By the fourth quarter of 2015, the total student-loan debt balance had risen to more than $1.2 trillion, accounting for over 10 percent of all household debt. The number of borrowers ages 60 to 64 more than quadrupled from 2005 to 2015, and the total amount that age group owed almost octupled. The delinquency rate for borrowers ages 45 to 49 exceeded that of any other age group.
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Number of borrowers
| 18 to 24 | 6,151,700 | 9,088,500 |
| 25 to 29 | 5,273,700 | 8,291,000 |
| 30 to 34 | 3,834,200 | 6,950,800 |
| 35 to 39 | 2,391,700 | 5,326,900 |
| 40 to 44 | 1,753,000 | 3,807,300 |
| 45 to 49 | 1,755,300 | 3,095,600 |
| 50 to 54 | 1,504,800 | 2,893,600 |
| 55 to 59 | 949,500 | 2,400,800 |
| 60 to 64 | 364,800 | 1,484,400 |
| Over all | 23,978,700 | 43,338,900 |
Balance owed
| 18 to 24 | $63.5 billion | $136.2 billion |
| 25 to 29 | $92.0 billion | $236.5 billion |
| 30 to 34 | $77.7 billion | $228.9 billion |
| 35 to 39 | $48.2 billion | $178.9 billion |
| 40 to 44 | $29.8 billion | $130.7 billion |
| 45 to 49 | $26.0 billion | $99.9 billion |
| 50 to 54 | $22.3 billion | $84.9 billion |
| 55 to 59 | $13.9 billion | $65.5 billion |
| 60 to 64 | $4.9 billion | $38.4 billion |
| Over all | $391.7 billion | $1.2 trillion |
Delinquency rate
| 18 to 24 | 2.5% | 5.1% |
| 25 to 29 | 5.2% | 9.8% |
| 30 to 34 | 7.1% | 11.6% |
| 35 to 39 | 8.9% | 12.3% |
| 40 to 44 | 10.0% | 14.6% |
| 45 to 49 | 9.1% | 14.7% |
| 50 to 54 | 7.2% | 12.9% |
| 55 to 59 | 6.5% | 11.7% |
| 60 to 64 | 7.2% | 12.6% |
| Over all | 6.6% | 11.5% |
Note: Outstanding student-loan debt is estimated by using a nationally representative sample of adults with credit reports. The overall number of borrowers excludes those who are 65 or older. Balances are as of the end of each year. “Delinquency rates” are calculated by dividing the outstanding balance of all student loans that are at least 90 days overdue by the total outstanding balance. Dollar amounts are in current dollars; 2015 is the latest year for which detailed figures are available. As of March 31, 2017, outstanding student-loan balances stood at $1.34 trillion. More data are available at www.newyorkfed.org/microeconomics/databank.html.
Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax