What is the average student loan debt amount?

With college costs increasing year after year, so has the amount of student loans people borrow.  As of 2023, the average borrower owes about $28,950 in student loans and more than half of students leave school with debt. About 92% of all student debt is from federal loans and the rest is private loans.

According to a Forbes report, the total student loan debt – combining both federal and private loans – in the United States amounts to $1.75 trillion.

• Student loan debt by state

Utah has the lowest average student loan debt at $18,344, whereas New Hampshire has the highest at $39,928. The average federal student loan comes to around $35,210 and the state with the highest average balance is Washington, D.C. with $54,708.52.

• Student loan debt by age

People aged 24 or younger had the lowest average balance at $13,722.22, but this number increases with every age group. This number jumps up significantly for those between 25 and 34 to $32,707.48. Borrowers older than 62 had the highest balance at $49,375. 

• Student loan debt by gender and race

People across genders and ages take out student loans. However, women and people of color generally have higher loan balances than their white male counterparts. 

Gender:

• 47% of women have student loan debt. 40% of men have student loan debt.

Race: 

• 50% of Black adults have student loan debt, with an average balance of $9,800.
• 44% of white adults have student loan debt, with an average balance of $8,700.
• 37% of Hispanic-Latino adults have student loan debt, with an average balance of $7,000.

Federal student loan debt and how much each borrower owes

Making up 92% of the total student loan debt, the federal student loan debt stood at $1.6 trillion in July, per a Forbes report, owed by 43 million borrowers.

Of this, Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans together make up around $564 billion owed by 34 million borrowers in total. Consolidated loans make up around $555 billion owed by 11.3 million people. Perkins is the least with $4 billion owed by 1.4 million borrowers.

Private student loan debt and how much each borrower owes

Coming to private loans, though relatively lower (7.6%), the amount of debt is still quite high at $131 billion. About 89% are for undergraduate degrees and the rest are for graduate school. About 92% of undergraduate loans are cosigned and 66% of graduate loans require a co-signer.