7 million borrowers)

Student Loan Debt Statistics by Repayment Plan for Direct Loans

There are 10.7 million borrowers with $ 202.6 billion in student loan debt in the Level Student Loan Repayment Plan (student loan repayment in 10 years or less), which is the largest concentration of borrowers in the repayment of student loans.

The second most concentrated group of borrowers is enrolled in the Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) program with $ 191.6 billion and 3.2 million borrowers.

Level repayment plan ( $ 202.6 billion (10.7 million borrowers)

Level repayment plan (> 10 years): $ 78.4 billion (1.7 million borrowers)

Progressive repayment plan ( $ 93.4 billion (3.2 million borrowers)

Progressive repayment plan (> 10 years): $ 17.4 billion (0.4 million borrowers)

Income-Based Reimbursement Scheme (ICR): $ 36.0 billion (0.8 million borrowers)

Income Based Reimbursement Scheme (IBR): $ 173.0 billion (2.8 million borrowers)

Pay As You Earn Plan (PAYE): $ 108.9 billion (1.5 million borrowers)

Revised As You Earn (REPAYED) Compensation Plan: $ 191.6 billion (3.2 million borrowers)

(Source: NSDLS)

Student Loan Manager by Loan Status

For Direct Loans and FFEL Loans held by the US Department of Education, here is the breakdown of these selected student loan services:

Other important statistics on student loan debt

In addition, there are several other statistics regarding the state of student loan debt:

• Almost seven in ten (65%) seniors who graduated from public and private non-profit colleges in 2018 had student loan debt.
• There are approximately 2.4 million borrowers who have private student loans.
• The average student loan debt at public colleges and universities is $ 30,030 (based on the average amount borrowed to earn a bachelor’s degree).
• The average student loan debt at private non-profit colleges and universities is $ 33,900 (based on the average amount borrowed to earn a bachelor’s degree).
• The average student loan debt at for-profit colleges and universities is $ 43,900 (based on the average amount borrowed to earn a bachelor’s degree).
• Almost half (47%) of private loan borrowers have borrowed less than they could have in Federal Stafford loans for college.
• 17.7% of student borrowers are under 25.
• 68.6% of student borrowers are between 25 and 50 years old.

(Data source includes: Institute For College Access and Success, National Student Loan Data System, US Department of Education, Educationdata.org, Enterprise Data Warehouse, Mark Kantrowitz, Federal Student Aid, and FedLoan Servicing).