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Period End | Direct Loans | FFEL | Perkins | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
December 2025 | $1,534
billion | $159.6 billion | $2.8 billion | $1,696 billion |
Delinquency stage | Balance (billions) | Borrowers (millions) |
|---|---|---|
31–90 days | $37.8 | 1.28 |
91–180 days | $32.9 | 1.18 |
181–270 days | $17.1 | 0.68 |
271–360 days (near default) | $23.5 | 1.00 |
Total delinquent | $111.3 | 4.14 |
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% |
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% | |
Education level | ||
Some college or technical degree | 30% | |
Associate's degree | 30% | |
Bachelor's degree | 11% | |
Graduate degree | 8% | |
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% |
Student loan debt in the United States approached $1.9 trillion in first quarter of 2026, according to the Federal Reserve, and borrowers who were already at risk of falling behind are now facing the consequences.
Fifteen percent of those with student loan payments due did not pay or paid less than required in the most recent month. Among those who had difficulty, 23% had their loans assigned to a debt collector in the past year, per the Federal Reserve's 2025 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking.
The Trump administration resumed collections on defaulted federal loans in May 2025, including wage garnishment and tax refund seizure. For the millions of borrowers who slipped behind during the payment pause, that shift has real stakes.
Federal loans account for more than 90% of all outstanding student loan debt. The remaining approximately $140.38 billion, according to Enterval Analytics as of September 2025, is held in private loans, which carry fewer consumer protections and no path to federal forgiveness.
Read on for a full roundup of student loan debt statistics.
Total student loan debt, federal and private combined, reached $1.866 trillion as of March 2026, according to the Federal Reserve. That is up from $1.841 trillion at the end of 2025 and roughly four times the approximately $481 billion outstanding in early 2006.
Federal student loan debt alone stood at a record $1.696 trillion as of December 2025, per the Department of Education. Federal debt has grown at roughly 1% per quarter on average since 2013, a pace that slowed to 0.64% per quarter during the pandemic payment pause from mid-2020 through mid-2023, and then resumed after payments resumed.
Federal student loan debt declined in three consecutive quarters in 2023, the longest stretch of declines since at least 2006, but rose in five of the six quarters that followed, per Federal Reserve data.
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 payments of $1,000 or more per month.
Compared to the average American’s monthly expenses, many are paying more than they put aside for retirement or spend on education every month.
The average federal student loan balance per borrower was $39,633 as of December 2025, according to the Department of Education. That is a record high, roughly double the average in 2007. The average has grown by roughly 1% per quarter since 2013.
Total federal student loan debt stood at a record $1.696 trillion as of December 2025, per the Department of Education.
During the COVID-19 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.
Direct Loans account for 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 were discontinued in 2017, carry $2.8 billion in remaining balances.
Direct Loans are the only active federal loan type. FFEL loans were private loans subsidized by the government through a program that ended in 2010. Perkins Loans were low-interest government loans that were discontinued in 2017.
Washington, D.C., has the highest average federal student loan balance, at $55,986 per borrower, according to Department of Education data as of December 2025. Among the 50 states, Maryland has the second-highest average at $45,246, and Georgia is No. 3 at $43,493. North Dakota has the lowest state average at $30,168.
California, Texas, and Florida have the largest total balances at $157.1 billion, $138 billion, and $113 billion, respectively, driven more by borrower counts than by per-person debt levels. Texas, despite having the second-largest total balance, has an average of $34,691, well below the national average of $39,633.
Americans aged 35 to 49 carry the largest total amount of federal student loan debt, but borrowers aged 50 to 61 carry the highest average balance per person. The youngest borrowers have the least debt overall and the lowest average balance. All figures are from the Department of Education as of December 2025.
Average balances have grown steadily over time for borrowers aged 35 or older, while remaining relatively flat for younger borrowers.
The student loan burden falls unevenly across race and gender. Black Americans carry more debt on average, are more likely to hold loans, and are more likely to hold large balances than any other group. Women carry more debt than men at every racial demographic studied.
All race data are from the Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, and gender data are from the American Association of University Women.
The gender gap in debt is compounded by the gender pay gap: Women with higher balances typically have less income available to service those loans.
Women hold an average of $31,276 in undergraduate student loan debt one year after graduation, while men hold roughly $2,000 less, according to the American Association of University Women.
Not all student loan borrowers owe payments at any given time. In the Federal Reserve's 2025 survey, 45% of borrowers were not required to make payments in the month before they were interviewed — still in school, in grace periods, or in deferment. Another 41% paid the full amount due. The remaining 15% did not pay or paid less than required.
Among borrowers who made at least a partial payment in the survey month, 20% reported difficulty making their student loan payments in the 12 months before the survey.
For borrowers approaching default, income-driven repayment plans offer reduced monthly payments based on income and family size. Deferment and forbearance are available to temporarily pause payments, though both require active enrollment with a loan servicer.
Student loan delinquency has surged since the pandemic-era payment pause ended, and the on-ramp period that protected borrowers from negative credit reporting for missed payments expired Sept. 30, 2024. December 2025 was the second full quarter after that protection ended, and the delinquency data reflects it.
As of Dec. 31, 2025, $111.3 billion in direct loans were in some stage of delinquency. Those loans were held by approximately 4.1 million borrowers and accounted for 18% of the direct loan repayment balance, according to the Department of Education.
A missed payment makes a federal loan delinquent immediately. After 90 days, the servicer reports the delinquency to major credit bureaus. After 270 days without payment, the loan enters default, which triggers loss of federal aid eligibility, collections referral, and potential wage garnishment.
The burden is concentrated among lower-income and less-educated borrowers. Those earning under $50,000 fall behind at nearly three times the rate of borrowers earning $100,000 or more. Borrowers with some college but no four-year degree fall behind at almost four times the rate of those with graduate degrees, according to the Federal Reserve.
Total private student loan debt totaled $140.38 billion as of September 2025, according to Enterval Analytics, roughly 7.7% of all outstanding student loan debt. Private loans do not carry the protections that come with federal loans: no income-driven repayment, no federal forgiveness, and fewer options when payments become difficult.
Many private lenders offer to consolidate federal student loans at potentially lower rates. Doing so converts federal loans into private loans, permanently stripping access to federal repayment programs and forgiveness options.
Fifty-seven percent of Americans say they would use savings from forgiveness to pay off debt.
Twenty-six percent say they would put savings from federal student loan forgiveness toward other savings. Ten percent say they would put savings toward a home purchase, and 7% say they would spend their savings on other things.
Older Americans are more likely to use loan forgiveness savings to pay off debt, while younger Americans are more likely to set those savings aside for a home purchase.
Fifty-two percent of Americans who attended college say the financial benefits of doing so outweigh the costs, according to the Federal Reserve. Twenty percent said the costs were not worth the benefits, and the other 28% said the costs and benefits were roughly the same.
Views on whether the financial benefits of higher education outweigh the costs vary by education level and age.
After a five-year pause, the Trump administration began collecting on defaulted federal student loans in May 2025, including through wage garnishment. About 5 million borrowers are in default. The Federal Reserve's 2025 SHED survey shows that borrowers earning under $50,000, those without four-year degrees, and Black and Hispanic borrowers were all behind at roughly double the rate of their counterparts or more.
For borrowers in default or close to it, two main options exist. Income-driven repayment plans such as PAYE and ICR can reduce monthly payments based on income and family size; there is an application backlog. Deferment and forbearance pause payments temporarily but do not reduce the underlying balance. Borrowers who have worked in qualifying public service jobs for 10 years may be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness regardless of the current administration's broader policy on forgiveness.