How Many People Have Student Loans?

Report Highlights. The number of people with student loans outstanding is now 43.4 million, up 1.2% year-over-year (YoY).

  • 92.8 million living Americans have had student loan debt at some point.
  • Among borrowers with a federal student loan balance, 24.8 million have loans in forbearance, up 7.4% YoY.
  • 6.1 million student loan borrowers are still in school, down 6.2% YoY.
  • A minimum of 15.8 million indebted borrowers have loans from both undergraduate and postgraduate school.

For related research, read our reports on Student Loan Debt Statistics | How Do People Pay For College? | Number of College Graduates | Economic Effects of Student Loan Debt | Student Loan Refinancing line graph of the historical number of indebted federal student loan borrowers from 2007 to 2021 (refer to table)

How Many People Have Outstanding Student Loans?

The number of people with student loan debt has increased by an average of 827,273 per year over the last decade.

  • 38.3 million people with student loan debt outstanding owe repayment for an undergraduate education.
  • 17.9 million people with outstanding student debt owe for a postgraduate education.
  • 34.3 million borrowers carry a balance on Stafford loans, up 2.4% YoY.
  • 11.2 million indebted borrowers carry a balance on consolidated loans, down 2.6% YoY.
  • 1.6 million student borrowers owe Grad PLUS loans; 1.5 million owe Perkins loans.
  • A minimum of 15.8 million indebted borrowers have loans from both undergraduate and postgraduate school.
  • 6.1 million people with outstanding student loans report they are behind on payments.
  • 34.4 million report their payments are current.
  • Among borrowers with a student loan balance, a minimum of 3.5 million took out loans on behalf of children or grandchildren.
Historical Number of Federal Borrowers
Year Total Borrowers Estimated Change YoY
2021 43,400,000 500,000
2020 42,900,000 0
2019 42,900,000 0
2018 42,900,000 300,000
2017 42,600,000 300,000
2016 42,300,000 700,000
2015 41,600,000 900,000
2014 40,700,000 1,100,000
2013 39,600,000 1,300,000
2012 38,300,000 1,800,000
2011 36,500,000 2,200,000

How Many People Had Student Loans Qualify for CARES?

The federal government implemented the CARES Act between the second and third financial quarters of 2020. This legislation affected a minimum of 20 million borrowers, and federal student loan debt relief continues into 2022.

  • 22.3 million borrowers had loans in forbearance in 2020’s third financial quarter, which is 18.5 million more than there were in the previous financial quarter (2020Q2).
  • 300,000 borrowers had loans in repayment in 2020Q3, down 17.8 million from the previous quarter.
  • 5.9 million indebted borrowers were in school in 2020Q3, which was 900,000 fewer than there were in the previous financial quarter.
  • In 2022Q1, 6.1 million indebted borrowers were still in school, down 10.3% from 2020Q2.
  • 2021Q3 had the lowest number of borrowers in school (5.6 million) in over a decade.
  • 1.2 million borrowers had loans in a grace period in 2022Q1, which is 400,000 fewer than there were in the previous financial quarter.
  • 2.9 million borrowers had loans in deferment, down 200,000 from the previous quarter.
  • 5.0 million borrowers have loans in cumulative default, which is the lowest number of borrowers in default since 2018Q3.
  • Zero borrowers have loans that are considered delinquent.

bar graph of the number of people who have student loan debt by degree level

How Many People Have Student Loan Debt by Demographics?

Due to privacy and antidiscrimination laws, not all debt-related demographic information is recorded or publicized; the available data is usually expressed in terms of percentages within each particular group.

  • An estimated 25.3 million indebted student borrowers are women; 18.1 million are men.
  • 25.3 million indebted student borrowers attended public institutions.
  • 200,000 borrowers attended foreign institutions.
  • 13.7 million borrowers attended private institutions, and 12.4 million attended proprietary institutions.
  • 10.1 million federal student loan recipients attended an other or undisclosed type of institution.
  • 7.4 million student borrowers under the age of 25, down 3.9% YoY.
  • 14.9 million borrowers are between the ages of 25 and 34, up 0.7% YoY.
  • 14.4 million indebted borrowers are between the ages of 35 and 49, up 0.7% YoY.
  • 6.4 million are aged 50 to 61 years, up 3.2% YoY.
  • 2.5 million are ages 62 and older, up 8.7% YoY.
  • Among indebted student borrowers, an estimated 24.0 million make less than $50,000 per year.
  • 389 million federal loan borrowers are undergraduate certificate recipients.
  • 581 million are associate’s degree recipients owe an average of $21,890 each in federal loans.
  • 33.6 million are bachelor’s degree holders.
  • 12.1 million are master’s degree holders.
  • 2.1 million are doctoral degree recipients.
  • 2.2 million are professional degree holders.
How Many People Have Student Loans in Each State?
Location Borrowers Under 25 Total Borrowers
Alabama 111,000 632,500
Alaska 8,900 67,500
Arizona 122,100 886,700
Arkansas 67,700 389,600
California 580,000 3,820,300
Colorado 116,700 773,700
Connecticut 114,200 497,500
Delaware 25,200 127,700
D.C. 13,600 117,900
Florida 349,100 2,621,500
Georgia 273,100 1,646,700
Hawaii 21,500 122,300
Idaho 34,600 218,000
Illinois 318,800 1,630,500
Indiana 159,700 906,200
Iowa 90,000 433,200
Kansas 71,900 383,500
Kentucky 100,000 600,800
Louisiana 126,700 651,000
Maine 36,900 187,000
Maryland 142,000 837,100
Massachusetts 225,900 901,300
Michigan 242,100 1,411,300
Minnesota 164,000 788,500
Mississippi 71,600 438,500
Missouri 135,800 832,800
Montana 20,700 126,600
Nebraska 52,400 247,500
Nevada 45,900 349,400
New Hampshire 43,000 190,600
New Jersey 281,000 1,198,200
New Mexico 26,800 228,000
New York 498,500 2,457,300
North Carolina 235,600 1,303,700
North Dakota 21,000 87,400
Ohio 312,300 1,793,400
Oklahoma 73,800 488,100
Oregon 69,600 542,800
Pennsylvania 398,000 1,821,400
Puerto Rico 47,700 327,600
Rhode Island 31,200 143,300
South Carolina 131,600 731,100
South Dakota 27,300 116,200
Tennessee 138,300 861,700
Texas 630,300 3,643,400
Utah 50,400 307,500
Vermont 16,700 77,200
Virginia 201,400 1,082,200
Washington 113,200 788,100
West Virginia 39,700 227,100
Wisconsin 151,300 727,300
Wyoming 8,400 54,400
Other 12,900 92,700
Not Reported 5,100 3,695,700

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau (Census), QuickFacts
  2. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2019-May 2020
  3. The MeasureOne Private Student Loan Report
  4. Census,Data Tables
  5. United States Department of Education Office of Federal Student Aid Federal Student Loan Portfolio.
  6. Morning Consult, National Tracking Poll #190963 Crosstabulation Results
  7. Morning Consult, National Tracking Poll #210134: Respondent Demographics Summary