With student loan debt surpassing $1.6 trillion nationally, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on the States with the Most and Least Student Debt in 2024, as well as expert commentary, to see where borrowers are in the most financial trouble.
WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 12 key metrics. The data set ranges from the average student loan balance to the unemployment rate among 25- to 34-year-olds to the share of students with past-due loan balances.
| States With the Most Student Debt | States With the Least Student Debt | |
| 1. Mississippi | 42. Nevada | |
| 2. Pennsylvania | 43. Oregon | |
| 3. Delaware | 44. Colorado | |
| 4. West Virginia | 45. Wyoming | |
| 5. South Carolina | 46. Alaska | |
| 6. New Hampshire | 47. New Mexico | |
| 7. South Dakota | 48. California | |
| 8. New Jersey | 49. Washington | |
| 9. Ohio | 50. Hawaii | |
| 10. Kentucky | 51. Utah |
Best vs. Worst
- Utah has the lowest average student debt, which is 2.2 times lower than in New Hampshire, the state with the highest.
- Utah has the lowest proportion of students with debt, which is 1.9 times lower than in South Dakota, the state with the highest.
- Maine has the lowest share of student loans in past-due or default status, which is 9.2 times lower than in Montana, the state with the highest.
