Total student debt is now higher than credit card debt in the United States, and the numbers are growing quickly and steadily: our research shows that each graduating class has more debt than the class before. How much more can students take?
This is one of a series of data-driven interactive charts aimed at exploring recent US higher-education data and trends. The aim is not to explain but to highlight trends from the data and raise questions for further investigation. We have used publicly available data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the US Department of Education’s College Scorecard. Unless noted, we have looked at all active public and private nonprofit two- and four-year institutions from 2006 to 2016.
To pay for a degree, most students rely on loans and other financial aid to supplement what they can afford. While the weighted average cost of attending a four-year college has increased by 14 percent over the past decade, inflation-adjusted debt has increased by 45 percent over the same time period, and repayment rates have cratered. Clearly, solving the college-debt problem involves not only making higher education more affordable but also ensuring that students are on a sustainable path to pay off their debts.
Here, we examine the relationship between debt and repayment rates among students at four-year public and private nonprofit universities.
Student debt at four-year universities is growing much faster than the weighted average cost to attend.
Four-year-college students’ debt, inflation-adjusted to 2017 dollars, is growing much faster than the cost of college. Even adjusted for inflation, average student debt has increased by 45 percent between 2006 and 2016, while sticker prices have risen by 22 percent, and the weighted average cost to attend by 14 percent.*
*The weighted average cost of attendance, including living costs, is calculated for in-state students by applying a weighted average of the sticker price (for those not receiving aid) and net price (for those receiving aid). Start and end dates matter but don’t change the story. The change from 2007 to 2017 is 10 percent, per our cost-completion article. Debt is federal student loan debt only.
Median debt per student
4-year students, 2006–16
High income$16,200 (+52%)Low income$14,300 (+43%)Medium income$15,600 (+40%)
While nonprofitschools are largely regarded as more affordable than private nonprofit institutions, median levels of debt are growing faster among public-school graduates.
Debt is rising for students at all income levels. Although lower-income students qualify for more grants and other aid, they also have less financial support from family and thus end up with similar debt levels as higher-income students.