Reposted from Credio; by Christina Lavingia
The world is your oyster, they say. Just study hard, apply yourself and have endless opportunities greet you upon graduation. Sounds rewarding enough, until costs are factored in.
According to Student Loan Hero, the average student celebrating commencement this spring will leave the hallowed halls of her alma mater $37,172 in the hole.
Using FinAid.org’s repayment calculator, a college graduate with $37,172 in debt would need to make $51,333 annually to pay that debt down over the course of 10 years. According to Time, however, the median salary of liberal arts and humanities graduates is just $36,237 right out of school. Only engineering graduates make above the $50K mark, with the average for all college graduates sitting at $45,478.
Over 40 million Americans carry student loan debt, equaling $1.3 trillion in total.
The team at Credio wanted to see how the U.S. states’ student loan burden compares. To do this, they analyzed the amount of student loan debt per capita (amount attributable to all citizens) in all 50 states and ranked them from lowest to highest. This list features the 10 worst states ranked in that order and includes the student loan delinquency rate (measured as the percent of student debt that is at least 90 days delinquent), the percentage of state residents with at least a bachelor’s degree and the median income in the state.
10. New Jersey
Student Loan Debt Delinquency Rate: 8.95%
Percent of State Residents With a Bachelor’s Degree: 36.40%
State Median Income: $36,359
9. New Hampshire
Student Loan Debt per Capita: $5,260
Student Loan Debt Delinquency Rate: 9.39%
Percent of State Residents With a Bachelor’s Degree: 34.40%
State Median Income: $33,821
8. Colorado
Student Loan Debt Delinquency Rate: 10.21%
Percent of State Residents With a Bachelor’s Degree: 37.50%
State Median Income: $31,674
7. New York
Student Loan Debt per Capita: $5,330
Student Loan Debt Delinquency Rate: 9.16%
Percent of State Residents With a Bachelor’s Degree: 33.70%
State Median Income: $32,829
6. Pennsylvania
Student Loan Debt Delinquency Rate: 10.21%
Percent of State Residents With a Bachelor’s Degree: 28.10%
State Median Income: $28,912
5. Ohio
Student Loan Debt per Capita: $5,510
Student Loan Debt Delinquency Rate: 12.30%
Percent of State Residents With a Bachelor’s Degree: 25.60%
State Median Income: $26,520
4. Massachusetts
Student Loan Debt Delinquency Rate: 8.14%
Percent of State Residents With a Bachelor’s Degree: 40.00%
State Median Income: $36,441
3. Maryland
Student Loan Debt per Capita: $5,670
Student Loan Debt Delinquency Rate: 10.53%
Percent of State Residents With a Bachelor’s Degree: 37.30%
State Median Income: $36,670
2. Minnesota
Student Loan Debt Delinquency Rate: 8.54%
Percent of State Residents With a Bachelor’s Degree: 33.20%
State Median Income: $31,642
1. Georgia
Student Loan Debt per Capita: $5,870
Student Loan Debt Delinquency Rate: 12.96%
Percent of State Residents With a Bachelor’s Degree: 28.30%
State Median Income: $25,427
