Student Loan Debt by Generation

Report Highlights. The average student loan debt increased for all generations – It increased on average by 18%.

• Generation X carries the highest average balance at $45,095 per borrower.
• 14.8 Million millennials have student loan debt, more than any other generation.
• Millennials carry an average balance of $38,877 per borrower.
• Generation Z’s average debt increased by 39%, more than any other generation.
• Baby Boomers held the second-largest amount of average debt at $40,512.

National Student Loan Debt

With federal student debt totaled at $1.57 trillion, the majority of federal student debt is concentrated with Generation X. The average Baby Boomer with student loans tends to owe more than the average Millennial. However, on the national scale, Millennials have a larger overall debt than Baby Boomers.

• Generation Z held 7.37% of the total $1.57 trillion student loan debt.
• Millennials held 31.94% of the total debt.
• Generation X held most of the debt at 38.40%.
• Baby Boomers owned 16.73% of the federal student debt.
• The Silent Generation accounted for 5.54% of the debt.
• 0.02% of the debt remained unaccounted for between the age groups.
• $0.3 billion dollars remain un-accounted, belonging to none of the age groups.

Number of Borrowers per Generation

Millennials make up the largest number of federal loan borrowers. They have consistently been the largest age group since 2017 even as the number of Millennial borrowers steadily decreases per year. Interestingly, the number of borrowers from the older generations has steadily risen since 2017.

• Generation Z have 1.95 million borrowers who owe $10,000 to $20,000 in debt.
• Millennials have 3.49 million borrowers who owe $20,000 to $40,000 in debt.
• Generation X have 1.66 million borrowers who owe $40,000 to $60,000 in debt.
• Baby Boomers have 0.63 million borrowers who owe $40,000 to $60,000 in debt.
• The Silent Generation have 0.38 million borrowers who owe $20,000 to $40,000 in debt.
• 0.1 million borrowers remain unaccounted for, their age group not reported.

Debt by Age & State

Throughout all the age groups, California consistently held the highest amount of debt out of all the other states. Wyoming had the smallest population of borrowers throughout all the generations. This data set includes Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and other U.S. territories in the other category.

• Puerto Rico accounts for $8.7 billion of the national debt.
• Puerto Rico accounts for 321,900 of the total borrower population.
• U.S. territories account for $4.2 billion of the national debt.
• U.S. territories account for 92,500 of the total borrower population.

Generation Z

Year after year, Generation Z sees the largest increases in their student loan debt, personal loans, and mortgage balances. Generation Z is also on track to becoming the most educated generation. More of their generation attends college after high school compared to previous generations – which may also increase the size of their overall student loans.

• 57% of Generation Z go into college at age 18 to 21 compared to 52% of Millennials at that age and 43% of Generation X.
• Studies find that as more of Generation Z goes to college, they are also less likely to be a part of the workforce – delaying repayment of loans such as student debt.
• 651,500 borrowers are from Texas – making it the state with the largest number of borrowers from Generation Z.

Millennials

Millennials carry the 3^rd highest student loan debt behind Baby Boomers and Generation X. As a result of their outstanding student loan debt, Millennial home ownership has fallen since the 2000’s and early 2010’s. Millennials are also taking longer to finish their degrees, thereby increasing their debt the longer they are in school.

• 1/3^rd of all Millennials carry a student loan.
• 40% of those Millennials who start college do not finish their degree within six years.
• Baby Boomers on average bought their first home at age 25, Millennials by comparison are projected to buy their first home at age 35.
• From 2005 to 2014, homeownership among Millennials dropped by 9 percentage points.
• In a survey of 1,648 Millennials by the AARP, 25% of Millennials stated that student loan debt prevented them from moving out of their current home.
• 45 million borrowers are from California – making it the state with the largest number of borrowers from this generation.

Generation X

Statistics indicate Generation X have the highest student loan debts on average and on the national scale compared to the other generations. Generation X demonstrated their ability to rebound from financial loss after the Great Recession when they recovered the most money out of all the other generations. Despite their ability to bounce back, Generation X remains pessimistic about retirement because of debts like student loans.

• 44% of Generation X say they are not confident about retirement compared to 35% of Millennials and 40% of Baby Boomers.
• Generation X may delay and push back retirement on account of student loans.
• In a survey of 1,530 Generation X by the AARP, 38% of those surveyed stated student loans prevented them from saving for retirement.
• At 1.06 million, California is the state with the most number of Generation X borrowers.

Baby Boomers

In addition to their own student loans, Baby Boomers are likely to assume debt on behalf of their children’s higher education. Those Baby Boomers who are retired and receiving Social Security benefits may find their benefits garnished if they default on federal student loans like the Parent PLUS loans.

• An AARP survey found that 77% of Baby Boomers who took out loans for someone else, did it on behalf of their children’s education.
• From 2015 to 2016, 10% of undergraduate students had parents who paid for their education through Parent PLUS Loans.
• From 2017 to 2018, the Parent PLUS loans program held nearly 800,000 Baby Boomer participants.
• At 504,400 borrowers, California had the most number of in debt Baby Boomers.

Silent Generation

As the oldest generation in the category, the Silent Generation has the fewest number of adults who have completed a college education. Each subsequent generation is more educated than the last. The Silent Generation has the least amount of student debt individually and on the national scale. Among all the generations their average amount of debt increased the least.

• Average student loan increased by 10% for the Silent Generation in comparison to Generation Z’s 39% increase.
• 1/3^rd of the mostly retired generation report having no debt.
• Only 14% report being concerned with their financial debt.
• North Dakota had the lowest amount of student debt at $.07 Billion.
• California had the most number of borrowers from this generation at 185,500.

Debts Change Over Lifetime

Age is a significant factor in the likelihood of holding substantial debt other than student loan debt. Older age groups typically see Mortgage and Home Equity Lines of Credit as their greatest financial burdens.

• Student loans are more likely to account for 30% or more of Generation Z’s total debts.
• Student loans tend to peak at age 34.
• Starting with Millennials, student loans accounted for less than 20% of their overall debt.
• Mortgages on the other hand accounted for more than 60% of debt for the Millennial group and older age groups.
• However, Generation X and Baby Boomers carry more student loan debt on average than college-age groups in addition to all their other forms of debt.

Sources

1. Experian Research: Student Loan Debt Reaches Record High As Most Repayment is Paused
2. Center For American Progress: Addressing the $1.5 Trillion in Federal Student Loan Debt
3. S. Department of Education (ED) Federal Student Aid Office (OFSA): Federal Student Loan Portfolio
4. Pew Research Center Social & Demographic Trends, On the Cusp of Adulthood and Facing an Uncertain Future: What We Know About Gen Z So Far
5. National Public Radio (NPR): Heavy Student Loan Debt Forces Many Millennials To Delay Buying Homes
6. American Association of Retired Persons (AARP): Across Generations, Struggles with Student Loan Debt
7. National Center For Education Statistics (NCES) Annual Reports and Information Staff Loans for Undergraduate Students
8. Federal Reserve Bank of New York: Center for Microeconomic Data
9. Wharton University of Pennsylvania Pension Research Council: Generational Differences and Debt