Federal student loan debt statistics in Arizona

• Arizona residents owe a total of $31.4 billion in student loan debts
• This is the 14th largest total debt of all 50 states plus Arizona DC and Puerto Rico
• And the average debt per borrower of $35,396 is the 23rd largest average student debt per borrower in the country – $2,391 below the national average
• A total of 887,000 people in Arizona hold student debt making Arizona the state with the  15th highest number of borrowers in the country. 
• This is only 12.19% of the population of Arizona – making Arizona the state with the 38th most student loan borrowers per capita.
• Of these borrowers, 47.70% are under the age of 35 – the 48th highest in the country.

How much student loan debt does the average Arizona resident have?

• The average student loan debt for borrowers who are Arizona residents is $35,396
• This makes Arizona the state with the 23rd-largest average student loan debt 
• The average student debt in Arizona is $35,396 – $2,391 below the national average of $37,721
• Within this average, the amount owed by Arizona residents varies greatly:
  • 17.10% of borrowers owe less than $5k
  • 20.10% of borrowers owe between $20k and $40k
  • 2.20% of borrowers owe more than $200k

How much do Arizona residents borrow each year?

• 35.20% of Arizona undergraduate students take out federal student loans – this is the 32nd highest in the country
• For those at 2-year colleges, 11.90% of students chose to take student loans – that’s 43rd in the country
• They were approved to get $4,685 per year on average
• This is the 42nd most per student at 2-year colleges of any state
• More students at 4-year schools take out student loans – 49.40% receive student loans
• This is 14th most out of the 50 states and DC. 
• These students are awarded $7,650 per year on average – the 2nd most in the country.

State-level financial aid for students in Arizona 

• Arizona is the state that spends the 37th most state funds on financial aid for students
• In total, Arizona spends $28.6 million on state-level financial aid programs per year
• This works out at around 0.22% of the gross state product (GSP)
• While Arizona has the nation’s 37th largest budget for student financial aid, it only ranks 49th as a percentage of GSP
• This works out at around $76 per undergraduate student in the state – the 14th most of any state in the country
• Just over $28.2 million is distributed to students in the form of grants meaning that none of this amount is repaid. 
• The remaining $0.4 million is distributed between some other programs – some of which may be due to be repaid.