Bold.org
Student Loan
Research Report

Up-to-date insights on student debt in the US, based on loans reported by more than 406752 Bold.org members.

Student loan debt in the United States has reached a staggering $1.6 trillion, leading to a drop in everything from marriage rates, to small business formation, to career ambitions, to savings rates across the country.

To help understand the problem in more detail, we’re sharing the results of our proprietary research with Bold.org members, based on over 406752 loans reported.

Do women or men have more student debt? Which states have the highest debt per student? Which private lenders offer the lowest interest rates? Read on to find insights on this and more!

Table Of Contents

Do Women or Men Have More Debt?
Insights based on 205351 students|Last update: May 18, 2022 04:33 PM UTC

Average debt for
Women vs. Men

Across our entire dataset, women carry 5% more debt than men on average. It's clear that this gap starts to develop while women are still in school, and research shows that it gets more pronounced after graduation, with women holding two thirds of outstanding student loan debt overall.

Average interest rate for
Women vs. Men

While women tend to have more student debt than men, women and men carry almost identical interest rates on their student loans (5.1% vs. 4.9%).

Which Ethnicities Have More Student Debt?
Insights based on 188640 students|Last update: May 18, 2022 04:33 PM UTC

Average debt by Ethnicity

Based on data from Bold.org members, Black/African and Caucasian students carry the highest student debt, at $31,673 and $27,506 respectively.

Average Interest Rate by Ethnicity

While interest rate patterns are similar across most ethnicities, Asian students stand out as an outlier, paying 5.0% interest on their student loans on average.

That's a -9.6% higher rate than the next highest group!

Which States Have the Most Student Debt?
Insights based on 142020 students|Last update: May 18, 2022 04:33 PM UTC

Average debt by state

This rapid rise in student debt has led to a drop in everything from marriage rates, to small business formation, to career ambitions, to savings rates across the country.

State
Average rate
Average debt
Alaska5.3%$32,589
Alabama5.4%$27,522
Arkansas4.8%$24,795
Arizona4.9%$28,487
California5.0%$31,235
Colorado4.9%$29,639
Connecticut5.2%$35,432
Delaware4.8%$32,046
Florida5.2%$29,903
Georgia5.2%$30,538
Hawaii4.9%$30,392
Iowa4.7%$26,581
Idaho4.5%$25,941
Illinois5.2%$31,717
Indiana5.0%$26,729
Kansas4.7%$25,656
Kentucky5.0%$24,282
Louisiana5.2%$25,848
Massachusetts5.2%$35,981
Maryland5.2%$35,979
Maine4.9%$32,284
Michigan5.2%$30,162
Minnesota4.9%$27,038
Missouri5.0%$27,316
Mississippi5.7%$26,642
Montana4.6%$27,418
North Carolina5.1%$29,498
North Dakota4.6%$21,055
Nebraska4.7%$25,299
New Hampshire5.4%$34,323
New Jersey5.4%$35,446
New Mexico4.8%$24,963
Nevada5.0%$26,934
New York5.3%$34,408
Ohio5.2%$30,946
Oklahoma5.0%$24,754
Oregon5.0%$28,947
Pennsylvania5.6%$33,940
Rhode Island5.2%$30,629
South Carolina5.1%$27,569
South Dakota4.6%$22,705
Tennessee5.0%$28,806
Texas4.9%$26,265
Utah4.1%$21,363
Virginia5.1%$32,955
Vermont5.1%$33,277
Washington4.8%$29,288
Wisconsin5.0%$26,030
West Virginia4.8%$26,812
Wyoming4.5%$26,466
$22,865
Average tuition amount
Insights based on 406752 students|Last update: May 18, 2022 04:33 PM UTC
How Tuition Gets Paid
Insights based on 293487 students|Last update: May 18, 2022 04:33 PM UTC

Most colleges have eye-popping sticker prices, which means that paying tuition becomes a team effort. The largest way tuition gets paid is through aid, followed closely by loans and payments made by students themselves.

The Average Student Loan
Insights based on 119085 students|Last update: May 18, 2022 04:33 PM UTC

Loan size vs. interest rate

Most borrowers take out multiple loans as they need to borrow more, rather than borrow all at once. This can help keep debt to a minimum, but it also means that many students end up with multiple loans, all from different lenders with different interest rates.

Principal Remaining vs. Amount Borrowed

Unfortunately, debt tends to grow for students on average, not shrink. The average student owes 28% more on their loan than they did when they initially took the loan out!

Unlike subsidized federal loans which don’t start accruing interest until 6 months after students graduate, private student loans and unsubsidized federal student loans start accruing interest immediately. These account for a substantial proportion of student loans, and when combined with low earnings from students while in school, result in ballooning student loan principals.

Which Private Lenders Are Best?
Insights based on 134468 students|Last update: May 18, 2022 04:33 PM UTC

The Federal Government

Based on 49678 loans
Avg loan size

$19,123

Avg interest rate

3.9%

Great Lakes Borrower Service

Based on 14849 loans
Avg loan size

$27,491

Avg interest rate

4.5%

AES/PHEAA

Based on 4733 loans
Avg loan size

$23,875

Avg interest rate

4.7%

Ed Loan Trust IV

Based on 2981 loans
Avg loan size

$20,733

Avg interest rate

4.7%

Navient

Based on 14866 loans
Avg loan size

$31,184

Avg interest rate

4.9%

Nelnet

Based on 16879 loans
Avg loan size

$27,046

Avg interest rate

5.0%

Wells Fargo

Based on 2234 loans
Avg loan size

$22,623

Avg interest rate

6.7%

College Ave

Based on 2249 loans
Avg loan size

$19,557

Avg interest rate

7.1%

Discover

Based on 5434 loans
Avg loan size

$23,421

Avg interest rate

7.6%

Sallie Mae

Based on 20565 loans
Avg loan size

$24,901

Avg interest rate

7.9%

Methodology
Insights based on 406752 students|Last update: May 18, 2022 04:33 PM UTC

Our research team began by interviewing undergraduate and graduate students with loans. We asked a series of questions to understand their decision-making processes for borrowing, their plans for repayment, and their top questions about their loans.

We then reviewed survey data collected from 406752 Bold.org members to surface patterns in student loans. Our survey data included:

  • Detailed loan data, including initial loan amount, principal remaining, interest rate, lender, and more.
  • Demographic data, including gender, ethnicity, and location.
  • Education data, including degree, school, and years in degree.

Before using survey data, we manually reviewed responses to identify and remove any responses that were strong outliers indicative of unreliable reporting from respondents.

Finally, we used the resulting 406752-person data set to generate the analysis seen in this report.

To inquire further about our methodology, please email research@bold.org.