What is the average monthly student loan payment?

As of 2025, the total monthly student loan payment is hovering around the $300 - 400 range.

How many Americans have student loan debt?

About 42.8 million Americans hold federal student loans, per the Department of Education as of December 2025. An additional several million hold private student loans only, though there is likely some overlap between public and private student loan holders.

Student Loan Debt 2025: Statistics, Forgiveness, and Outlook

Q: How much is the total student debt currently?

Total student loan debt stood at $1.841 trillion as of the fourth quarter of 2025, per the Federal Reserve. Federal loans account for more than 90% of that total.

Student loan debt totals $1.8 trillion and is held by about 43 million Americans.

By Jack Caporal – Updated Mar 30, 2026 at 1:25 PM EST | Fact-checked by Parker Hicks

Key Points

Student loan debt hits $1.8 trillion with a large portion held by women and people of color.
20% of borrowers are late on payments, risking their credit scores.
The Trump administration resumed collections on defaulted student loans in 2025.

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Average monthly student loan payment

Sixty percent of those who make student loan payments pay up to $299 a month, according to data collected by the Federal Reserve in 2024.

Twenty percent pay less than $100 a month, 24% pay between $100 and $199, and another 16% pay between $200 and $299.

Only 6% have student loan payments of over $1,000 a month.

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Total federal student loan debt: $1.696 trillion

Total federal student loan debt stands at $1.696 trillion as of December 2025, per the Department of Education, a record. Federal debt has grown at roughly 1% per quarter on average since 2013.

During the pandemic payment pause. from the second quarter of 2020 through the second quarter of 2023, that growth rate slowed to 0.64% per quarter, per Department of Education data.

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Federal student loan debt by loan type

Direct Loans make up more than 90% of all federal student loan debt, at $1.534 trillion as of December 2025. Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) account for $159.6 billion. Perkins Loans, which stopped being issued in 2017, carry $2.8 billion in remaining balances.

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Source: U.S. Department of Education (2026).
Period End	Direct Loans	FFEL	Perkins	Total
December 2025	$1,534 billion	$159.6 billion	$2.8 billion	$1,696 billion

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Washington, D.C., has the highest average federal student loan balance at $55,986 per borrower, per Department of Education data as of December 2025. North Dakota has the lowest, at $30,168.

California, Texas, and Florida carry the largest total balances, $157.1 billion, $138 billion, and $113 billion, respectively, reflecting their size as the most populous states with the most borrowers.

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Source: Federal Reserve (2025).
Family Income	Percent behind on payments
<$25,000	27%
$25,000 to $49,999	27%
$50,000 to $99,999	21%
$100,000 or more	10%

Source: Federal Reserve (2025).
Education	Percent behind on payments
Some college or technical degree	30%
Associate’s degree	30%
Bachelor's degree	11%
Graduate degree	8%

Source: Federal Reserve (2025).
Race/ethnicity	Percent behind on payments
White	13%
Black	26%
Hispanic	29%
Asian	6%
Overall	20%

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Source: Federal Reserve (2023)
Age	Pay off debt	Save for home purchase	Save for other things	Spend it on other things
18 to 29	49%	19%	28%	4%
30 to 44	56%	12%	25%	7%
45 to 59	67%	4%	22%	8%
60+	56%	4%	29%	11%

Source: Federal Reserve (2023)
Race/Ethnicity	Pay off debt	Save for home purchase	Save for other things	Spend it on other things
White	56%	11%	27%	8%
Black	62%	11%	21%	6%
Hispanic	54%	12%	27%	6%
Asian	51%	11%	29%	9%
Overall	57%	10%	26%	7%

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Source: Federal Reserve (2024).
Degree type	18 to 29	30 to 44	45 to 59	60+	All respondents
Associate's degree	37%	32%	44%	56%	43%
Bachelor's degree	55%	55%	67%	75%	63%
Graduate or professional degree	65%	64%	77%	85%	75%
Doctoral degree	45%	79%	80%	91%	80%

Americans who are still paying off their student loans are less likely to think the financial benefits of their education have been worth the costs. On the other hand, more than 50% of Americans who have either paid off their student loans or did not have any to begin with think the cost of their education was worth the financial benefits.

A significant disparity exists in whether the cost of education is seen as being worth the benefits when grouping Americans by the type of college they attended.

Those who attended a for-profit college are much less likely than Americans who attended a public college or private nonprofit college to think the cost was worth the lifetime financial benefits. Just 31% of those who attended a for-profit college believe the financial benefits were worth the cost, while more than half of those who attended public and private nonprofit colleges see the costs as being worth the financial benefits.

Percent Who Believe the Lifetime Financial Benefits of Their (Current/Most Recent) Educational Program Outweigh Its Costs

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Source: Federal Reserve (2023, 2024).
Loan Status
With loans	39%
Paid off loans or no debt ever	55%

Source: Federal Reserve (2023, 2024).
Type of College Attended
Public school	53%
Private nonprofit	58%
For-profit	31%

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FAQs

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About the Author

Jack Caporal is the Research Director for The Motley Fool and Motley Fool Money. Jack leads efforts to identify and analyze trends shaping investing and personal financial decisions across the United States. His research has appeared in thousands of media outlets including Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, Bloomberg, and CNBC, and has been cited in congressional testimony. He previously covered business and economic trends as a reporter and policy analyst in Washington, D.C. He serves as Chair of the Trade Policy Committee at the World Trade Center in Denver, Colorado. He holds a B.A. degree in International Relations with a concentration in International Economics from Michigan State University.

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9.57% of all student loan balances were 90 or more days past due as of the fourth quarter of 2025, per the Federal Reserve. New seriously delinquent student loan balances are flowing in at more than double the rate of credit card debt: 16.19% versus 7.13%. During that same quarter, 16.35% of student loan balances newly entered early delinquency.

About 24% of borrowers with payments due are behind, with lower-income borrowers hit hardest. Twenty-seven percent of borrowers earning under $50,000 are behind, compared to 10% of those earning $100,000 or more, per the Federal Reserve Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking. Borrowers with some college but no four-year degree are behind at a rate of 30%, versus 8% for graduate degree holders.

Black and Hispanic borrowers are behind at more than twice the rate of white and Asian borrowers. Twenty-nine percent of Hispanic borrowers and 26% of Black borrowers are behind on payments, compared to 13% of white borrowers and 6% of Asian borrowers, per the Federal Reserve.

A missed payment immediately makes a federal loan delinquent. After 90 days, the servicer reports the delinquency to major credit bureaus. After 270 days without payment, the loan enters default — triggering loss of federal aid eligibility and potential legal action.

Student Loan Debt Statistics in 2026

Student loan debt totals $1.8 trillion and is held by about 43 million Americans.

Key Points

Average monthly student loan payment

Total federal student loan debt: $1.696 trillion

Federal student loan debt by loan type

Percent Who Believe the Lifetime Financial Benefits of Their (Current/Most Recent) Educational Program Outweigh Its Costs

FAQs

About the Author

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FAQs

What is the average monthly student loan payment?

How much is the total student debt currently?

How many Americans have student loan debt?

Total student loan debt: $1.8 trillion

Student loan debt by year

Average monthly student loan payment

Average federal student loan debt: $39,633

Total federal student loan debt: $1.696 trillion

Federal student loan debt by loan type

Average federal student loan debt by state

Average federal student loan debt by age

Average student loan debt by race and gender

Average student loan debt by gender

Total private student loan debt: $145 billion

Student loan delinquency rates

57% of Americans would use savings from student loan forgiveness to pay off other debt

Expected Main Use of Savings From Potential Student Loan Forgiveness

Most Americans say the benefits of higher education outweigh the costs

Percent Who Believe the Lifetime Financial Benefits of Their (Current/Most Recent) Educational Program Outweigh Its Costs

Percent Who Believe the Lifetime Financial Benefits of Their (Current/Most Recent) Educational Program Outweigh Its Costs

Collections, loan forgiveness, and debt relief