HOBOKEN, N.J.–A new analysis updates in which states and at which schools student loan debt is highest and lowest.
The fourth annual Loan Debt by School by State Report from LendEDU, which examines student loan debt figures at nearly 1,000 four-year private and public higher education institutions across the United States, outstanding student loan debt sits at $1.52 trillion, making it the second-largest form of consumer debt trailing only mortgages.
On an individual scale, the average borrower from the Class of 2018 received their diploma and left campus with $28,565 in student loan debt, up from $28,288 that was owed by the average Class of 2017 borrower, LendEDU reported.
The company said through licensing data from the annual Peterson’s financial aid survey, it is able to “keep both current and future college students up-to-date on which institutions tend to lead to high levels of student loan debt, and which bring on the opposite, but more welcomed, outcome.”
The Findings
Among the findings: students at schools in Utah have the lowest average debt per borrower at $19,742, followed by New Mexico ($22.115) and Alaska ($22,155). Conversely, students graduating from schools in Connecticut ($38,776) graduate with the most debt, followed by students who attended schools in New Hampshire ($38,754) and Rhode Island ($36,121).
Schools where students left with the most debt included Monmouth University in New Jersey ($61,614), Bryant University in Rhode Island ($54,067) and Dominican University of California ($52,559). Public universities from which students exit with the most debt include Mansfield University of Pennsylvania ($52,243), Western Michigan University ($47,755) and Sonoma State University in California ($46,917).
What’s in Report
The LendEDU report includes:
- Percentage of graduates with student debt per college
- Average student loan debt per borrower per state
- Percentage of graduates with student debt per state
- Average private student loan debt per borrower
- Percentage of graduates with private student debt
- Overall average debt rank in the United States (from lowest to highest debt per borrower)
- Overall average debt rank in each state (from lowest to highest debt per borrower)
- Private institutions with the lowest and highest average debt
- Public institutions with the lowest and highest debt
- Percent change in average student debt per borrower vs. last year’s data for each school and state
For the full report, go here.