45 Million Americans are Burden by Student Loan Debt in the U.S.

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About 45 million Americans have student loans, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Education. That means nearly one in five (17.4%) adults in the United States carry student loan debt, per an analysis of census data.

Total outstanding student loan debt is $1.76 trillion, according to third quarter of 2022 data from the federal government. Private student loan debt comprises around 7.89% of that total, or around $131.1 billion, according to 2021 data from MeasureOne, a higher education data and analytics firm. Here are some key stats about the 45 million Americans with student debt:

Who is the typical student loan borrower?

A typical student loan borrower, statistically, has left school with nearly $30,000 in debt. The average among the class of 2020 was $28,400, according to College Board. About 25% went to graduate school, according to the Brookings Institution; the rest sought associate or bachelor’s degrees.

In general, women borrow more for college compared with men, and Black students borrow more compared with all other races and ethnicities.

Student debt is most common in the 25-to-34 age group, but the greatest amount of debt is owed by those 35 to 49 — more than $600 billion in undergraduate, graduate and parent loans, as well as payments stretched out by forbearance or income-driven repayment plans.