It’s no secret that student loans are a hot topic in the United States nowadays. They are mentioned in the news, both in a positive and negative light, almost every day.

With all of this news circulating around, it’s natural to become curious about the numbers behind student loan debt.

This page takes a look at key student loan statistics and serves as a directory of other pages where you can find more information.

On this page:

Average Student Loan Debt Statistics

$1.67 trillion : the total amount of outstanding student loan debt (source)

: the total amount of outstanding student loan debt (source) 44.5 million: the total number of student loan borrowers (source)

the total number of student loan borrowers (source) $28,565: the average student loan debt per borrower from the Class of 2018 (source)

the average student loan debt per borrower from the Class of 2018 (source) $16,649: the average student loan debt per graduate from the Class of 2018 (source)

the average student loan debt per graduate from the Class of 2018 (source) 57%: the percentage of graduates from the Class of 2018 with student debt (source)

the percentage of graduates from the Class of 2018 with student debt (source) 10.8%: the percentage of student debt that is 90+ days delinquent or in default (source)

the percentage of student debt that is 90+ days delinquent or in default (source) $200-$299: the typical required monthly payment range of those who were making payments (source)

Federal Student Loans Statistics

By Loan Status (as of March 2020)

Status # Borrowers Total Amount In-School 6.84 million $134.6 billion Grace Period 1.22 million $23.0 billion Repayment 19.48 million $723.7 billion Deferment 3.82 million $137.3 billion Forbearance 3.95 million $170.9 billion Other 0.19 million $9.9 billion

By Loan Type (as of March 2020)

Loan Type # Borrowers Total Amount Stafford Unsubsidized 28.8 million $528.5 billion Stafford Subsidized 29.4 million $282.9 billion Parent PLUS 3.5 million $99.4 billion Grad PLUS 1.4 million $78.8 billion Perkins 1.9 million $5.6 billion Consolidation 11.6 million $547.7 billion

By ​Repayment Plan (as of March 2020)

Repayment Plan # Borrowers Total Amount Standard 13.60 million $298.2 billion Graduated 3.78 million $117.7 billion Income-Contingent 0.74 million $35.2 billion Income-Based 3.54 million $196.4 billion Pay As You Earn 1.46 million $107.4 billion Revised PAYE 3.10 million $182.8 billion Alternative 1.44 million $51.2 billion Other N/A $43.7 billion

By Debt Size (as of March 2020)

Debt Size # Borrowers Total Amount <$5K 7.7 million $19.6 billion $5k – $10k 7.5 million $54.3 billion $10k – $20k 9.3 million $134.3 billion $20k – $40k 9.4 million $269.1billion $40k – $60k 4.1 million $203.2 billion $60k – $80k 2.5 million $175.7 billion $80k – $100k 1.4 million $121.9 billion $100k – $200k 2.3 million $310.3 billion >$200k 0.9 million $256.0 billion

By Borrower Age (as of March 2020)

Age # Borrowers Total Amount 24 or Younger 7.9 million $120.2 billion 25 – 34 14.8 million $500.1 billion 35 – 49 14.1 million $589.8 billion 50 – 61 6.0 million $252.6 billion 62+ 2.2 million $81.4 billion

Source: Federal Student Aid site

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Statistics (as of September 2018)

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program discharges the debt of borrowers who work in the public sector after 120 monthly payments are made.

Here are some statistics about the program:

1,173,420: Borrowers who requested to certify their loans and employment as eligible for PSLF

Borrowers who requested to certify their loans and employment as eligible for PSLF 890,516: Borrowers who had their employment and loans certified as eligible for

Borrowers who had their employment and loans certified as eligible for 19,321: Borrowers who submitted a loan forgiveness application under PSLF

Borrowers who submitted a loan forgiveness application under PSLF 55: Borrowers who were approved for forgiveness under PSLF

Source: United States Government Accountability Office

What Congress Thinks About Student Debt

In February 2017, LendEDU analyzed what members of Congress thought about various issues related to paying for college including federal student loans, federal student loan refinancing, Pell Grants, tax benefits, and more. For each issue, we found what overall proportion of congressmen supported legislation and also broke it down on by party.

Click below to view the PDF of the study to learn more about what congressmen around the nation think about these issues.

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Private Student Loan Statistics

$131.81 billion: the total amount of private student loan debt (source)

the total amount of private student loan debt (source) 7.87%: the percentage of total outstanding student debt that is from private student loans (source)

the percentage of total outstanding student debt that is from private student loans (source) $11,279: the average private student loan amount (source)

the average private student loan amount (source) 8.86%: the average interest rate on private student loans (source) 8.81%: average variable rate 9.97%: average fixed rate

the average interest rate on private student loans (source) 21.61%: the average approval rate for all private student loan applications (source) 36.09%: average approval rate with a cosigner 8.84%: average approval rate without a cosigner

the average approval rate for all private student loan applications (source) 748: the average credit score of approved private student loan applicants (source)

the average credit score of approved private student loan applicants (source) $72,947: the average income of approved private student loan applicants (source)

the average income of approved private student loan applicants (source) 2.41%: percent of private student loans that are 30 to 89 days past due (source)

percent of private student loans that are 30 to 89 days past due (source) 1.10%: percent of private student loans that are 90+ days past due (source)

percent of private student loans that are 90+ days past due (source) Over 100: the number of private student loan lenders

Graduate Student Loan Statistics

Average Graduate School Debt: $57,600* (source)

$57,600* (source) Average Medical School Debt: $196,520** (source)

$196,520** (source) Average Law School Debt: $48,000 to $340,000** (source)

$48,000 to $340,000** (source) Average Dental School Debt: $285,184* (source)

$285,184* (source) Average Vet School Debt: $143,757* (source)

$143,757* (source) Average Pharmacy School Debt: $166,528** (source)

*Cumulative undergraduate & graduate debt.

**Graduate debt only.

More Student Loan Debt Statistics Articles

Student Loan Debt Studies