What is the average student loan debt for a bachelor’s degree?

The average public college student with a four-year bachelor’s degree has about $32,724 in student loan debt, according to a June 2023 study by the Education Data Initiative. About 64% of students in a public four-year bachelor’s degree have student loan debt. With private colleges, the study found the debt to be $34,956.

As of early 2023, the total student loan debt amounts to over $1.77 trillion. In the past decade, student loan debt has increased by 66%. About 92% of this debt is federal, while the rest is private student loans. In the academic year 2020-21, 54% of bachelor’s degree students had an average balance of $29,100 in student loan debt, reported USA Today. This figure includes both public and private schools.