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States With the Most Student Loan Debt

December 4, 2020August 23, 2021 Vince Tabarracci 8 min read

Since 2012, student loans have had the highest delinquency rate of any form of consumer debt. And while recent data from the New York Fed suggests that student loan delinquency rates have declined during COVID-19 pandemic, this data actually reflects the effect of government forbearance programs. While a large share of student loans are currently in forbearance due to COVID-19 aid programs, students-many of whom might struggle to find work in a depressed economy-will be put in a precarious situation when aid programs end. How the new administration tackles the student loan crisis will be critical for many degree holders struggling to make their payments.

Chart1 Student loans had highest delinquency rates prior to COVID 19

While forbearance programs keep the rate of delinquencies and the burden of student loan debt suppressed in the short term, the longer term trend shows that student loan debt has been rising steadily. Since 2005, while total household debt rose 56 percent, student loan debt grew by more than 330 percent-reaching a staggering $1.5 trillion in the third quarter of 2019. Apart from mortgages, student loans are now the largest source of consumer debt, accounting for 35 percent of non-mortgage household debt.

Chart2 Student loan debt has grown to nearly 35 of all non mortgage debt

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Making the situation more challenging for borrowers with student loan debt, these loans can be extremely difficult to discharge, even after filing for bankruptcy. While discharging this type of debt can be challenging, it is not impossible, and student loan debt forgiveness is a growing topic of discussion in Congress and within the Biden administration.

To find where students have been most impacted by the growing student debt problem, researchers at Smartest Dollar ranked states based on the average student loan debt per borrower using data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Consumer Credit Panel. Researchers chose to use 2019 data (instead of 2020 data) since reporting changes in 2020 stemming from COVID-19 forbearance programs resulted in substantial drops in delinquency rates that were not the result of individuals paying off their loans. As a result, the 2019 data better reflects the actual state of student loan delinquency rates.

The analysis found that borrowers in coastal states tend to have the most student loan debt. While borrowers in California and Oregon have average student loan debts above $35,000, those in the South and East Coast states like Maryland, New York, Georgia, and Virginia have even higher debt burdens.

Chart3 East Coast residents tend to have more student loan debt

Here are the states with the most student loan debt per borrower:

States with the greatest student loan debt per borrower

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

15. Colorado

Average student loan debt per borrower: $34,800
Share of borrowers 90+ days delinquent: 13.0%
Total number of borrowers: 824,300
Total number of college graduates: 1,768,000
Total student loan debt (billions): $28.7

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Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

14. Delaware

Average student loan debt per borrower: $35,000
Share of borrowers 90+ days delinquent: 14.1%
Total number of borrowers: 132,900
Total number of college graduates: 236,461
Total student loan debt (billions): $4.7

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

13. North Carolina

Average student loan debt per borrower: $35,000
Share of borrowers 90+ days delinquent: 16.3%
Total number of borrowers: 1,337,200
Total number of college graduates: 2,429,699
Total student loan debt (billions): $46.8

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

12. New Jersey

Average student loan debt per borrower: $35,000
Share of borrowers 90+ days delinquent: 12.2%
Total number of borrowers: 1,366,000
Total number of college graduates: 2,692,344
Total student loan debt (billions): $47.8

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

11. Mississippi

Average student loan debt per borrower: $35,200
Share of borrowers 90+ days delinquent: 22.1%
Total number of borrowers: 417,900
Total number of college graduates: 462,014
Total student loan debt (billions): $14.7

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

10. South Carolina

Average student loan debt per borrower: $35,500
Share of borrowers 90+ days delinquent: 18.7%
Total number of borrowers: 738,600
Total number of college graduates: 1,099,135
Total student loan debt (billions): $26.2

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

9. Oregon

Average student loan debt per borrower: $35,600
Share of borrowers 90+ days delinquent: 15.2%
Total number of borrowers: 569,800
Total number of college graduates: 1,071,504
Total student loan debt (billions): $20.3

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

8. Alabama

Average student loan debt per borrower: $35,600
Share of borrowers 90+ days delinquent: 19.1%
Total number of borrowers: 606,700
Total number of college graduates: 920,353
Total student loan debt (billions): $21.6

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

7. California

Average student loan debt per borrower: $35,600
Share of borrowers 90+ days delinquent: 14.1%
Total number of borrowers: 4,115,000
Total number of college graduates: 9,855,894
Total student loan debt (billions): $146.5

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

6. Illinois

Average student loan debt per borrower: $35,900
Share of borrowers 90+ days delinquent: 12.8%
Total number of borrowers: 1,757,500
Total number of college graduates: 3,280,283
Total student loan debt (billions): $63.1

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

5. New York

Average student loan debt per borrower: $36,200
Share of borrowers 90+ days delinquent: 11.1%
Total number of borrowers: 2,710,400
Total number of college graduates: 5,490,898
Total student loan debt (billions): $98.1

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

4. Virginia

Average student loan debt per borrower: $36,600
Share of borrowers 90+ days delinquent: 13.3%
Total number of borrowers: 1,176,400
Total number of college graduates: 2,430,864
Total student loan debt (billions): $43.1

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

3. Florida

Average student loan debt per borrower: $36,700
Share of borrowers 90+ days delinquent: 17.3%
Total number of borrowers: 2,617,700
Total number of college graduates: 4,941,169
Total student loan debt (billions): $96.1

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

2. Georgia

Average student loan debt per borrower: $39,700
Share of borrowers 90+ days delinquent: 18.2%
Total number of borrowers: 1,603,900
Total number of college graduates: 2,404,931
Total student loan debt (billions): $63.7

Photo Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

1. Maryland

Average student loan debt per borrower: $41,000
Share of borrowers 90+ days delinquent: 14.1%
Total number of borrowers: 887,400
Total number of college graduates: 1,795,205
Total student loan debt (billions): $36.4

Methodology & detailed findings

The student loan debt data used in this study is from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Consumer Credit Panel. Researchers chose to use 2019 data (instead of 2020 data) since reporting changes in 2020 stemming from COVID-19 forbearance programs resulted in substantial drops in delinquency rates that were not the result of individuals paying off their loans. As a result, it was determined that the 2019 numbers better reflected the actual state of student loan delinquency rates.

States were ordered based on the average student loan debt per borrower. In the event of a tie, the state with the greater amount of total student loan debt was ranked higher. Data on the number of college graduates by state is from the 2019 American Community Survey.

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Vince Tabarracci

Vince Tabarracci is a tax accountant who graduated from University of California, Santa Barbara. He has a passion for teaching people skills in personal finance and investing.