Student loan borrowers with post-graduate degrees are more likely to have higher amounts of student loan debt in relation to their household income
Students who borrowed to complete a professional doctorate degree borrow 2.1 times the average salary of professional doctorate holder
Those with above average incomes owe approx. 65% of the total student loan debt balance
The lowest 25% of earners owe a combined 12% of the total student loan debt balance
The top 10% of earners owe 11% of the total student loan debt balance
The top 25% of earners owe 34% of the total student loan debt balance
Households earning in the top 40% owe 60% of all student loan debt
Households earning in the bottom 40% owe 20% of all student loan debt
Average student loan debt by income
Borrowers who earn $33,769 or less owe $32,518 on average – meaning that many people in this bracket owe more than they earn in a year
This can lead to them being unable to service their debt and the student loan balance growing – even with regular repayments
Those earning $33,770 – $65,036 owe an average of $42,774
While those earning $65,037 – $121,318 owe just $625 more in total despite potentially earning 3.5x as much as those in bracket 2
As wages increase, the discrepancy between the average student loan debt and income increases. While there is a correlation between income and level of debt it is not linear
Bracket #
Annual income
Average student debt
1
up to $33,769
$32,518
2
$33,770 – $65,036
$42,774
3
$65,037 – $121,318
$43,399
4
$121,317 – $216,371
$51,529
5
$216,372+
$58,408
Income and student loan debt by degree level
There is also a correlation between level of income, level of education, and the amount of student loan debt owed
Generally, the more educated someone is, the more they will earn
However, the more educated someone is, the more they will also borrow to pay for tuition fees
Those with a professional doctorate degree – such as a Doctor of Education – owe an average student loan debt of 2.1 times the average salary of someone educated to that level
The average college dropout earns $46,748 and owes $15,236 in student loan debt
The average associate’s degree holder earns $50,076 and has a student loan debt of $21,123
The average bachelor’s degree holder earns an average of $69,368 and owes $28,708
An average Master’s degree holder earns $81,848 on average while holding an average student loan debt of $75,333
Those with Research Doctorate degrees owe more in student loan debt than the average salary of a person with that degree
On average, the owe $123,695 while earning $99,268 annually
Degree
Avg. income
Average borrowed
College dropout
$46,748
$15,236
Associate’s Degree
$50,076
$21,123
Bachelor’s Degree
$69,368
$28,708
Master’s Degree
$81,848
$75,333
Research Doctorate
$99,268
$123,695
Professional Doctorate
$100,048
$211,817
Share of outstanding debt vs monthly repayments by income level
Those who earn the most, owe the most but also re-pay the most
The top 40% of earners owe a total of 58% of the total student loan debt balance
They also make 73% of total student monthly repayments
However, just because those earning the most make the largest repayments in terms of volume, it does not necessarily mean that they pay the largest percentage of their salary towards student loan repayments
Income level
% of monthly payments
% of outstanding debt
Bottom 20%
2%
5%
20 to 40%
8%
14%
40 to 60%
17%
22%
60 to 80%
34%
32%
80%+
39%
26%
Student loan debt-to-income ratios by annual income level
For every $20,000 of salary earned the proportion of student loan debt increases up until $90,000
Those earning less than $20,000 have a student loan debt equivalent to 25% of their income on average
Those earning $20 – 40k have a student loan debt equivalent to 36% of their income on average
Those earning $40 – 60k have a student loan debt equivalent to 39% of their income on average
Those earning $60 – 80k have a student loan debt equivalent to 48% of their income on average
Those earning $80 – 90k have a student loan debt equivalent to 51% of their income on average
However, those who earn $90 – 100k have a student loan debt equivalent to 41% of their income on average – 10% lower than those earning $80 – 90k
Income
Debt-to-income ratio
Less than $20k
25.0%
$20 – 40k
36.1%
$40 – 60k
38.8%
$60 – 80k
47.8%
$80 – 90k
51.4%
$90 – 100k
40.6%
Debt to income ratio by state
Mississippi is the state where the average student has the most debt as a percentage of the average income for a graduate
Massachusetts is the state with the least student loan debt as a percentage of the average income for a graduate
Washington DC has the highest income but also has a substantial student loan debt of an average $55,077 per borrower
