Georgia Student Loan Debt and Financial Aid Statistics

Georgia Student Loan Debt and Financial Aid Statistics

Federal student loan debt statistics in Georgia

  • Georgia residents owe a total of $68.6 billion in student loan debts
  • This is the 5th largest total debt of all 50 states plus Washington DC and Puerto Rico
  • And the average debt per borrower of $41,639 is the 3rd largest average student debt per borrower in the country – $3,852 above the national average and behind only DC and Maryland.
  • A total of 1.647 million people in Georgia hold student debt making Georgia the state with the 7th highest number of borrowers in the country. 
  • This is 15.25% of the population of Georgia – making Georgia the state with the 2nd most student loan borrowers per capita.
  • Of these borrowers, 49.70% are under the age of 35 – the 42nd highest in the country.

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

  • The average student loan debt for borrowers who are Georgia residents is $41,639
  • This makes Georgia the state with the 3rd largest average student loan debt 
  • The average student debt in Georgia is significantly higher than the national average of $37,787
  • Within this average, the amount owed by Georgia residents varies greatly:
    • 14.30% of borrowers owe less than $5k
    • 20.90% of borrowers owe between $20k and $40k
    • 2.70% of borrowers owe more than $200k

How much do Georgia residents borrow each year?

  • 38.30% of Georgia undergraduate students take out federal student loans – this is the 20th highest in the country and a similar rate to Michigan and Indiana
  • For those at 2-year colleges, 16.90% of students chose to take student loans – that’s 33rd in the country
  • They were approved to get $5,962 per year on average
  • This is the 16th most per student at 2-year colleges of any state
  • More students at 4-year schools take out student loans – 45.70% receive student loans
  • This is 26th most out of the 50 states and DC. 
  • These students are awarded $6,575 per year on average – ranking 41st in the country.

State-level financial aid for students in Georgia 

  • Georgia is the state that spends the 5th most state funds on financial aid for students
  • In total, Georgia spends $888.4 million on state-level financial aid programs per year
  • This works out at around 0.45% of the gross state product (GSP)
  • While Georgia has the nation’s 5th largest budget for student financial aid, it only ranks 20th as a percentage of GSP
  • This works out at around $2,160 per undergraduate student in the state – the 4th most of any state in the country
  • None of this money is distributed to students in the form of grants where the money does not need to be repaid.
  • All $888.4 million is distributed between other programs – some of which may be due to be repaid.