This story originally appeared on Smartest dollar.

Since 2012, student loans have had the highest default rate of all forms of consumer debt. And while recent data from the New York Federal Reserve suggests that student loan default rates have declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, that data actually reflects the effect of government forbearance programs. While a large portion of student loans are currently on hold due to COVID-19 assistance programs, students – many of whom could struggle to find work in a depressed economy – will be placed in a precarious situation when the programs help will end. How the new administration tackles the student loan crisis will be crucial for many graduates struggling to make their payments.

While forbearance programs keep the default rate and student debt burden removed in the short term, the long term trend shows that student debt is steadily increasing. Since 2005, when total household debt has grown 56 percent, student loan debt has grown by more than 330 percent, reaching a staggering $ 1.5 trillion in the third quarter of 2019. In addition to loans mortgage loans, student loans are now the main source of consumer debt, accounting for 35% of household non-mortgage debt.

Making the situation more difficult for borrowers with student debt, these loans can be extremely difficult to be released, even after filing for bankruptcy. While discharging this type of debt can be difficult, it is not impossible, and student loan debt cancellation is a growing topic of discussion in Congress and within the new Biden administration.

States with the highest student debt per borrower

To find where students have been hit the most by the growing student debt problem, Smartest Dollar researchers ranked states based on average student loan debt per borrower using data from the Federal Reserve Bank. from New York. Consumer credit panel.

The researchers chose to use the 2019 data (instead of the 2020 data) because reporting changes in 2020 from COVID-19 abstention programs resulted in substantial declines in offending rates that were not the the result of individuals repaying their loans. Therefore, the 2019 data better reflects the true state of student loan default rates.

The analysis found that borrowers from coastal states tend to have the most student loan debt. While borrowers in California and Oregon have average student loan debts over $ 35,000, those in south and east coast states such as Maryland, New York, Georgia and Virginia have debt burdens. even higher.

Here are the states with the most student loan debt per borrower:

15. Colorado

• Average student debt per borrower: $ 34,800
• Share of borrowers over 90 days past due: 13.0%
• Total number of borrowers: 824,300
• Total number of college graduates: 1,768,000
• Total student debt: $ 28.7 billion

14. Delaware

• Average student debt per borrower: $ 35,000
• Share of borrowers over 90 days past due: 14.1%
• Total number of borrowers: 132,900
• Total number of college graduates: 236,461
• Total student debt: $ 4.7 billion

13. North Carolina

• Average student debt per borrower: $ 35,000
• Share of borrowers over 90 days past due: 16.3%
• Total number of borrowers: 1,337,200
• Total number of college graduates: 2,429,699
• Total student debt: $ 46.8 billion

12. New Jersey

• Average student debt per borrower: $ 35,000
• Share of borrowers over 90 days past due: 12.2%
• Total number of borrowers: 1,366,000
• Total number of college graduates: 2,692,344
• Total student debt: $ 47.8 billion

11. Mississippi

• Average student debt per borrower: $ 35,200
• Share of borrowers over 90 days past due: 22.1%
• Total number of borrowers: 417,900
• Total number of college graduates: 462,014
• Total student debt: $ 14.7 billion

10. South Carolina

• Average student debt per borrower: $ 35,500
• Share of borrowers over 90 days past due: 18.7%
• Total number of borrowers: 738,600
• Total number of college graduates: 1,099,135
• Total student debt: $ 26.2 billion

9. Oregon

• Average student debt per borrower: $ 35,600
• Share of borrowers over 90 days past due: 15.2%
• Total number of borrowers: 569,800
• Total number of college graduates: 1,071,504
• Total student debt: $ 20.3 billion

8. Alabama

• Average student debt per borrower: $ 35,600
• Share of borrowers over 90 days past due: 19.1%
• Total number of borrowers: 606,700
• Total number of college graduates: 920 353
• Total student debt: $ 21.6 billion

7. California

• Average student debt per borrower: $ 35,600
• Share of borrowers over 90 days past due: 14.1%
• Total number of borrowers: 4,115,000
• Total number of college graduates: 9 855 894
• Total student debt: $ 146.5 billion

6. Illinois

• Average student debt per borrower: $ 35,900
• Share of borrowers in arrears for more than 90 days: 12.8%
• Total number of borrowers: 1,757,500
• Total number of college graduates: 3,280,283
• Total student debt: $ 63.1 billion

5. New York

• Average student debt per borrower: $ 36,200
• Share of borrowers over 90 days past due: 11.1%
• Total number of borrowers: 2,710,400
• Total number of college graduates: 5,490,898
• Total student debt: $ 98.1 billion

4. Virginia

• Average student debt per borrower: $ 36,600
• Share of borrowers over 90 days past due: 13.3%
• Total number of borrowers: 1,176,400
• Total number of college graduates: 2,430,864
• Total student debt: $ 43.1 billion

3. Florida

• Average student debt per borrower: $ 36,700
• Share of borrowers over 90 days past due: 17.3%
• Total number of borrowers: 2,617,700
• Total number of college graduates: 4 941 169
• Total student debt: $ 96.1 billion

2. Georgia

• Average student debt per borrower: $ 39,700
• Share of borrowers over 90 days past due: 18.2%
• Total number of borrowers: 1,603,900
• Total number of college graduates: 2 404 931
• Total student debt: $ 63.7 billion

1. Maryland

• Average student debt per borrower: $ 41,000
• Share of borrowers over 90 days past due: 14.1%
• Total number of borrowers: 887 400
• Total number of college graduates: 1 795 205
• Total student debt: $ 36.4 billion

Methodology and detailed results

The student loan debt data used in this study comes from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Consumer credit panel. The researchers chose to use the 2019 data (instead of the 2020 data) because reporting changes in 2020 from COVID-19 abstention programs resulted in substantial declines in offending rates that were not the the result of individuals repaying their loans. As a result, the 2019 numbers were determined to better reflect the actual state of student loan default rates.

States have been ranked based on average student loan debt per borrower. In the event of a tie, the state with the highest amount of total student loan debt was ranked higher. Data on the number of college graduates by state is from the 2019 US Census Bureau American community survey.

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