US states where student loan borrowers owe the most
The average federal student loan balance per borrower in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, as of March 31, 2026, ranked from the highest to the lowest.
By Academic Writing Club Newsroom · Updated
Average federal student loan balance per borrower, the 5 highest and the 5 lowest, March 31, 2026
Average balance per borrower, US dollars
| Rank | State | Average balance per borrower ($) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | $55,800 |
| 2 | Maryland | $45,600 |
| 3 | Georgia | $43,800 |
| 4 | Virginia | $41,900 |
| 5 | Florida | $41,200 |
| 6 | Illinois | $40,800 |
| 7 | New York | $40,700 |
| 8 | Delaware | $40,600 |
| 9= | Hawaii | $40,500 |
| 9= | North Carolina | $40,500 |
| 11 | South Carolina | $40,100 |
| 12 | California | $40,000 |
| 13 | Oregon | $39,500 |
| 14= | Alabama | $39,200 |
| 14= | New Jersey | $39,200 |
| 16 | Mississippi | $39,000 |
| 17= | Colorado | $38,800 |
| 17= | Vermont | $38,800 |
| 19 | Tennessee | $38,700 |
| 20 | Michigan | $38,600 |
| 21 | Connecticut | $38,400 |
| 22 | Washington | $38,100 |
| 23 | Pennsylvania | $37,500 |
| 24 | Alaska | $37,200 |
| 25= | Arizona | $37,100 |
| 25= | Massachusetts | $37,100 |
| 27 | Missouri | $37,000 |
| 28 | Ohio | $36,300 |
| 29= | Louisiana | $36,200 |
| 29= | New Hampshire | $36,200 |
| 31= | Maine | $35,900 |
| 31= | Nevada | $35,900 |
| 33= | Minnesota | $35,600 |
| 33= | Montana | $35,600 |
| 35 | Arkansas | $35,500 |
| 36= | New Mexico | $35,400 |
| 36= | Utah | $35,400 |
| 38 | Kentucky | $35,100 |
| 39 | Texas | $35,000 |
| 40 | Idaho | $34,600 |
| 41= | Indiana | $34,500 |
| 41= | Kansas | $34,500 |
| 43 | Rhode Island | $34,100 |
| 44 | Wisconsin | $33,800 |
| 45= | Nebraska | $33,700 |
| 45= | West Virginia | $33,700 |
| 47 | Oklahoma | $33,500 |
| 48 | Wyoming | $32,800 |
| 49 | Iowa | $31,900 |
| 50 | South Dakota | $31,700 |
| 51 | North Dakota | $30,500 |
Borrowers in the District of Columbia owe the most on their federal student loans: $6.4 billion spread across 114,600 borrowers, or about $55,800 each. Maryland is next at about $45,600, then Georgia at about $43,800.
At the other end, borrowers in North Dakota owe about $30,500 each, the lowest of any state, followed by South Dakota and Iowa. The figures cover federal loans that are still open, with the interest owed added to the amount borrowed.
What the figures include
Each figure is a state's total federal student loan balance divided by its number of borrowers, rounded to the nearest $100. Totals are published to the nearest $100 million and borrower counts to the nearest 100, so states within a few hundred dollars of each other are effectively level, and the figures for small states such as Wyoming and the Dakotas are the least exact.
The biggest totals are in the biggest states: California borrowers owe $156.7 billion and Texas borrowers $138.3 billion. Per borrower, though, California sits near the middle of the table and Texas below it. Parents who took out loans for their children's education are counted as borrowers too, and the loans of 1,953,300 borrowers whose address is not reported are not in any state's figure.
