Median Student Debt

About this Indicator

This indicator measures the percentage of second-year students at public two-year institutions and fourth-year students at public four-year institutions with student loan debt and the median debt amount among students with debt. Student loan debt in this indicator includes the cumulative principal and interest from federal undergraduate Stafford Loans, Perkins Loans, and the undergraduate portion of consolidated loans. The debt estimates do not take into account other sources of student debt – such as credit cards, private student loans, and parent loans – thereby underestimating the overall debt burden incurred through postsecondary education. The state-level estimates are generated from samples of students who attended an institution in their state of legal residence.

Data Source

National Center for Education Statistics. National postsecondary student aid study-administrative collection: Undergraduates.

Note. State estimates are not shown when the relative standard error is greater than 50%.