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News

Student-Loan Borrowers, by Age Group, Amount Owed, and Repayment Status, 2017

Almanac 2018 August 19, 2018

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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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.


Return to the Almanac home page, or go to the Profession, Students, Finance, or States section. To purchase a copy of the Almanac in print or as a downloadable interactive PDF, visit the Chronicle Store. Help guide us to give you the data you need by taking our 10-minute online Almanac survey.


Borrowers, by age group

Age groupNumberPercentage of all borrowers
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

Age groupAmount owedPercentage of all owed
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

AmountNumber of borrowersPercentage of all borrowers
$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

StatusNumber of borrowers Percentage of all borrowers
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>

A version of this article appeared in the August 24, 2018, issue.
Read other items in Students: Almanac 2018.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
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