More than 44.7 million people, or 14 percent of the population of the United States, owed money on student loans at the end of 2017. Nearly two-thirds of those borrowers owed $25,000 or less. But the total of $1.4 trillion of student-loan debt remains a concern. Only 37 percent of student-loan borrowers were managing to pay down their debt from the previous quarter at the end of 2017, while nearly 5 percent were at least 90 days delinquent in repayment, and almost 11 percent were in default.
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Borrowers, by age group
| Under 30 | 16,778,200 | 37.5% |
| 30-39 | 12,289,200 | 27.5% |
| 40-49 | 7,284,400 | 16.3% |
| 50-59 | 5,188,500 | 11.6% |
| 60+ | 3,162,400 | 7.1% |
| Total | 44,702,700 | 100.0% |
Debt, by age group
| Under 30 | $383,814,700,000 | 27.7% |
| 30-39 | $461,032,900,000 | 33.3% |
| 40-49 | $278,918,300,000 | 20.1% |
| 50-59 | $177,170,000,000 | 12.8% |
| 60+ | $85,445,350,000 | 6.2% |
| Total | $1,386,381,250,000 | 100.0% |
Distribution of borrowers by balance owed
| $1-$5,000 | 8,547,500 | 19.1% |
| $5,001-$10,000 | 7,425,400 | 16.6% |
| $10,001-$25,000 | 12,277,200 | 27.5% |
| $25,001-$50,000 | 8,609,700 | 19.3% |
| $50,001- $75,000 | 3,681,000 | 8.2% |
| $75,001- $100,000 | 1,612,600 | 3.6% |
| $100,001-$150,000 | 1,347,400 | 3.0% |
| $150,001-$200,000 | 604,900 | 1.4% |
| $200,000+ | 609,800 | 1.4% |
| Total | 44,715,500 | 100.0% |
Repayment status
| Current, with balance lower than previous quarter | 16,551,100 | 37.0% |
| Current, with balance same or higher than previous quarter | 21,256,400 | 47.5% |
| 90 or more days delinquent | 2,090,400 | 4.7% |
| Default | 4,817,400 | 10.8% |
| Total | 44,715,300 | 100.0% |
Note: Figures are from the fourth quarter of 2017. The number of total borrowers varies in each section because the components are rounded. To determine repayment status, the balance is compared with that of the previous quarter. Repayments that are 30 to 60 days late are underreported as delinquent by lenders, and so they are classified as current. More data are available here. Questions or comments on the Almanac should be sent to the Almanac editor.
Source: Chronicle analysis of data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax</small></p>