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A Look at Americans’ Student Loan Debt by State

April 25, 2023

3 min Read

Written by Jami Farkas

Edited by Somnia Keesey

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A total of 47.9 million borrowers have student loan debt, with the average federal student loan debt at $37,574 per borrower and the average private student loan debt at $54,921 per borrower, according to the Education Data Initiative.

However, residents of some states have more debt, on average, than others. Scholaroo conducted a survey of 1,000 college students in the U.S. and collected data from public sources to determine the total cumulative loan amount in each of the 50 states, and the average amount of debt per borrower.

Here’s a look at the states with the least and highest amounts of student loan debt per borrower.

50. North Dakota

Average student loan debt: $30,000

49. Iowa

Average student loan debt: $31,000

48. Wyoming

Average student loan debt: $31,000

47. South Dakota

Average student loan debt: $32,000

46. Oklahoma

Average student loan debt: $32,000

45. West Virginia

Average student loan debt: $32,000

44. Wisconsin

Average student loan debt: $32,000

43. Nebraska

Average student loan debt: $32,000

42. Rhode Island

Average student loan debt: $33,000

41. Utah

Average student loan debt: $33,000

40. Idaho

Average student loan debt: $33,000

39. Kentucky

Average student loan debt: $33,000

38. Kansas

Average student loan debt: $33,000

Today’s Top Offers

37. Indiana

Average student loan debt: $33,000

36. Texas

Average student loan debt: $33,000

35. Maine

Average student loan debt: $33,000

34. Arkansas

Average student loan debt: $34,000

33. Montana

Average student loan debt: $34,000

32. Nevada

Average student loan debt: $34,000

31. Minnesota

Average student loan debt: $34,000

30. New Mexico

Average student loan debt: $34,000

29. Alaska

Average student loan debt: $34,000

28. New Hampshire

Average student loan debt: $34,000

27. Massachusetts

Average student loan debt: $35,000

26. Louisiana

Average student loan debt: $35,000

25. Ohio

Average student loan debt: $35,000

24. Connecticut

Average student loan debt: $35,000

23. Arizona

Average student loan debt: $35,000

22. Washington

Average student loan debt: $36,000

21. Missouri

Average student loan debt: $36,000

20. New Jersey

Average student loan debt: $36,000

19. Pennsylvania

Average student loan debt: $36,000

18. Michigan

Average student loan debt: $36,000

17. Tennessee

Average student loan debt: $37,000

16. Hawaii

Average student loan debt: $37,000

15. California

Average student loan debt: $37,000

14. Mississippi

Average student loan debt: $37,000

13. Colorado

Average student loan debt: $37,000

12. Oregon

Average student loan debt: $37,000

11. Alabama

Average student loan debt: $37,000