The total U.S. student loan debt is approximately $1.7 trillion as of 2024

The exact figure changes throughout the year as borrowers repay loans and new students borrow. The $1.7 trillion figure represents federal student loans held by the Department of Education, plus private student loans issued by banks and other lenders. Federal loans make up roughly 85 to 90 percent of that total, with private loans accounting for the remainder. The number grows when new students enter college and shrinks when borrowers pay down balances, so any figure you see is a snapshot from a specific month.

This debt is spread across roughly 43 million borrowers in the United States. That means the average federal student loan balance per borrower is around $37,000 to $40,000, though individual balances vary widely depending on the type of degree, the school attended, and how long ago the person borrowed. Graduate degree holders typically carry much larger balances than undergraduate borrowers.

Key Takeaways

  • U.S. student loan debt totals approximately $1.7 trillion, split between federal loans (the larger share) and private loans issued by banks and other lenders.
  • About 43 million people hold student loan debt, with average federal loan balances ranging from $37,000 to $40,000 per borrower.
  • Federal student loans are tracked by the Department of Education, while private loan data comes from credit reporting agencies and lenders themselves.
  • The total debt figure changes monthly as borrowers make payments and new students take out loans, so any published number is a point-in-time measurement.
  • Graduate and professional degree holders carry significantly higher average balances than undergraduate borrowers.

How federal and private student loans are counted differently

Federal student loans are tracked directly by the U.S. Department of Education, which publishes data on the total amount borrowed through programs like Direct Loans, Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL), and Perkins Loans. This data is relatively precise because the government holds or guarantees these loans and receives payment information from loan servicers.

Private student loans are harder to measure because no single agency tracks them. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, credit reporting agencies like Equifax and Experian, and individual lenders report private loan volumes, but these numbers do not always align. Private loan debt estimates typically range from $120 billion to $200 billion, depending on the source and what types of private loans are included in the count.

Why the total debt number matters and what it does not tell you

The total debt figure is useful for understanding the scale of student borrowing in the economy. It shows how much money Americans collectively owe for education, which affects household spending, home purchases, and retirement savings. Policymakers use this number to debate whether student debt is a crisis and whether loan forgiveness or other interventions are necessary.

However, the total debt number alone does not tell you whether individual borrowers are struggling. Someone with $50,000 in student debt earning $150,000 per year faces a different situation than someone with $30,000 in debt earning $35,000 per year. Repayment difficulty depends on income, monthly payment amount, loan type, and whether the borrower is in deferment or forbearance. The aggregate number also does not show how much of the debt is in active repayment versus in default or pause status.

How student loan debt has grown over time

Student loan debt has grown significantly since 2000. In 2003, total student loan debt was roughly $200 billion. By 2010, it had reached approximately $800 billion. The debt roughly doubled again between 2010 and 2020, reaching $1.6 to $1.7 trillion where it has remained relatively stable in recent years.

This growth reflects several trends: more students attending college, higher tuition costs, longer time to degree completion, and more graduate students borrowing. The average tuition and fees at a four-year public university have risen substantially faster than inflation over the same period, pushing students to borrow more per degree.

The difference between total debt and debt in repayment

Not all $1.7 trillion in student loan debt is currently being repaid. Some borrowers are still in school and have not yet entered repayment. Others are in deferment (postponing payments because of economic hardship or other circumstances) or forbearance (temporarily stopping payments with lender permission). During the federal student loan payment pause that lasted from March 2020 through September 2023, borrowers were not required to make payments, though the debt remained on the books.

As of late 2023 and into 2024, the majority of federal student loan borrowers have returned to active repayment status. However, the exact number in repayment versus pause or deferment status changes as borrowers' circumstances change and as new policies take effect.

State-by-state variation in student loan debt

Student loan debt is not evenly distributed across the country. States with higher college attendance rates, more expensive universities, or larger graduate student populations tend to have higher total debt. New York, California, Texas, and Pennsylvania have the highest absolute amounts of student loan debt because they have large populations and many colleges. However, per-capita debt varies differently — some smaller states have higher average debt per borrower because a larger share of their population attended college or pursued graduate degrees.

The Department of Education publishes state-level data on federal student loans, but private loan data by state is not consistently available. If you want to know how your state compares, the Federal Reserve and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau both publish state-level breakdowns of federal loan debt.

What happens to student loan debt in default

When a borrower stops making payments and does not enter deferment or forbearance, the loan goes into default. Federal student loans typically go into default after 270 days (about nine months) without payment. Once in default, the loan balance is still counted in the total $1.7 trillion figure, but the borrower may face wage garnishment, tax refund offset, or collection actions.

The number of loans in default has fluctuated over time. During the payment pause, default rates dropped because borrowers were not required to pay. As repayment resumed in 2024, default rates began rising again. The exact current default rate depends on which loans you are counting and whether you measure it by number of loans or by dollar amount.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the $1.7 trillion figure the amount borrowers still owe, or the total amount ever borrowed?

It is the amount still owed. The $1.7 trillion represents outstanding loan balances as of a specific date. This does not include loans that have already been repaid in full. If you add up all the money ever borrowed for student loans since the programs began, the number would be much higher.

Does the total student loan debt include Parent PLUS loans?

Yes. Parent PLUS loans are federal loans taken out by parents to pay for their children's education, and they are included in the $1.7 trillion total. Parent PLUS borrowers are counted separately in some Department of Education reports, but their loan balances are part of the overall federal student loan total.

How much of the student loan debt is held by people over 50?

Older borrowers hold a growing share of student loan debt. As of recent data, borrowers age 50 and older hold roughly $300 billion to $350 billion in federal student loans, or about 20 percent of the total. This includes both loans they took out for their own education decades ago and Parent PLUS loans they took out for their children.

What is the difference between the total debt and the amount the government has actually lent out?

The total debt figure represents money borrowed that has not yet been repaid. The amount the government has lent out over time is much larger — the Department of Education has disbursed trillions of dollars in loans since the federal student loan program began. The difference is the amount that has already been paid back.

Does student loan debt include loans from for-profit colleges?

Yes. Loans used to attend for-profit colleges are included in the $1.7 trillion total, whether they are federal or private loans. For-profit college borrowers have historically had higher default rates and lower earnings after graduation compared to borrowers from nonprofit institutions, which affects how their debt burden plays out over time.