(The Center Square) – Last year’s Georgia college graduates on average racked up $28,081 in student loan debt, the 29th-highest average among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to a new report from the Institute for College Access & Success.
In Georgia, the share of graduates with debt during the 2018-19 academic year stood at 56%, the institute reported, while the total cost of attending college in the state averaged $28,641.
Nationwide, 62% of college seniors who graduated from both private and public universities last year had student loan debt, the analysis found. On average, graduates at the nation’s colleges owed an average of $28,950 last year, the data shows.
The 2019 numbers were below those reported the year before, when 65% of U.S. graduates had loan debt, according to the institute. The average student loan debt in 2018 was $29,200.
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The slight decline in student loan debt was attributed to increases in state higher education spending as well as the effects of a strong economy prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the researchers said. But even so, student debt has not returned to the more normal levels that occurred prior to the Great Recession, according to the analysis.
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Which States Have the Highest Student Loan Debt?
| State | Average Debt of Graduates (2018-19) | Average Debt Rank | Percent of Graduates with Debt (2018-19) | Percent with Debt Rank | Total Cost of Attendance (on-campus) |
| New Hampshire | $39,410 | 1 | 74% | 1 | $44,069 |
| Pennsylvania | $39,027 | 2 | 65% | 6 | $43,974 |
| Connecticut | $38,546 | 3 | 56% | 27 | $48,662 |
| Rhode Island | $37,614 | 4 | 59% | 18 | $50,508 |
| Delaware | $37,447 | 5 | 59% | 18 | $29,388 |
| Maine | $33,591 | 6 | 67% | 3 | $35,050 |
| New Jersey | $33,566 | 7 | 64% | 7 | $39,219 |
| Massachusetts | $33,256 | 8 | 55% | 30 | $53,853 |
| North Dakota | $32,745 | 9 | 64% | 7 | $20,975 |
| District of Columbia | $32,039 | 10 | 46% | 46 | $64,354 |
| Minnesota | $31,856 | 11 | 66% | 5 | $34,345 |
| South Dakota | $31,653 | 12 | 74% | 1 | $25,335 |
| Mississippi | $31,651 | 13 | 55% | 30 | $17,609 |
| Wisconsin | $31,550 | 14 | 64% | 7 | $28,296 |
| South Carolina | $31,524 | 15 | 60% | 12 | $31,534 |
| New York | $31,155 | 16 | 58% | 22 | $43,375 |
| Michigan | $30,677 | 17 | 59% | 18 | $29,456 |
| Virginia | $30,574 | 18 | 56% | 27 | $33,971 |
| Vermont | $30,566 | 19 | 60% | 12 | $45,172 |
| Maryland | $30,303 | 20 | 53% | 34 | $35,601 |
| Iowa | $30,259 | 21 | 63% | 10 | $28,549 |
| Ohio | $29,886 | 22 | 60% | 12 | $34,678 |
| Alabama | $29,791 | 23 | 50% | 36 | $25,805 |
| Illinois | $29,666 | 24 | 61% | 11 | $42,705 |
| West Virginia | $29,272 | 25 | 67% | 3 | $24,979 |
| Missouri | $28,740 | 26 | 57% | 24 | $28,491 |
| Kentucky | $28,482 | 27 | 58% | 22 | $30,068 |
| Indiana | $28,112 | 28 | 59% | 18 | $31,855 |
| Georgia | $28,081 | 29 | 56% | 27 | $28,641 |
| Oregon | $27,542 | 30 | 54% | 33 | $33,343 |
| Tennessee | $27,525 | 31 | 60% | 12 | $33,397 |
| Montana | $27,265 | 32 | 57% | 24 | $23,188 |
| Texas | $26,951 | 33 | 48% | 40 | $27,302 |
| Kansas | $26,788 | 34 | 60% | 12 | $23,281 |
| Arkansas | $26,679 | 35 | 53% | 34 | $24,648 |
| North Carolina | $26,583 | 36 | 55% | 30 | $31,244 |
| Colorado | $26,562 | 37 | 50% | 36 | $31,396 |
| Nebraska | $26,026 | 38 | 57% | 24 | $26,436 |
| Idaho | $25,942 | 39 | 60% | 12 | $18,778 |
| Alaska | $25,925 | 40 | 48% | 40 | $24,536 |
| Oklahoma | $25,793 | 41 | 47% | 44 | $25,067 |
| Louisiana | $25,512 | 42 | 48% | 40 | $29,661 |
| Arizona | $24,712 | 43 | 49% | 39 | $27,746 |
| Washington | $24,645 | 44 | 50% | 36 | $31,186 |
| Florida | $24,629 | 45 | 48% | 40 | $29,638 |
| Hawaii | $23,577 | 46 | 43% | 50 | $29,290 |
| Wyoming | $23,444 | 47 | 46% | 46 | $16,275 |
| California | $21,485 | 48 | 47% | 44 | $36,347 |
| Nevada | $21,254 | 49 | 46% | 46 | $24,475 |
| New Mexico | $20,991 | 50 | 45% | 49 | $20,791 |
| Utah | $17,935 | 51 | 40% | 51 | $20,769 |
Source: Institute for College Access & Success
