The following fact sheets reveal key metrics about higher education and student debt in each state across the country using the most recent available data.

The Student Borrower Protection Center created these fact sheets using data from the U.S. Department of Education, its Office of Federal Student Aid, and the National Center for Education Statistics. 

The data underscore how the student debt crisis impacts millions of borrowers in every state, and how the existential threats to critical relief programs and federal financial aid pose a serious danger to students and families across the country. The data in these fact sheets reflect real communities whose financial well-being hangs in the balance as their elected representatives wage ongoing policy battles.

View the Statewide Fact Sheets: Higher Ed & Student Debt

Read the Press Release: “Stealing the American Dream”: Borrowers, Experts Warn of Republican Scheme to Raise Costs, Block Opportunity for Students and Families

Student Debt State Fact Sheets May 2025

Sources

  1. The number of enrolled college students per state was published by the Department via the National Center for Education Statistics. The most recent available data are from 2022.
  2. The number of Pell Grant recipients per state was published by the Department. The most recent available data are from the Award Year 2023-2024.
  3. The number of borrowers age 50 and over per state was calculated by adding the number of borrowers age “50 to 61” and “62 and over,” from the data published by the office of Federal Student Aid.
  4. The number of Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) beneficiaries per state was published by the Department in January 2025, and includes PSLF Discharges and Approvals since October 1, 2021. It excludes the 7,000 additional PSLF recipients previously approved and the 17,260 PSLF recipients residing in other locations. 
  5. The number of federal student loan borrowers per state was published by the Department in January 2025 state factsheets, under the subheader that reads “Dispersing financial aid and supports to help students across [state] to attend and complete college.” 
  6. The number of borrowers enrolled in the SAVE plan in each state was published in a table at the bottom of a press release published by the Department on January 12, 2024.
  7. The number of approved Borrower Defense applications per state was published by the Department in January 2025.