Since 2017, the average student loan debt has increased:
6.1% for 25 to 34-year-olds
17.9% for 35 to 49-year-olds
25.6% for 50 to 61-year-olds
25.6% for those 62 and older
For those aged 24 and under the average student loan debt decreased by 3.6% since 2017 – they have an average student loan debt of $16,500
Adults aged 18 to 29 years are more than twice as likely as adults in any other age group to have student debt – 34% of them have student loan debt
The average student debt for 35-year-olds is 287% greater than the original value of their loan
27.7% of older millennials have a debt of $10,000 or less
However, more than 79% of millennials claim student debt is a problem for young people
49% of adults under 30 with a bachelor’s degree or higher have student loan debt
How much of the federal student loan debt does each age group owe?
The total federal student loan burden is $1.7 trillion
Millennials have the largest number of student loan borrowers – 15 million millennials have student loan debt
These 15 million millennials owe 30.39% of the total student loan debt ($516.63 billion)
However, the 14.6 million Gen Xers with student loans owe more than any other group – 38.74% ($658.58 billion)
Gen Z owes less than any other group – mainly due to the small number who have attended college and the small number that have, as of yet, completed expensive, advanced degrees (e.g. law school, medical school, or Ph.D.)
7.4 million Gen Z borrowers owe 6.4% of the total federal student loan debt
This compares to 2.6 million of the silent generation that owes 6.55% or 6.5 million boomers that owe 17.92%
This can, in part, be attributed to the cost of advanced degrees, interest accrued over the years, and parental loans to help put children through college
National student loan debt by generation
Generation
% of federal debt
Total no. of borrowers
Gen Z
6.40%
7.4 million
Millennial
30.39%
15 million
Gen X
38.74%
14.6 million
Boomers
17.92%
6.5 million
Silent generation
6.55%
2.6 million
Remaining student loan debt balance by decade
Those in their 20s have the 2nd smallest student loan debt balance remaining, just behind those in their 90s
This can be attributed to the cheaper cost of undergraduate degrees and the fact that substantial interest has not yet accrued on the initial loan yet
For those in their 90s, it is likely the balance of the loans will never be repaid in full
Those in their 30s and 40s with student loan debt owe the most with an average balance of $40,500 and $40,400 respectively
Although tuition fees were cheaper when these people attended college, the balance has had time to accrue interest – meaning the initial balance also can grow
Many people with smaller student loans are also able to pay off their entire balance within 10 years on the standard repayment plan meaning that those left with debt can often be those with unusually large debt amounts – either due to advanced degrees or inability to get high paying jobs that allow them to pay down the initial loan
Age
Remaining balance
20s
$21,700
30s
$40,500
40s
$40,400
50s
$37,700
60s
$33,800
70s
$28,800
80s
$22,900
90+
$21,500
Percentage of each age group with student loan debt
More than 1 in 4 adults under the age of 40 have student loan debt
By the time people enter their 40s, this has reduced
In part, this is because more people have paid off their debt but it can also be attributed to fewer people attended college in the past and lower tuition fees allowing older people to work their way through college
Some of the older people with student loan debt can be attributed to parental student loans to assist in puting children through college
Age group
% with student loan debt
Under 30
26.0%
30s
28.0%
40s
13.0%
50s
12.5%
60+
5.3%
Student loan debt over the years by age group
Since 2004, the amount of student loan debt owed by every age group has more than doubled
The age group with the smallest increase is the under 30s – but the amount they owe has multiplied by 2.6x over the previous two decades
This can be attributed to people in this age group generally undertaking undergraduate degrees – the degrees with the smallest financial burden
Generally, those completing advanced degrees are approaching or entering their 30s by the time they start working their first professional jobs while having high student loan debt without having enough experience to garner the full benefit of their degree in terms of wages
Since 2004, the total student loan debt owed by 30 – 39-year-olds has multiplied by 4.1x
For 40 – 49-year-olds, student loan debt has multiplied by 5.7x
For 50 – 59-year olds, student loan debt has increased by 6x
The most dramatic increase is for the over 60s – multiplying by 13.6x
Total student loan debt by age group (billion $)
Traditionally, those under the age of 30 had always had the largest student loan debt burden
This changed in 2014 when those in their 30s overtook the under 30s in terms of total student loan debt
This can partially be explained by the stagnation in wages after the 2008 financial crisis and the inability of people who graduated around that time to find high paying jobs to pay down their student loans
Year
Under 30
30-39
40-49
50-59
60+
2004
$147.8
$112.3
$48.7
$29.5
$6.3
2005
$162.4
$127.6
$56.4
$36.4
$8.2
2006
$196.3
$154.8
$69.8
$48.2
$12.2
2007
$219.8
$174.5
$80.0
$56.4
$15.9
2008
$250.9
$205.4
$94.4
$67.6
$20.4
2009
$275.9
$232.2
$109.0
$78.5
$25.3
2010
$301.2
$261.2
$128.5
$89.6
$30.8
2011
$316.4
$282.0
$141.7
$97.0
$35.4
2012
$322.7
$320.2
$167.3
$111.3
$43.0
2013
$362.0
$354.1
$188.1
$124.9
$49.8
2014
$370.5
$383.1
$207.6
$136.5
$57.7
2015
$376.4
$408.4
$229.6
$149.7
$66.7
2016
$383.2
$437.4
$255.6
$163.2
$76.3
2017
$383.8
$461.0
$278.9
$177.2
$85.4
Number of delinquent student loan borrowers by age
As a rule, the older a borrower is, the less likely they are to be in default
Under 24s are generally less likely to be in default as a large percentage are still in school or in the grace period where they are not yet required to make repaymens
Default rates are remarkably low with well under 1% of each age group in delinquency
