Student debt in higher education in the United States

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Student debt is a major concern for both parents and students. According to the Institute for College Access and Success, in school year 2013-2014, an average of 62 percent of all students nationwide graduated with debt at an average of about $27,779 per borrower. The state with the lowest average debt held by students was Utah, where average student debt was about $18,921. Conversely, students who graduated from colleges and universities in Delaware held an average of about $33,808 in debt, the highest in the country.

Student debt by state

2013-2014

The following chart details the approximate number of students who graduated with debt in each state, as well as the average amount of debt per borrower for the 2013-2014 school year.

Average student debt and percentage of graduates with debt, 2013-2014
State	Average debt	National rank	Percentage with debt	National rank
Alabama	$29,425	10	54%	41
Alaska	$26,742	23	50%	44
Arizona	$22,609	45	57%	36
Arkansas	$25,344	36	55%	38
California	$21,382	46	55%	40
Colorado	$25,064	38	56%	37
Connecticut	$29,750	7	62%	21
Delaware	$33,808	1	62%	20
Florida	$24,947	39	54%	42
Georgia	$26,518	24	62%	23
Hawaii	$24,554	41	47%	46
Idaho	$26,091	30	72%	2
Illinois	$28,984	16	67%	12
Indiana	$29,222	13	61%	25
Iowa	$29,732	8	68%	9
Kansas	$25,521	34	65%	17
Kentucky	$25,939	32	64%	18
Louisiana	$23,025	44	47%	47
Maine	$30,908	6	68%	8
Maryland	$27,457	20	58%	34
Massachusetts	$29,391	11	65%	15
Michigan	$29,450	9	62%	22
Minnesota	$31,579	5	70%	4
Mississippi	$26,177	28	60%	29
Missouri	$25,844	33	59%	33
Montana	$26,946	21	67%	13
Nebraska	$26,278	26	63%	19
Nevada	$20,211	47	46%	49
New Hampshire	$33,410	2	76%	1
New Jersey	$28,318	18	68%	10
New Mexico	$18,969	48	48%	45
New York	$27,822	19	61%	26
North Carolina	$25,218	37	61%	27
North Dakota	--	N/A	--	N/A
Ohio	$29,353	12	67%	11
Oklahoma	$23,430	43	55%	39
Oregon	$26,106	29	62%	24
Pennsylvania	$33,264	3	70%	3
Rhode Island	$31,841	4	65%	14
South Carolina	$29,163	14	59%	31
South Dakota	$26,023	31	69%	7
Tennessee	$25,510	35	60%	30
Texas	$26,250	27	59%	32
Utah	$18,921	49	54%	43
Vermont	$29,060	15	65%	16
Virginia	$26,432	25	60%	28
Washington	$24,804	40	58%	35
West Virginia	$26,854	22	69%	6
Wisconsin	$28,810	17	70%	5
Wyoming	$23,708	42	46%	48
United States	$27,779	N/A	62%	N/A
Source: CollegeInSight, "Explore All Data"

2012-2013

The following chart details the approximate number of students who graduated with debt in each state, as well as the average amount of debt per borrower for the 2012-2013 school year.

Average student debt in the United States, 2012-2013
State	Average debt	Rank	Percentage with debt	Rank
Alabama	$28,895	12	54%	40
Alaska	$28,570	13	49%	46
Arizona	$22,253	45	55%	36
Arkansas	$25,375	31	55%	36
California	$20,340	49	55%	36
Colorado	$24,520	36	55%	36
Connecticut	$30,191	6	64%	16
Delaware	$32,571	2	62%	21
District of Columbia	$22,048	47	52%	44
Florida	$24,017	40	53%	42
Georgia	$24,517	37	61%	24
Hawaii	$22,785	43	47%	49
Idaho	$26,622	23	68%	11
Illinois	$28,543	15	70%	4
Indiana	$28,466	16	62%	21
Iowa	$29,370	9	69%	9
Kansas	$26,229	27	65%	15
Kentucky	$24,693	34	59%	28
Louisiana	$23,358	41	48%	47
Maine	$29,934	7	64%	16
Maryland	$26,349	26	59%	28
Massachusetts	$28,565	14	66%	13
Michigan	$29,583	8	63%	19
Minnesota	$30,894	5	70%	4
Mississippi	$27,571	19	57%	34
Missouri	$24,957	33	63%	19
Montana	$27,568	20	66%	13
Nebraska	$26,490	24	62%	21
Nevada	$21,666	48	43%	50
New Hampshire	$32,795	1	76%	1
New Jersey	$28,109	18	70%	4
New Mexico	$18,656	50	54%	40
New York	$26,381	25	60%	26
North Carolina	$24,319	39	61%	24
North Dakota	No data available
Ohio	$29,090	11	68%	11
Oklahoma	$22,174	46	53%	42
Oregon	$25,577	30	60%	26
Pennsylvania	$32,528	3	71%	3
Rhode Island	$31,561	4	69%	9
South Carolina	$29,092	10	59%	28
South Dakota	$25,750	29	72%	2
Tennessee	$24,585	35	57%	34
Texas	$25,244	32	59%	28
Utah	$22,418	44	52%	44
Vermont	$27,318	22	64%	16
Virginia	$25,780	28	59%	28
Washington	$24,418	38	58%	33
West Virginia	$27,320	21	70%	4
Wisconsin	$28,128	17	70%	4
Wyoming	$22,879	42	48%	47
U.S. average	$26,421	N/A	61%	N/A
Source: Project on student debt, "State-by-state data," accessed January 15, 2014

Public vs. private school debt

2013-2014

While tuition for private schools is typically higher than that of public schools, debt does not always follow this same pattern. The Institute for College Access and Success analyzed data on student debt held by graduates of public and private schools. They found that in the 2013-2014 school year, about 60 percent of students nationwide who graduated from a public institution had debt, which averaged about $25,665 per borrower. For private schools, they found that approximately 65 percent of students graduated with an average of $28,498 in debt. However, in some states, such as New Hampshire, students on average graduated from private schools with less debt than those who graduated from public schools. The chart below compares these statistics for all 50 states.

Average student debt from public and private colleges, 2013-2014
State	Public in-state institution		Private institution
	Average debt	Percent of graduates with debt	Average debt	Percent of graduates with debt
Alabama	$29,706	51%	$28,166	70%
Alaska	$27,728	50%	$8,922	63%
Arizona	$22,575	57%	$25,375	65%
Arkansas	$25,512	54%	$24,845	60%
California	$19,476	53%	$27,493	61%
Colorado	$24,741	57%	$27,615	53%
Connecticut	$24,831	65%	$36,242	59%
Delaware	$33,808	62%	N/A	N/A
Florida	$22,947	52%	$30,538	61%
Georgia	$25,582	62%	$29,917	62%
Hawaii	$24,277	45%	N/A	N/A
Idaho	$25,892	71%	N/A	N/A
Illinois	$28,940	66%	$29,028	69%
Indiana	$28,324	60%	$31,834	67%
Iowa	$27,523	62%	$32,295	76%
Kansas	$25,610	63%	$24,868	78%
Kentucky	$26,486	63%	$24,139	69%
Louisiana	$20,844	44%	$28,605	54%
Maine	$32,345	80%	$27,811	52%
Maryland	$26,413	56%	$30,696	64%
Massachusetts	$29,038	75%	$29,668	59%
Michigan	$29,142	61%	$31,534	73%
Minnesota	$29,800	69%	$34,665	73%
Mississippi	$25,966	60%	$27,887	59%
Missouri	$26,147	62%	$25,338	54%
Montana	$27,049	66%	$26,280	74%
Nebraska	$24,599	61%	$31,163	70%
Nevada	$20,211	46%	N/A	N/A
New Hampshire	$35,044	81%	$28,293	63%
New Jersey	$28,345	69%	$28,153	62%
New Mexico	$18,794	48%	$25,570	80%
New York	$23,774	54%	$30,268	67%
North Carolina	$24,358	62%	$28,012	60%
North Dakota	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ohio	$28,146	65%	$32,679	72%
Oklahoma	$22,329	54%	$28,784	62%
Oregon	$25,862	59%	$26,917	72%
Pennsylvania	$33,547	72%	$32,833	67%
Rhode Island	$29,076	71%	$34,451	59%
South Carolina	$29,106	58%	$29,532	66%
South Dakota	$24,414	67%	$34,472	81%
Tennessee	$25,133	60%	$26,280	59%
Texas	$24,804	59%	$32,909	64%
Utah	$18,992	54%	N/A	N/A
Vermont	$26,987	64%	$31,023	67%
Virginia	$27,368	57%	$24,502	67%
Washington	$23,314	55%	$29,076	68%
West Virginia	$26,659	69%	$29,325	76%
Wisconsin	$27,613	68%	$32,487	76%
Wyoming	$23,708	46%	N/A	N/A
United States	$25,902	60%	$29,657	64%
Source: CollegeInSight, "Explore All Data"

2012-2013

The table below provides figures on debt from public and private institutions for 2012-2013.

Student debt from public and private institutions, 2012-2013
State	Public in-state institution		Private institution
	Average debt of graduates	Percent of graduates with debt	Average debt of graduates	Percent of graduates with debt
Alabama	$28,994	53%	$28,267	63%
Alaska	$29,467	49%	$9,757	56%
Arizona	$22,165	54%	N/A	N/A
Arkansas	$25,257	54%	$25,700	55%
California	$18,066	53%	$28,191	60%
Colorado	$23,937	55%	$28,506	54%
Connecticut	$25,348	65%	$36,300	63%
Delaware	$32,571	62%	N/A	N/A
District of Columbia	N/A	N/A	$22,048	52%
Florida	$22,065	51%	$30,044	63%
Georgia	$22,833	61%	$30,773	63%
Hawaii	$21,979	46%	N/A	N/A
Idaho	$26,385	68%	N/A	N/A
Illinois	$28,260	67%	$28,851	72%
Indiana	$27,878	60%	$30,058	68%
Iowa	$27,695	64%	$31,487	77%
Kansas	$26,087	63%	$27,023	79%
Kentucky	$25,036	57%	$23,267	69%
Louisiana	$21,640	45%	$27,775	59%
Maine	$31,449	77%	$26,281	46%
Maryland	$25,156	58%	$30,233	63%
Massachusetts	$27,348	74%	$29,388	61%
Michigan	$29,092	61%	$32,432	72%
Minnesota	$29,657	69%	$33,305	72%
Mississippi	$27,222	57%	$29,691	61%
Missouri	$24,353	67%	$25,940	57%
Montana	$28,030	65%	$24,708	75%
Nebraska	$24,130	59%	$33,135	70%
Nevada	$21,577	43%	$26,368	50%
New Hampshire	$34,170	79%	$28,779	68%
New Jersey	$27,914	70%	$29,241	65%
New Mexico	$18,473	54%	$25,256	77%
New York	$21,720	55%	$30,397	65%
North Carolina	$23,440	61%	$27,051	62%
North Dakota	No data available
Ohio	$28,010	65%	$32,101	74%
Oklahoma	$20,750	52%	$28,660	57%
Oregon	$24,248	56%	$28,035	70%
Pennsylvania	$32,659	74%	$32,338	68%
Rhode Island	$28,875	78%	$34,271	62%
South Carolina	$29,407	57%	$27,829	67%
South Dakota	$24,181	70%	$33,900	82%
Tennessee	$24,016	58%	$26,266	55%
Texas	$23,860	58%	$31,799	63%
Utah	$18,065	51%	$27,588	54%
Vermont	$27,886	65%	$25,875	60%
Virginia	$26,380	56%	$24,503	69%
Washington	$22,629	55%	$29,773	69%
West Virginia	$27,264	70%	$27,997	75%
Wisconsin	$27,094	67%	$31,244	78%
Wyoming	$22,879	48%	N/A	N/A
United States	$25,665	60%	$28,498	65%
Source: The Institute for College Access & Success - College InSight, "Student debt and undergraduate financial aid data, accessed March 16, 2015."

See also

• Higher education by state
• Higher education enrollment statistics
• Higher education financial aid statistics
• Higher education retention rates
• Higher education graduation rates
• Higher education funding

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