How Rhode Island’s Student Debt Crisis Compares to Other States

(The Center Square) – The Biden Administration’s recent announcement regarding student debt relief thrust the topic into the forefront of the news. Under the program, students awarded Pell Grants and who took out loans from the Department of Education will have $20,000 of debt canceled. Those without a Pell Grant will have $10,000 shaved off their outstanding balances.

According to the Department of Education, federal student loans currently total $1.6 trillion. All told, an estimated 45 million borrowers hold federal student loan debt. The average student loan debt among borrowers stands at $36,200. (These are the most expensive states to get a college education.)

Burdened by that much debt, many college graduates are not always able to keep up with monthly payments, but the numbers vary by state. In Rhode Island, an estimated 156,600 people have outstanding student loan debt, and of them, 6.5% are at least 90 days past due on payments, compared to 7.5% of borrowers nationwide.

The average outstanding balance among borrowers in Rhode Island of $33,100 is lower than the national average and the 16th lowest among states.

All data in this story is from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and is current as of 2021.

Rank State Borrowers with 90+ days of past due payments (%) Average outstanding student loan balance ($) Number of borrowers
1 Mississippi 10.8 37,500 417,600
2 West Virginia 10.0 32,500 215,900
3 New Mexico 9.8 34,400 217,700
4 Nevada 9.6 35,800 346,200
5 Oklahoma 9.5 32,100 474,100
6 Alabama 9.4 37,500 614,900
7 Kentucky 9.4 33,400 586,000
8 South Carolina 9.2 37,200 748,800
9 Georgia 9.1 41,600 1,639,600
10 Tennessee 9.0 36,200 867,800
11 Louisiana 9.0 35,000 639,300
12 Indiana 9.0 32,900 926,500
13 Arkansas 9.0 32,400 373,900
14 Texas 8.4 33,100 3,753,300
15 Arizona 8.3 36,300 870,100
16 Ohio 8.3 35,000 1,812,200
17 Oregon 8.2 37,900 552,100
18 Florida 8.1 38,700 2,665,400
19 North Carolina 8.1 37,200 1,349,100
20 Michigan 8.1 36,500 1,430,100
21 Missouri 8.1 35,400 836,200
22 Alaska 7.9 33,900 70,600
23 Kansas 7.7 33,000 391,800
24 Hawaii 7.4 35,700 126,500
25 Delaware 7.1 37,200 135,300
26 Pennsylvania 7.1 35,400 2,040,200
27 California 7.0 37,700 4,008,400
28 Maryland 6.8 43,200 874,000
29 Wyoming 6.8 30,800 56,500
30 Virginia 6.7 38,500 1,148,900
31 Illinois 6.7 38,000 1,704,800
32 Montana 6.7 32,800 132,700
33 Iowa 6.7 29,900 458,500
34 Colorado 6.6 36,800 818,800
35 Rhode Island 6.5 33,100 156,600
36 Connecticut 6.4 36,300 542,300
37 Idaho 6.4 34,000 223,800
38 Maine 6.3 33,300 202,700
39 Wisconsin 6.2 31,200 784,500
40 Washington 6.1 35,900 835,400
41 New Jersey 5.9 36,800 1,342,200
42 Utah 5.9 33,100 324,200
43 Minnesota 5.6 32,700 884,400
44 Vermont 5.4 35,100 90,700
45 Nebraska 5.4 31,900 263,200
46 Massachusetts 5.3 35,100 1,037,900
47 New Hampshire 5.3 34,700 221,600
48 South Dakota 5.2 29,800 132,000
49 North Dakota 5.2 28,500 114,100
50 New York 4.8 38,200 2,592,900

 

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in The Ocean State Current, including text, graphics, images, and information are solely those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the views and opinions of The Current, the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity, or its members or staff. The Current cannot be held responsible for information posted or provided by third-party sources. Readers are encouraged to fact check any information on this web site with other sources.

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