Michigan Student Loan Debt and Financial Aid Statistics

Michigan Student Loan Debt and Financial Aid Statistics

Federal student loan debt statistics in Michigan

  • Michigan residents owe a total of $51 billion in student loan debts
  • This is the 9th largest total debt of all 50 states plus Washington DC and Puerto Rico
  • And the average debt per borrower of $36,116 is the 19th largest average student debt per borrower in the country – $1,671below the national average
  • A total of 1.412 million people in Michigan hold student debt making Michigan the state with the  9th highest number of borrowers in the country. 
  • This is 14.05% of the population of Michigan – making Michigan the state with the 8th most student loan borrowers per capita and sandwiches Michigan between Pennsylvania and Minnesota
  • Of these borrowers, 52.00% are under the age of 35.

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

  • The average student loan debt for borrowers who are Michigan residents is $36,116
  • This makes Michigan the state with the 19th-largest average student loan debt 
  • The average student debt in Michigan is $1,671 below the national average of $37,721
  • Within this average, the amount owed by Michigan residents varies greatly:
    • 16.00% of borrowers owe less than $5k
    • 21.60% of borrowers owe between $20k and $40k
    • 2.00% of borrowers owe more than $200k

How much do Michigan residents borrow each year?

  • 38.90% of Michigan undergraduate students take out federal student loans – this is the 19th highest in the country
  • For those at 2-year colleges, 17.90% of students chose to take student loans – that’s 31st in the country
  • They were approved to get $4,715 per year on average
  • This is the 41st most per student at 2-year colleges of any state
  • More students at 4-year schools take out student loans – 47.80% receive student loans
  • This is 19th most out of the 50 states and DC. 
  • These students are awarded $6,831 per year on average – ranking 24th in the country.

State-level financial aid for students in Michigan 

  • Michigan is the state that spends the 27th most state funds on financial aid for students
  • In total, Michigan spends $121.6 million on state-level financial aid programs per year
  • This works out at around 0.36% of the gross state product (GSP)
  • While Michigan has the nation’s 27th largest budget for student financial aid, it only ranks 35th as a percentage of GSP
  • This works out at around $334 per undergraduate student in the state – the 39th most of any state in the country
  • Just over $120.5 million is distributed to students in the form of grants meaning that none of this amount is repaid. 
  • The remaining $1.1 million is distributed between some other programs – some of which may be due to be repaid.