Student Loan Debt by Year | BestColleges (2024)

FAQs

How many years of student debt is average? ›

Outstanding private student loan debt totals $128.8 billion. The average student borrows over $30,000 to pursue a bachelor's degree. A total of 42.8 million borrowers have federal student loan debt. It may take borrowers close to 20 years to pay off their student loans.

If you're a recent college graduate with a mountain of student loan debt — say $100,000 or more — paying off such a large amount could be a major struggle. For example, if you're making payments on federal student loans under the standard 10-year repayment plan, your minimum monthly payment might be quite daunting.

According to the Federal Reserve, 30-39-year-olds have an average student loan debt of $42,014. 40-49-year-olds possess an average student loan debt of $44,798. In 2022, under 30-year-olds took out an average of $23,795 in student loans per year.

After students come up with a number for the amount they expect to borrow, they should ensure the loan amount, plus other expected debts such as rent and car payments, do not exceed 33% of their expected future income. You can calculate your average student loan payment per month using FinAid Calculators.

What is considered a lot of student loan debt? A lot of student loan debt is more than you can afford to repay after graduation. For many, this means having more than $70,000 – $100,000 in total student debt.

Due to escalating tuition and easy credit, the U.S. has 101 people who owe at least $1 million in federal student loans, according to the Education Department.

With $50,000 in student loan debt, your monthly payments could be quite expensive. Depending on how much debt you have and your interest rate, your payments will likely be about $500 per month or more. Your potential savings from refinancing will vary based on your loan terms.

For example, let's say you had $100,000 in loans at 5% interest. If you have a 10-year repayment term, your monthly payment would be about $1,061. By the end of your repayment period, you'd pay a total of $127,279—interest would add more than $27,000 to your total repayment cost.

Parents who pay their student loan debt and their children are among the most financially vulnerable student loan debt holders. The age group of 50-to-61-year-olds has the highest student loan debt per borrower, with 35-to-49-year-olds following close behind them.

How many total student loan borrowers owe more than $100,000? ›

Overall, more than 10% of graduate and professional students owe $100,000 or more in federal and private student loan debt, according to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. (For comparison, less than 1% of students borrow above that amount for bachelor's degree programs.)

On average, people with student loans have spent just over 21 years paying back their loans. Federal student loans offer repayment plans that last from 10 to 30 years. Private student loan repayment terms vary.

Your monthly payment is likely high if you have $200,000 or more in student loans, making the idea of extra payments seem near impossible. However, paying extra might help get you out of debt significantly faster. Let's say you have $200,000 in student loans at 6% interest on a 10-year repayment term.

The average inflation-adjusted graduate student loan debt balance of the class of 2019-2020 was $94,141 among federal borrowers. The average student loan debt balance in 2024 is $38,005. The average inflation-adjusted debt among 2020 master's graduates is $64,668. The average debt among PhD holders is $89,526.

The average student loan debt for bachelor's degree recipients was $29,400 for the 2021-22 school year, according to the College Board. Among all borrowers, the average balance is $38,787, according to 2023 data from Experian, one of the three national credit bureaus.

On average, people with student loans have spent just over 21 years paying back their loans. Federal student loans offer repayment plans that last from 10 to 30 years. Private student loan repayment terms vary.

Let's assume you owe $30,000, and your blended average interest rate is 6%. If you pay $333 a month, you'll be done in 10 years. But you can do better than that. According to our student loan calculator, you'd need to pay $913 per month to put those loans out of your life in three years.

And the number of borrowers with high education debt is growing. As of 2023, there are one million federal student loan borrowers who owe $200,000 or more, according to StudentAid.gov. The good news is that even though paying off such a large balance can be difficult, it's not impossible.