State rankings

Student Loan Debt by State

District of Columbia has the highest Student Loan Average Borrower Debt ($54,945), followed by Maryland ($42,861) and Georgia ($41,639). North Dakota has the lowest ($28,604).

EconomicsEducation51 states · 2 metricsUpdated Mar 13, 2023Original page
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Student Loan Average Borrower Debt

Green is better, red is worse (lower is better). Click a place to highlight it.

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All 51 ranked

Best first.

Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →

Each dot is one state; the lines mark the median and the middle half.

Median
$34,721
Middle half $32,897 – $37,051
Average
$35,300
51 states
Lowest (best)
$28,604
North Dakota
Highest (worst)
$54,945
District of Columbia

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

51 states · # = rank by Student Loan Average Borrower Debt
#
1North Dakota$28,6042.5
2Iowa$30,46413.2
3South Dakota$30,9543.6
4Wyoming$31,2501.7
5Oklahoma$31,52515.4
6West Virginia$31,6907.2
7Wisconsin$31,89423.2
8Nebraska$31,9197.9
9Rhode Island$32,0564.6
10Kansas$32,57812.5
11Kentucky$32,77919.7
12Utah$32,83510.1
13Indiana$32,87429.8
14Texas$32,920120
15Idaho$33,0127.2
16Maine$33,1376.2
17Montana$33,1494.2
18Arkansas$33,33313
19Minnesota$33,60426.5
20Nevada$33,74311.8
21Alaska$34,0242.3
22New Hampshire$34,0856.5
23Massachusetts$34,14630.8
24New Mexico$34,2117.8
25Louisiana$34,52522.5
26Ohio$34,72162.3
27Connecticut$35,16217.5
28Pennsylvania$35,38564.5
29Arizona$35,39631.4
30Missouri$35,39729.3
31New Jersey$35,43442.5
32Washington$35,51028
33Michigan$36,11651
34Tennessee$36,41831.4
35Hawaii$36,7654.5
36Colorado$36,82228.5
37Mississippi$36,90216.2
38Oregon$37,01720.1
39California$37,084142
40Alabama$37,13723.5
41Vermont$37,5162.9
42Delaware$37,5594.8
43New York$37,67892.7
44North Carolina$37,72149.2
45Illinois$37,75761.6
46South Carolina$38,41428.1
47Florida$38,459101
48Virginia$39,16542.4
49Georgia$41,63968.6
50Maryland$42,86135.9
51District of Columbia$54,9456.5

What correlates with Student Loan Average Borrower Debt?

Pearson r against 2,098 other state metrics sharing at least 31 states. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that have a higher Student Loan Average Borrower Debt tend to score higher on these

  1. HIV Death RateHIV Statistics by State
    r = +0.86 · very strong · n = 51
    Plot
  2. Average Student Loan DebtDebt by State
    r = +0.81 · very strong · n = 51
    Plot
  3. % of Pop. with Graduate or Professional DegreeMost Educated U.S. States
    r = +0.78 · very strong · n = 51
    Plot
  4. Lawyers per 1k workersLawyer-Friendly States
    r = +0.77 · very strong · n = 48
    Plot
  5. % of Registered DemocratsRegistered Voters by Party
    r = +0.76 · very strong · n = 31
    Plot
  6. Same Sex Marriages as % of Total MarriagesSame-Sex Marriage by State
    r = +0.74 · very strong · n = 51
    Plot

Opposite directions

Places that have a higher Student Loan Average Borrower Debt tend to score lower on these

  1. % Married (US Census)Most Boring States
    r = −0.70 · very strong · n = 49
    Plot
  2. Presidential Margin (Republican minus Democratic, Points)Presidential Election Results by State, 2016–2024
    r = −0.70 · strong · n = 51
    Plot
  3. Republican Vote Share (President, %)Presidential Election Results by State, 2016–2024
    r = −0.69 · strong · n = 51
    Plot
  4. Trump % Vote RecievedTrump Approval Rating by State
    r = −0.69 · strong · n = 51
    Plot
  5. Trump VotesMost Republican States
    r = −0.69 · strong · n = 51
    Plot
  6. % of Pop. with Associates DegreeMost Educated U.S. States
    r = −0.66 · strong · n = 51
    Plot

Quick answers

Which state has the highest Student Loan Average Borrower Debt?
District of Columbia has the highest Student Loan Average Borrower Debt, at $54,945, followed by Maryland ($42,861) and Georgia ($41,639).
Which state has the lowest Student Loan Average Borrower Debt?
North Dakota has the lowest Student Loan Average Borrower Debt, at $28,604.
What is the median Student Loan Average Borrower Debt across US states?
The median is $34,721 across the 51 US states with data.
Where does this student loan debt by state data come from?
Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Education Data Initiative.

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