Vermont has the ninth highest amount of student debt per borrower

Submitted by tim on Sat, 11/25/2023 - 10:03

Maryland has the highest student debt per borrower, at an average of $43,116.
Vermont is ninth, with an average debt of $38,071 per borrower.
Georgia is second, with an average debt of $41,775 per borrower, while Virginia is third, with an average debt of $39,599 per borrower.
North Dakota has the lowest average debt per borrower, at an average of $30,000.

Vermont Business Magazine A new study has revealed that Vermont has the ninth highest student debt per borrower. Vermont is also the 3rd most educated state by percentage of the population with a bachelor’s education or higher, behind Massachusetts and Colorado. Meanwhile, Vermont has the fifth lowest average cost of college.

Higher education research group Degree Choices analyzed data from the Office of Federal Student Aid to determine which states had the highest average student debt per borrower.

High-level findings

Debt

Maryland has the highest student debt per borrower, at an average of $43,116.
Georgia is second, with an average debt of $41,775 per borrower, while Virginia is third, with an average debt of $39,599 per borrower.
North Dakota has the lowest average debt per borrower, at an average of $30,000.
The states where the highest percentage of bachelor’s holders have student debt are Mississippi, Louisiana, and West Virginia.
Conversely, Hawaii, Utah, and Washington have the lowest percentage of bachelor’s holders with student debt.
The states with the largest total student debt burdens are, unsurprisingly, the most populated states: California, Texas, Florida, and New York. California has the most student loan debt in total, at $149 billion.

Cost of college and future earnings

The states where education is the most expensive on average are Florida, New Jersey, and South Carolina.
Meanwhile, residents of Arizona, New York, and New Hampshire pay the least on average for their education.
Real earnings for bachelor’s holders are highest in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Utah, and North Dakota.
Bachelor’s-level earnings are lowest in New Mexico, Arizona, Hawaii, and Alaska.

Educational attainment

Maryland, the state with the highest average student debt, is also the 5th most educated state by percentage of the population with a bachelor’s education or higher, behind Massachusetts, Colorado, Vermont, and New Jersey.
The least educated states are West Virginia, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Kentucky.

1. Maryland

Topping the list for the states with the highest amount of student debt per borrower is Maryland, with an average debt of $43,116. In total, Maryland’s student debt stands at $36.7 billion across 851,200 borrowers.

2. Georgia

The state with the second highest student debt per borrower is Georgia, with an average debt of $41,775. Georgia’s total student debt of $70.6 billion is spread across 1.69 million borrowers.

3. Virginia

Virginia has the third highest amount of student debt per borrower. The state’s total student debt is $43.8 billion spread across 1.1 million borrowers, equating to an average student debt of $39,599.

4. Florida

With an average debt of $38,683, Florida has the fourth highest student debt per borrower. Florida has 2.72 million total borrowers, while the state’s total student debt is $105.4 billion.

5. South Carolina

The state with the fifth highest student debt per borrower is South Carolina, with an average student debt of $38,360. The state’s total student debt is $29.1 billion across 758,600 borrowers.

6. Illinois

Illinois is sixth on the list of states with the highest student debt per borrower, with an average student debt of $38,349. A total of 1.65 million borrowers hold $63.1 billion of student debt in Illinois.

7. Delaware

The state with the seventh highest amount of student debt per borrower is Delaware, with an average debt of $38,174. The First State has $5.1 billion of student debt across 133,600 borrowers.

8. North Carolina

With an average student debt per borrower of $38,143, North Carolina has the eighth highest student debt per borrower on average. In total, 1.35 million borrowers hold $51.6 billion of student debt in North Carolina.

9. Vermont

Vermont has the ninth highest student debt per borrower. Vermonters hold $3 billion of student debt across 78,800 borrowers, giving an average student debt per borrower of $38,071.

10. Hawaii

Hawaii rounds out the top 10 states, with an average student debt of $37,995. The Aloha State’s 123,700 borrowers hold $4.7 billion in student debt.

David Levy, Author at Degree Choices, says:

“College can be a very valuable investment, but at the same time, it can often require students to take out large loans to cover their education costs.

“Depending on the type of loan taken out and how quickly graduates pay it back, the interest on these loans can accrue rapidly, potentially resulting in paying back a lot more than what was initially taken out.

“Prospective students planning to take out a loan would be wise to weigh up the likely amount of time they will need to pay it back.

“Considering your degree's overall return on investment can avoid a situation where you are lumped with student debt that you simply cannot afford to repay after graduating.”

Average student debt by state

STATE	Total student debt (billions)	Number of borrowers	Average student debt burden
Maryland	$36.7	851,200	$43,116
Georgia	$70.6	1,690,000	$41,775
Virginia	$43.8	1,106,100	$39,599
Florida	$105.4	2,724,700	$38,683
South Carolina	$29.1	758,600	$38,360
Illinois	$63.1	1,645,400	$38,349
Delaware	$5.1	133,600	$38,174
North Carolina	$51.6	1,352,800	$38,143
Vermont	$3	78,800	$38,071
Hawaii	$4.7	123,700	$37,995
New York	$94.9	2,498,100	$37,989
Oregon	$20.5	547,900	$37,416
California	$149	3,985,700	$37,384
Alabama	$24.2	649,400	$37,265
Colorado	$29.4	795,900	$36,939
Mississippi	$16.5	447,100	$36,904
Tennessee	$32.5	889,00	$36,558
Michigan	$51.7	1,420,100	$36,406
New Jersey	$44.9	1,236,500	$36,312
Washington	$29.1	804,400	$36,176
Connecticut	$18.5	513,100	$36,055
Pennsylvania	$66.5	1,859,00	$35,772
Missouri	$30	844,200	$35,537
Arizona	$32.5	917,300	$35,430
Alaska	$2.4	68,700	$34,934
Massachusetts	$32.3	924,900	$34,923
Ohio	$63	1,810,200	$34,803
Louisiana	$23.2	667,100	$34,777
New Hampshire	$6.7	195,100	$34,341
New Mexico	$7.9	232,200	$34,022
Nevada	$12.3	361,800	$33,997
Minnesota	$27.2	801,100	$33,953
Maine	$6.5	192,00	$33,854
Montana	$4.4	130,600	$33,691
Arkansas	$13.4	399,900	$33,508
Texas	$127.2	3,813,600	$33,354
Idaho	$7.4	223,300	$33,139
Kansas	$12.9	389,400	$33,128
Utah	$10.6	320,000	$33,125
Kentucky	$20.3	613,100	$33,110
Indiana	$30.3	918,300	$32,996
Rhode Island	$4.9	149,000	$32,886
Nebraska	$8.2	252,700	$32,450
Wisconsin	$23.8	738,400	$32,232
West Virginia	$7.4	230,100	$32,160
Oklahoma	$16.1	505,100	$31,875
South Dakota	$3.8	119,700	$31,746
Iowa	$13.5	438,900	$30,759
Wyoming	$1.7	56,000	$30,357

Source: Office of Federal Student Aid

States by education level

STATE	Percent with a bachelor’s degree or higher	Percent of bachelor’s degree holders with debt
Massachusetts	46.6%	28.4%
Colorado	44.4%	30.8%
Vermont	44.4%	27.4%
New Jersey	43.1%	31.0%
Maryland	42.5%	32.4%
Connecticut	42.1%	33.6%
Virginia	41.8%	30.6%
New Hampshire	40.2%	35.0%
New York	39.9%	31.5%
Washington	39.0%	26.6%
Minnesota	38.9%	36.1%
Illinois	37.1%	35.0%
Utah	36.8%	26.0%
Rhode Island	36.5%	37.2%
Oregon	36.3%	35.5%
California	36.2%	28.1%
Maine	36.0%	38.7%
Delaware	35.6%	37.3%
Kansas	35.4%	37.4%
Hawaii	35.3%	24.2%
North Carolina	34.9%	36.7%
Montana	34.8%	33.9%
Georgia	34.6%	45.3%
Pennsylvania	34.5%	41.4%
Nebraska	34.4%	37.4%
Florida	33.2%	37.6%
Texas	33.1%	39.0%
Alaska	32.8%	28.5%
Wisconsin	32.5%	38.6%
Arizona	32.4%	39.0%
Michigan	31.7%	44.6%
Missouri	31.7%	43.2%
South Dakota	31.7%	42.1%
North Dakota	31.7%	36.5%
South Carolina	31.5%	46.4%
Ohio	30.7%	50.1%
Idaho	30.7%	38.2%
Iowa	30.5%	45.0%
Tennessee	30.5%	41.8%
New Mexico	30.1%	36.4%
Wyoming	29.2%	33.1%
Indiana	28.9%	46.6%
Oklahoma	27.9%	45.4%
Nevada	27.6%	41.7%
Alabama	27.4%	46.9%
Kentucky	27.0%	50.4%
Louisiana	26.4%	54.6%
Arkansas	25.3%	52.2%
Mississippi	24.8%	61.1%
West Virginia	24.1%	53.5%

Source: US Census Bureau

Average cost of college by state

STATE	Average cost of college	Average real earnings (bachelor’s level)
Florida	$34,850	$50,843
New Jersey	$28,269	$50,161
South Carolina	$27,968	$50,444
Michigan	$27,605	$57,307
Delaware	$27,207	$58,303
Rhode Island	$26,407	$53,166
North Carolina	$23,931	$51,302
Virginia	$22,785	$52,833
New Mexico	$21,992	$42,342
Washington	$21,870	$55,495
Pennsylvania	$21,590	$56,477
Oklahoma	$21,253	$52,050
Massachusetts	$20,521	$62,222
Indiana	$20,129	$57,326
Alabama	$20,067	$50,740
Alaska	$20,067	$44,168
Mississippi	$19,971	$47,675
Maryland	$19,771	$53,589
Kansas	$19,738	$54,731
Connecticut	$19,368	$61,164
Tennessee	$19,344	$49,978
South Dakota	$19,251	$54,018
Kentucky	$18,878	$49,967
Nevada	$18,705	$55,301
North Dakota	$18,546	$59,567
West Virginia	$18,352	$51,199
Hawaii	$18,251	$43,239
Nebraska	$17879	$57,948
Wyoming	$17,770	$54,674
Minnesota	$17,452	$55,462
Texas	$17,365	$53,893
Montana	$17,163	$47,707
Utah	$17,115	$59,725
Idaho	$17,107	$49,139
Colorado	$17,021	$46,314
Ohio	$16,592	$55,131
Iowa	$16,591	$59,237
Oregon	$16,505	$53,570
Maine	$16,160	$47,266
Georgia	$15,608	$49,492
California	$15,508	$52,035
Louisiana	$15,371	$50,355
Missouri	$14,748	$54,716
Arkansas	$14,023	$49,588
Illinois	$13,949	$52,793
Vermont	$13,362	$53,819
Wisconsin	$13,270	$57,286
New Hampshire	$13,182	$58,169
New York	$12,728	$51,445
Arizona	$11,546	$42,755

Source: IPEDS

Source: Federal Student Loan Portfolio, Office of Federal Student Aid. https://www.degreechoices.com/blog/student-loan-debt-by-state/