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
• 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
• 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.