WASHINGTON–With the Biden administration announcing several rounds of student loan debt relief in the last week, a new analysis offers insights into who holds the $1.6-trillion in federal student loan debt that is currently outstanding.
As CUToday.info reported, President Biden last week said the government will cancel up to $10,000 in federal student loan debt for many borrowers, and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients. That plan is expected to be challenged in court.
According to an analysis by the Washington Post, approximately one-in-five Americans
hold student loans. More than half of those 45-million people with federal student loans have $20,000 or less to pay, with about a third of all borrowers owing less than $10,000, the Post reported, adding that 7% of people with federal debt owe more than $100,000.
A ’Primary Driver’
The higher balances account for nearly 40% of the $1.6 trillion in outstanding federal student loans, the Post said. Borrowing for graduate degree programs has been a primary driver of the growth in federal lending, the report added.
The median income of households with student loans is $76,400, and 7% of borrowers are below the poverty line, the Washington Post said.
Other Findings
Other findings in the Washington Post analysis include:
- Where did the money go? Although a majority of college students attend public two- and four-year institutions, about half of outstanding student debt is held by people who went to private schools. Among those private schools, for-profit colleges account for 17% of the debt while private nonprofit universities account for another 34%, the Post said. People who attended for-profit colleges were more likely to struggle to repay their loans than others, according to the Federal Reserve.
- Where do borrowers live? Washington, D.C., takes the top seat, with the average federal student debt per borrower at $55,000, followed by Maryland at $43,000 and Georgia at $42,000.