2021’s States with the Most and Least Student Debt
Student debt is a huge problem in America. Save for mortgages, student loans make up the largest component of household debt for Americans. Our collective debt keeps growing, too. At the end of the second quarter of 2021, total outstanding college-loan balances stood at $1.59 trillion, according to the Department of Education. That comes out to an average of $37,000 for each of the 42.9 million borrowers.
But not all states are equal when it comes to the burden of student loans. With student-loan debtors in mind, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on 11 key measures of indebtedness and earning opportunities. Our data set ranges from average student debt to unemployment rate among the population aged 25 to 34 to share of students with past-due loan balances.
Tip: If you’re considering borrowing money for college or are in danger of defaulting, we advise using a Student Loan Calculator to determine an affordable monthly payment and payoff timeline.
Source: WalletHub
Student Debt by State
| Overall Rank* | State | Total Score | Student-Loan Indebtedness | Grant & Student Work Opportunities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Virginia | 70.77 | 2 | 5 |
| 2 | New Hampshire | 68.45 | 1 | 48 |
| 3 | Pennsylvania | 67.17 | 4 | 6 |
| 4 | South Dakota | 66.03 | 3 | 42 |
| 5 | Mississippi | 60.84 | 8 | 9 |
| 6 | North Dakota | 57.70 | 6 | 43 |
| 7 | Delaware | 57.37 | 9 | 39 |
| 8 | Michigan | 57.00 | 18 | 3 |
| 9 | Wisconsin | 56.19 | 13 | 14 |
| 10 | Ohio | 56.16 | 19 | 4 |
| 11 | Maine | 56.08 | 7 | 51 |
| 12 | Iowa | 55.85 | 10 | 40 |
| 13 | Kentucky | 55.75 | 16 | 11 |
| 14 | Tennessee | 55.57 | 17 | 13 |
| 15 | South Carolina | 55.28 | 12 | 27 |
| 16 | Minnesota | 55.16 | 5 | 50 |
| 17 | New Jersey | 55.03 | 14 | 26 |
| 18 | Connecticut | 54.56 | 15 | 33 |
| 19 | Kansas | 53.40 | 20 | 30 |
| 20 | Rhode Island | 53.32 | 11 | 46 |
| 21 | Indiana | 51.65 | 23 | 19 |
| 22 | Georgia | 51.24 | 24 | 12 |
| 23 | Illinois | 50.44 | 21 | 36 |
| 24 | Alabama | 49.82 | 25 | 10 |
| 25 | Missouri | 49.77 | 22 | 41 |
| 26 | North Carolina | 46.79 | 29 | 16 |
| 27 | Arkansas | 46.33 | 28 | 23 |
| 28 | New York | 45.27 | 30 | 17 |
| 29 | Vermont | 44.74 | 26 | 47 |
| 30 | Virginia | 44.41 | 27 | 44 |
| 31 | Montana | 43.36 | 32 | 32 |
| 32 | Oklahoma | 43.28 | 35 | 15 |
| 33 | Nebraska | 42.74 | 31 | 35 |
| 34 | Texas | 42.22 | 38 | 8 |
| 35 | Idaho | 42.20 | 33 | 37 |
| 36 | Louisiana | 41.35 | 37 | 20 |
| 37 | Massachusetts | 40.88 | 34 | 45 |
| 38 | Maryland | 38.85 | 36 | 49 |
| 39 | Arizona | 38.77 | 39 | 29 |
| 40 | Oregon | 37.47 | 40 | 22 |
| 41 | Nevada | 37.39 | 45 | 2 |
| 42 | Hawaii | 37.25 | 43 | 1 |
| 43 | Colorado | 34.71 | 41 | 21 |
| 44 | Alaska | 34.10 | 42 | 28 |
| 45 | Washington | 33.26 | 44 | 25 |
| 46 | Florida | 32.11 | 46 | 24 |
| 47 | New Mexico | 30.18 | 48 | 18 |
| 48 | Wyoming | 30.17 | 47 | 31 |
| 49 | California | 29.50 | 49 | 7 |
| 50 | District of Columbia | 22.81 | 50 | 38 |
| 51 | Utah | 16.10 | 51 | 34 |
Note: *No 1 = Most Student Debt
With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the worst conditions for that metric category.
Source: WalletHub
