Nearly one in every two millennials in New York state owes student loan debt — and many are pulling pints while waging war on state plans that could lead to smaller salaries.

Thousands of these borrowers are working as bartenders and wait staff while paying off their loans and seeking more gainful employment in their chosen fields.

As they struggle to stay current with their repayments, many fear a reduction in their incomes if the state’s present “tip credit” — which permits bars, restaurants and other establishments to pay staff less than the minimum wage because of gratuities — is eliminated, as state legislators are considering.

Student debt is at a record high statewide. According to federal and state figures:

New York state’s outstanding student debt now totals $90.6 billion.

45 percent of adults 18 to 35 in New York state owe student loan debt.

20 percent of New York state consumers have outstanding student debt.

“Many young people in New York who work in local bars and restaurants are paying off student loans and paying for college — and they don’t want to see the tip credit eliminated,” Tezra Bryant, a veteran of the New York hospitality scene, told The Post. “They don’t want to see a decline in their incomes.”

While employers can hold back on base pay under the present arrangement, many workers say it’s a win-win because a lot of customers regularly compensate with generous tips of as much as 20 percent or more of the pretax bill.

Last week, a group of New York restaurant workers and owners gathered at Jing Fong Restaurant on Elizabeth Street in Chinatown to renew calls for Gov. Cuomo to preserve the tip credit.

Business owners present said their margins are already way too slim to absorb a tip credit purge — and warned that customers wouldn’t stand for higher menu prices to offset subsequent higher costs.

And if the tip credit goes, industry watchers say, many employers are likely to discontinue the tip tradition, instead paying workers a flat base such as the minimum wage.

For their part, many loan-burdened New York millennials — who on average pull down an estimated $25 hourly with salary and tips in independent New York City hospitality establishments — expect to see their wages plunge sharply if the tip credit disappears.

If jobs as bartenders and wait staff don’t already pay enough, it’ll be a lot worse if the tip credit disappears, critics said.

“The tip credit needs to stay,” said Bryant. “Many millennials have student debt — and just can’t take a reduction in their incomes.”