(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.
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
