Federal Student Loan Debt by State: What Business Insider’s Ranking Shows

Business Insider reports that 42.3 million people held more than $1.72 trillion in outstanding federal student loans as of June 30, citing Department of Education data. Across the country, borrowers carry an estimated average balance of $40,768, according to Business Insider’s analysis. The ranking highlights how student debt remains a long-term financial obligation for many borrowers after graduation.

The article’s central finding is that borrowers in Maryland owe the most on average among the 50 states. Business Insider ranked states by dividing total outstanding federal loan balances by the number of borrowers living in each state. That approach focuses on where borrowers live now, not where they attended college or first took out loans.

The Department of Education data includes total outstanding federal loan balances and borrower counts by current state of residence. It does not show which colleges borrowers attended, where they originally borrowed, or how much current students are borrowing. Readers should treat the ranking as a snapshot of where federal student loan balances are currently held across the country.

Even states near the bottom of the ranking show sizable federal student loan totals. North Dakota ranked 50th with $2.7 billion in balances, 88,400 borrowers, and an estimated average balance of $30,543. Other lower-ranked examples listed include South Dakota, Iowa, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and West Virginia, each with average balances above $31,000 in the available article text.