Fast Facts: Student debt (900)

Student debt

Question:
What statistics do you have on student loan debt and repayment for college students?

Response:

Average Cumulative Student Loan Debt Among Degree/Certificate Completers

The average cumulative loan amount borrowed by 2017–18 undergraduate degree/certificate completers who ever received at least one federal loan for their undergraduate education was lowest among certificate completers ($14,700), followed by associate’s degree completers ($20,400) bachelor’s degree completers ($27,800).¹ Among associate’s degree completers, those who attended public institutions received a lower cumulative federal loan amount ($16,800) than did those who attended private nonprofit institutions ($27,300) and private for-profit institutions ($26,600). Among bachelor’s degree completers, those who attended public institutions received the lowest cumulative federal loan amount ($26,100), followed by those who attended private nonprofit institutions ($29,000) and private for-profit institutions ($35,700). Among certificate completers, however, there were no measurable differences in cumulative federal loan amounts between those who attended public, private nonprofit, or private for-profit institutions.

Average cumulative federal loan amount for undergraduate degree/certificate completers who ever received federal loans, by degree type and control of institution: Academic year 2017–18

The data in this figure is described in the surrounding text.

NOTE: Data in this table represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Degree-granting institutions grant associate’s or higher degrees and participate in Title IV federal financial aid programs. Includes only loans made directly to students; does not include Parent PLUS Loans or other loans made directly to parents. Constant dollars are based on the Consumer Price Index, prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, adjusted to an academic-year basis. Averages exclude students with no student loans. The National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, Administrative Collection (NPSAS:18-AC) is based solely on administrative sources and, unlike prior NPSAS studies, does not include student survey data. Caution should be used when comparing NPSAS:18-AC to prior NPSAS studies.

¹ In this paragraph of the Fast Fact, all dollar amounts are expressed in constant 2020–21 dollars. Does not include private loans because missing student interview data meant there were not enough data for accurate estimates.

SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics. (2022). Loans for Undergraduate Students. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved June 23, 2022, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cub.

Cumulative Borrowing and Repayment over Time

Among 2015–16 bachelor’s degree recipients who took out federal student loans, the average percentage of federal student loans still owed 12 months after degree completion was 92 percent.²

Percentage of 2015–16 bachelor’s degree recipients who took out federal loans for postsecondary education, average amount borrowed, and ratio of amount owed 12 months after bachelor’s degree completion to amount borrowed, by demographic and enrollment characteristics in 2017
	Total federal loans		Undergraduate federal loans¹		Graduate federal loans²		Average ratio of amount owed to amount borrowed⁶
Demographic and enrollment characteristics	Percent who borrowed	Amount borrowed³	Percent who borrowed	Amount borrowed⁴	Percent who borrowed	Amount borrowed⁵	Average ratio of amount owed to amount borrowed⁶
Total	68.0	$30,800	66.6	$27,400	10.4	$25,600	91.7
Sex
Female	71.1	31,700	69.6	28,100	11.7	25,300	93.3
Male	63.9	29,400	62.5	26,500	8.7	26,100	89.4
Race/ethnicity⁷
White, not Hispanic or Latino	67.7	29,900	66.1	26,700	9.8	26,400	89.3
Black, not Hispanic or Latino	86.3	39,500	85.7	34,800	17.3	25,100	103.0
Hispanic or Latino, of any race	70.1	28,200	67.7	25,700	11.3	21,400	94.6
Asian, not Hispanic or Latino	43.9	26,500	43.0	22,700	5.8	32,100	81.4
Other or Two or more races, not Hispanic or Latino	71.3	31,000	70.4	28,300	9.4	22,400	97.9
Control of bachelor's degree institution
Public	66.2	28,900	64.4	25,700	10.1	25,300	91.2
Private nonprofit	68.8	31,300	67.7	27,600	10.5	27,000	91.0
Private for-profit	84.3	44,200	83.8	40,700	13.7	22,700	98.8

¹“Undergraduate federal loans” includes subsidized and unsubsidized Direct Loans (formerly called Stafford Loans) and Perkins Loans. Excludes Parent PLUS loans.
²“Graduate federal loans” includes subsidized and unsubsidized Direct Loans (formerly called Stafford Loans), Perkins Loans, and Graduate PLUS loans taken out to pay for any education above the bachelor’s degree level, including professional practice doctoral programs such as law, medicine, etc.
³Amount borrowed is calculated among those who took out either undergraduate or graduate federal loans and includes both their undergraduate and graduate federal loan amounts.
⁴Amount borrowed is calculated among those who took out undergraduate federal loans and includes only their undergraduate federal loan amounts.
⁵Amount borrowed is calculated among those who took out graduate federal loans and includes only their graduate federal loan amounts.
⁶Includes respondents who had paid off their loans as of 12 months after bachelor’s degree completion and owed $0. The ratio of amount owed to amount borrowed may be over 100 percent because the amount owed includes interest accrued while loans are in deferment, causing the borrower to owe more than the original amount borrowed.
⁷“Black, not Hispanic or Latino” includes African American; and “Other or Two or more races, not Hispanic or Latino” includes American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and respondents who identify as more than one race.
NOTE: Estimates pertain to individuals who completed the requirements for a bachelor’s degree in 2015–16 and were awarded their degree by a Title IV eligible postsecondary institution in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico no later than June 30, 2017. This table includes the 6 percent of respondents for whom the 2015–16 bachelor’s degree was not their first bachelor’s degree.

² Text from an IES NewsFlash dated July 27, 2020.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2020). One Year After a Bachelor's Degree: A Profile of 2015–16 Graduates (NCES 2020-341), Table 5.1.

Related Tables and Figures: (Listed by Release Date)

Other Resources: (Listed by Release Date)