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There are over 43.6 million student loan borrowers who have a total of $1.766 trillion in student loan debt. Here is the average student loan debt level by state.

While average balances across the United States range, Washington DC has the highest average student loan debt, while North Dakota has the lowest average student loan debt.

Here's a breakdown of average student loan debt by state in 2024.

Brief information about the federal student loan

The following descriptive statistics reflect the state of student loan borrowers in the United States through the second quarter of 2023. However, the delinquency dates in the table below are likely distorted due to the resumption of repayment.

  • Number of borrowers: 43.6 million
  • Average debt level: $18,767
  • Average student debt: $37,718
  • Number of borrowers with delinquent or defaulted loans: 3.3 million (7.5% of all borrowers)
  • Number of borrowers whose debts decreased in 2021: 11.5 million (26.6% of all borrowers)
  • Percentage of student loan borrowers who have repaid their debt: 49%
  • Estimated number of borrowers eligible for loan forgiveness: 38.6 million

Note that average student loan payment dates are skewed due to the pandemic and the suspension of all federal student loan payments. Here you can see the average student loan payment to date and the average student loan debt after class completion.

Although debt continues to rise, some student loan borrowers are seeing their debt loads decline. Almost half (49%) of all borrowers who took out loans to finance their education have repaid the loans in full.

Among the current borrowers are 31.4% saw their debt burden decrease in 2023.

Quick Facts on Student Loans by State

While national debt statistics paint a troubling picture, the actual debt burden varies significantly from state to state and is on the order of about $30,000.

While California is expected to have the most borrowers, it is interesting to see some of the other data.

  • Most borrowers: California (3.8 million)
  • Fewest borrowers: Wyoming (54,400)
  • Lowest Average Balance: North Dakota ($28,604)
  • Highest average balance: Maryland ($42,861)*

*Washington DC is more of a district than a state, but its average student loan balance is a whopping $54,945.

Student loan debt by state in 2024

Breakdown of Student Loan Debt by State

Below is a breakdown of student loan debt situations by state.

Daniel Mangrum, Joelle Scally, and Crystal Wang, “Three Key Facts from the Center for Microeconomic Data’s 2022 Student Loan Update,” Federal Reserve Bank of New York Liberty Street Economics, August 9, 2022, https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org /2022/08/three-key-facts-from-the-center-for-microeconomic-data-2022-student-loan-update.

“Economic Wellbeing of U.S. Households in 2020 – May 2021,” Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, October 7, 2022, https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/2021-economic-well-being-of -us- households-in-2020-student-loans.htm

The United States Government. (2022, September 20). “Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris Administration Plan for Student Debt Relief Could Benefit Tens of Millions of Borrowers Across All Fifty States.” October 7, 2022, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/09/20/fact-sheet-the-biden-harris-administrations-plan-for-student-debt-relief-could-benefit- Tens of millions of borrowers in all fifty states/

Education Data Initiative, “Student Loan Debt By State,” April 3, 2022. https://educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-by-state

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