How Much Federal Student Loan Borrowers Owe in Each State

The coronavirus pandemic has impacted Americans in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to varying degrees. While payments on most federal student loans have been suspended since March 2020, hundreds of thousands of borrowers have made payments amid the federal moratorium.

LendingTree researchers examined the latest available data from the U.S. Department of Education to find where borrowers have the most — and least — federal student loan debt on average. Researchers also looked at average disbursements per enrolled undergraduate at the largest U.S. schools, among other items.

Read on to learn other data and insights uncovered about U.S. federal student loan debt.

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Key findings

• The average size of federally managed student loan debt in the U.S. is $35,287. Average federal loan amounts are highest in the District of Columbia ($55,220), Maryland ($43,165) and Georgia ($41,913) and lowest in North Dakota ($29,481), Wyoming ($30,246) and Iowa ($30,751).
• Big borrowers skew the figures considerably. More than half of borrowers with federally managed student loan debt owe less than $20,000, at an average of $8,704. Meanwhile, nearly a third of all borrowers owe less than $10,000, at an average of $4,996.
• Students (and their parents) borrowed almost $77 billion from July 2020 through the end of June 2021. That’s a significant drop from the nearly $89 billion in the prior fiscal year and the almost $90 billion two fiscal years earlier.
• Direct loan borrowing is down in every state. New Hampshire (40.2%) and New Mexico (28.0%) saw the biggest drop-offs, while North Dakota (4.8%) and Wyoming (6.4%) — the two states with the lowest average loan balances — saw the smallest ones.
• City University of New York (CUNY) schools dominate the top 10 list among large schools where the average disbursement per enrolled undergraduate is lowest. The public university system has eight among the top 10, from CUNY York College ($335) to CUNY Bernard M. Baruch College ($587).

Which residents owe most student loan debt on average? Look to the South

LendingTree researchers found that the average size of federally managed student loan debt in the U.S. is $35,287 among more than 45.1 million borrowers. This far outranks the $6,569 in average credit card debt among U.S. cardholders with unpaid balances, and may explain some borrowers’ stress over the eventual end of the student loan moratorium, which was extended again through Dec. 31, 2022.

Average federal loan amounts are biggest in the South:

• District of Columbia: $55,220
• Maryland: $43,165
• Georgia: $41,913

On the other hand, the lowest student loan debt averages can be found in the Midwest and West

• North Dakota: $29,481
• Wyoming: $30,246
• Iowa: $30,751

Here’s a full state-by-state look:

While average student loan debt is high, most borrowers owe less than $20,000

While the average federal student loan debt in the U.S. is alarmingly high, more than half of student loan borrowers (53.2%) owe less than $20,000. That the average amount of student debt is much higher can be attributed to some borrowers taking out six-figure loans.

There are only seven U.S. states where more than half of federal student loan borrowers owe more than $20,000 — six of which are in the South:

• District of Columbia: 57.3%
• Georgia: 53.0%
• Virginia: 52.2%
• Maryland: 52.1%
• South Carolina: 52.0%
• North Carolina: 51.7%
• Oregon: 50.3%

Here’s a full look in reverse, kicking off with the states with the most borrowers who owe less than $20,000:

Source: LendingTree analysis of U.S. Department of Education data as of June 30, 2021 — latest available. Note: Includes all federally managed loans, including those not owned directly by the federal government.

Broken down even deeper, nearly a third of borrowers (32.5%) nationwide owe less than $10,000 — 15.9% of whom owe less than $5,000.

In 40 states, at least 30% of student borrowers owe less than $10,000. The District of Columbia has the lowest share of under-$10,000 borrowers at 25.2%.

Source: LendingTree analysis of U.S. Department of Education data as of June 30, 2021 — latest available. Note: Includes all federally managed loans, including those not owned directly by the federal government.

Why student loan debt dropped significantly between 2020 and 2021

One of the most interesting trends researchers found was that students and parents borrowed significantly less between 2020 and 2021 than in previous years.

While borrowers acquired nearly $90 million in student debt in the 2018-19 fiscal year and almost $89 billion in student debt in the 2019-20 fiscal year, that number plummeted to nearly $77 billion the following fiscal year from July 2020 through June 2021.

With federal loan interest rates and student loan refinance rates hitting all-time lows within this period, this was an unexpected find, says LendingTree senior writer Andrew Pentis. However, several factors could be at play.

Pentis also believes there were fewer borrowers in 2020-21 because there were fewer students.

Others who elected to stay in school might have been motivated by the pandemic’s effect on the economy to tighten their belts and ramp up their searches for scholarships and grants before resorting — as is typical — to student loans, Pentis says.

LendingTree analysts found that direct loan borrowing decreased between the 2018-19 and 2020-21 fiscal years — a two-year change — in every state. The states that experienced the biggest decreases in this period were:

• New Hampshire (40.2%)
• New Mexico (28.0%)
• Oregon (27.9%)

Meanwhile, these states saw the smallest decreases over the two years:

• North Dakota (4.8%)
• Wyoming (6.4%)
• Louisiana (8.5%)

North Dakota and Wyoming were also the states with the lowest average student debt balances.

Here’s a full look at student borrowing in every state between the 2018-19 and 2020-21 fiscal years:

Source: LendingTree analysis of U.S. Department of Education data as of June 30, 2021 — latest available. Note: Includes direct loans disbursed within each U.S. Department of Education fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) to institutions within these states. National totals include U.S. territories.

Among the funds borrowed last fiscal year, more than $42 billion were through subsidized, unsubsidized and parent PLUS direct loans for undergraduates. Meanwhile, the remaining $34 billion was through subsidized and graduate PLUS direct loans for graduates.

CUNY accounts for many of top schools with lowest average disbursements

LendingTree analysts found that City University of New York (CUNY) colleges take up most of the top 10 large schools with the lowest average disbursements per enrolled undergraduate.

The New York public university system has eight colleges among the top 10. Other schools that made the top 10 include Southwestern College in California ($30) and Massachusetts’ Harvard University ($650).

Among the 18 schools where the average disbursement is less than $1,000, the remainder of the list is a mix of public and private schools. Here’s a closer look:

Source: LendingTree analysis of U.S. Department of Education data as of June 30, 2021 — latest available. Notes: This list is limited to institutions designated as primarily offering bachelor’s degrees (or higher) with at least 5,000 students enrolled in fall 2020 and excludes for-profit institutions. Includes direct loans disbursed within each U.S. Department of Education fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) to institutions within these states.

CUNY’s ranking shouldn’t come as a surprise, according to Pentis.

New York’s trendsetting Excelsior Scholarship program became the first of its kind in 2017. Though it doesn’t cover room and board, the program makes a postsecondary education more accessible.

Here’s the full list of schools that met LendingTree’s criteria:

Tips for students, parents borrowing for school expenses

Even without the economic challenges that the coronavirus pandemic brings to the table, it can be difficult to know how to financially support a student through their postsecondary education.

Here are some things to know about how to decide whether to take on student loans, refinancing options and how to choose which loan options might be the best fit:

• Weigh whether to take out federal or private loans: There are two types of student loans: federal and private. Research various lenders and check to see whether you prequalify to compare rates. Federal loans offer more flexibility than private loans, but private loans may be helpful should you need to cover a lot of debt. Standard repayment plans on federal loans are typically 10 years, but you can apply for income-driven repayment plans if you struggle financially after graduation.
• Consider refinancing if struggling to make payments: Refinancing student debt can come with pitfalls, but this route may be a good option if you have private loans with high interest rates. However, if you have federal loans, you’ll want to consider refinancing a little more carefully — refinancing options are privatized, so you may lose federal support programs.
• Decide whether taking out loans is worth it: Before signing on the dotted line, you’ll want to carefully weigh out whether taking out a loan is in your best interest. If you’re a student, you’ll want to ask yourself whether your degree can lend itself to making a big enough salary to pay off your loans. You’ll also want to examine whether your school’s tuition is worth the degree you’re pursuing and pursue any potential scholarships and grants to cut back on costs.

Methodology

Researchers analyzed U.S. Department of Education data as of June 30, 2021 — the latest available and the end of the fiscal year for Federal Student Aid.

Amounts are for all federally managed debt, except for the annual amounts borrowed, which is for direct loans disbursed — not originated — during that period.