Student Loan Debt Statistics

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Delving into Student Debt Statistics

Total student loan debt reached $1.77 trillion as of Q2 2023, rising over 1.25% from Q2 2022.
In the 2021-22 academic year, undergraduates borrowed $94.7 billion in new federal and private loans.

Loan Types and Percentage Breakdown

46% of this new borrowing came through unsubsidized Stafford loans. Graduate PLUS loans accounted for another 13%.
54% of 2021 bachelor’s degree recipients graduated with student debt, averaging $29,100 per borrower.
The federal loan portfolio included $1.45 trillion in Direct Loans and $195 billion in FFEL loans in Q2 2023.

Repayment and Delinquencies

Over 35 different federal loan repayment plans now exist, illustrating program complexity.
The number of borrowers in income-driven plans has ballooned from 1.1 million in 2013 to 9.8 million by late 2022.
Student loan delinquencies remain elevated despite repayment pauses. 5% of federal borrowers were 90+ days delinquent in Q2 2023.

Debt Demographics

Women hold nearly two-thirds of all student debt, averaging balances $1,800 higher than men.
Average debt at graduation ranges from $18,350 at public colleges to $32,500 at private non-profit colleges.
Over 60% of student debt is held by borrowers under 40. But balances are growing fast for those over 60.

Key Takeaways

Federal student loans account for 92% of the total $1.77 trillion debt crisis.
Loan dependence begins early, with over half of graduates taking debt.
Debt burdens fall heaviest on women and borrowers of color.

Private Loan Trends by LendEDU

Approval rates remain low, averaging just 21.61% across all applicants in 2020.
Average funded loan amounts edged up to $11,729 in 2020.

Federal Response and Initiatives

The CARES Act provided relief by suspending loan payments and interest from March 2020 through December 2022.
The Biden administration sought to cancel up to $20,000 in federal loans per borrower.
Biden recently extended the payment pause through 2023 and proposed a new income-driven “SAVE” repayment plan.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Only 2.5% of PSLF applications have been approved since inception.
Just over $10 billion in loan balances have been forgiven under PSLF through March 2023.

The Root Causes

College tuition and fees have dramatically outpaced inflation over the past 30 years.
For example, average annual tuition at public 4-year colleges rose from $4,160 in 1989 to $10,740 in 2019 (in 2019 dollars).

State Funding and Family Income

Per-student state spending on public higher education declined by about 20% per full-time student from 1987 to 2017.
Median household income has barely budged since the late 1980s after adjusting for inflation.

For-Profit Colleges and Funding Limits

Enrollments boomed at for-profit colleges in the 1990s and 2000s.
Federal Pell grants now cover only about 28% of the average costs at 4-year public colleges.

Sources