Student Loan Debt: How Does Yours Compare to Others

Student loan debt by age tells a different story than most people expect: the heaviest balances belong not to recent graduates but to borrowers in their 50s and 60s. As of the fourth quarter of 2024, Americans aged 50 to 61 carried an average federal student loan balance of just under $47,000, the highest of any age group tracked.

That figure is more than triple the roughly $14,000 average owed by borrowers under 25, and it is well above the roughly $33,000 average for those aged 25 to 34. Even borrowers over 62 are not off the hook: they hold an average balance above $43,000. Across the whole system, about 42.5 million Americans carry federal student loan debt totaling roughly $1.6 trillion, averaging $37,853 per borrower. More than half of all borrowers are 35 or older.

Why student loan debt by age skews older than expected

Decades of compounding interest explain much of the gap. Loans taken out in the 1990s or 2000s have had years, sometimes decades, to accumulate interest, particularly for borrowers who went through periods of deferment or forbearance. Some older borrowers went back to school mid career for graduate degrees or professional certifications, adding new debt on top of old. Others took out Parent PLUS loans to help cover a child's tuition, a category that can quietly grow into six figure balances.

Graduate loans are a major driver of these bigger totals. Federal data shows graduate students now account for nearly half of all federal student loans issued annually, despite representing just 17% of enrolled students. That imbalance helps explain why older borrowers, many of whom hold graduate credentials, end up with bigger tabs than the twenty somethings people tend to picture when they think of student debt.

The disparities extend beyond age. Black borrowers owe close to 50% more on average than white borrowers, and women carry higher balances than men. Wage gaps and higher rates of graduate school enrollment among women and Black professionals compound over time, turning what starts as a modest gap into a much larger one by retirement age.

How the middle and younger age groups compare

Borrowers aged 25 to 34 make up the largest single group by headcount: 14.7 million people, averaging $33,150 each. That is below the national average of about $39,000, but it still represents a heavy monthly obligation for people also trying to save for a first home or start a family.

The 35 to 49 bracket holds the largest total debt load of any age group, at $646.6 billion, with an average balance of $44,288 per borrower, almost $11,000 more than the 25 to 34 group. Many of these borrowers are juggling mortgages, childcare costs and career pressures while still paying down loans taken out two decades earlier.

Age Group Comparison

What the longer history shows

Student debt has grown faster than any household debt category besides mortgages since 2008. The share of households carrying student debt has roughly doubled since the early 1990s, from 10% in 1992 to 21% in 2022. Among households headed by someone between 25 and 39, that share climbs to 41%.

The median borrower owes between $20,000 and $24,999, notably lower than the national average. The average gets pulled upward by the roughly 8.4% of borrowers holding graduate or professional degrees, many of whom owe more than $100,000. Repayment timelines stretch on for years: about 42% of borrowers are still making payments two decades after leaving school.