How Does Your Student Loan Debt Compare to the Average American’s?
Written by
Gabrielle Olya
Edited by
Gary Dudak
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With college costs continuing to increase, many Americans are burdened with taking out loans to be able to afford a higher degree. Americans now collectively have over $1.7 billion in student loan debt, including both federal and private loans. But how much student loan debt does the average person actually have? GOBankingRates surveyed over 1,000 Americans to find out.
See how your student loan debt compares.
Most Americans Don’t Have Student Loan Debt
The GOBankingRates survey found that 54% of Americans do not have student loan debt, making this the slight majority. Unsurprisingly, younger Americans were much more likely to have student loan debt than older Americans, who both attended college when costs were lower and also have had more years to pay off their debt.
Among those ages 18 to 24, most Americans do have student loan debt, with just 39% saying they do not have debt. On the other end of the spectrum, among those ages 65 and older, 91% do not have student loan debt.
Majority of Americans With Student Loan Debt Owe Less Than $30K
While it’s good news that 54% of Americans don’t have student loan debt, that means that nearly half of all Americans do owe something. However, the largest percentage of Americans with debt (31%) said that they owe less than $10,000. An additional 16% owe between $10,001 and $20,000 and 11% owe between $20,001 and $30,000. Very few Americans have six figures worth of student loan debt, with just 6% of those with student loan debt saying they owe more than $100,000.
Here’s a full breakdown of what Americans with student loan debt owe:
- 31% owe less than $10,000
- 16% owe $10,001 to $20,000
- 11% owe $20,001 to $30,000
- 9% owe $30,001 to $40,000
- 4% owe $40,001 to $50,000
- 4% owe $50,001 to $60,000
- 3% owe $60,001 to $70,000
- 4% owe $70,001 to $80,000
- 6% owe $80,001 to $90,000
- 6% owe $90,001 to $100,000
- 6% owe more than $100,000
Older Americans With Student Loan Debt Have Higher Amounts of Debt
One surprising finding of the GOBankingRates survey is that among student loan borrowers, Americans ages 65 and older are more likely to have higher levels of student loan debt than younger Americans.
Among student loan borrowers ages 54 and younger, the highest percentage of borrowers owe less than $10,000. For those ages 55 to 64, however, that’s evenly split between those that owe less than $10,000 (17%) and those that owe $90,001 to $100,000 (17%). Among those ages 65 and above with student loan debt, 72% owe between $20,000 and $40,000.
There are several reasons why some Americans have found themselves paying off student loans in their 50s, 60s and beyond, according to Judith Corprew, executive vice president at Patriot Bank, N.A.
“First, tuition costs have increased dramatically in recent years, especially at private colleges, requiring both students and parents to borrow more and more to finance higher education,” she said. “Second, many parents take on student loan debt to send their children or grandchildren to college.
“Third, student loan debt also includes loans taken to attend graduate school, which people often use to pursue a career change in adulthood,” she continued. “Fourth, colleges have become more welcoming of non-traditional students — someone earning a bachelor’s degree today isn’t necessarily in their late teens or early 20s.”
More From GOBankingRates
Methodology: GOBankingRates surveyed 1,028 Americans ages 18 and older from across the country between June 27 and June 29, 2023, asking nine different questions: (1) Have you used Artificial Intelligence (AI) for any of the following? (Select all that apply); (2) In retirement, how much do you think you’ll need in Social Security monthly, in order to retire comfortably?; (3) How much do you spend on your average Costco trip?; (4) How often do you go to Costco?; (5) What items do you purchase most frequently at Costco?; (6) How do you think the restart of student loan payments will affect the economy in 2023 and beyond?; (7) How much student loan debt do you currently have?; (8) How will the restart of student loan payments affect your financial situation? (Select all that apply); and (9) How much did you (or do you expect to) inherit from your parents/relatives? GOBankingRates used PureSpectrum’s survey platform to conduct the poll.
