# Student Loans Across the U.S.

Canonical: https://mydebtlens.com/Consumer-Credit-Volume-Student-Loans

Student-loan debt in the U.S. needs its own explanation because federal and private loans share a category but come from different reporting systems. The national figure gives the broad student-loan picture, while Federal Student Aid separately reports the federal portfolio. We can’t add the two numbers together, as the federal figure is already part of the national total.

Recipients remains the clearer public label for the federal source because many people with student loans are no longer students, and some federal programs involve parents or graduate or professional borrowers.

## Latest national view
- **Student loan balances:** $1.66T as of Q1 2026.
- **New student loans opened:** $18.37B in Oct 2025.
- **Number of new student loans:** 2302734 in Oct 2025.

## Compared with the same month one year earlier
- The latest amount was higher than the same month one year earlier, when new student loans opened stood at $9.6B (+91.3%).
- The latest count was higher than the same month one year earlier, when new student loans stood at 1154032 (+99.5%).

## Where the state map moves most

The map metric is **State YoY change in new credit volume** for Oct 2025.

### Highest year-over-year change
- South Dakota: +555.18%
- North Dakota: +419.37%
- New Mexico: +316.20%
- Alabama: +239.79%
- Mississippi: +208.92%

### Lowest year-over-year change
- Massachusetts: +28.16%
- Hawaii: +20.17%
- Alaska: +19.13%
- Rhode Island: +18.71%
- Wyoming: -44.01%

## Full state table

| Rank | State | YoY change |
|---:|---|---:|
| 1 | South Dakota | +555.18% |
| 2 | North Dakota | +419.37% |
| 3 | New Mexico | +316.20% |
| 4 | Alabama | +239.79% |
| 5 | Mississippi | +208.92% |
| 6 | Michigan | +199.43% |
| 7 | North Carolina | +196.36% |
| 8 | Iowa | +190.88% |
| 9 | Arizona | +187.32% |
| 10 | Tennessee | +181.11% |
| 11 | Vermont | +176.71% |
| 12 | Kansas | +175.50% |
| 13 | Texas | +174.02% |
| 14 | Georgia | +158.77% |
| 15 | Delaware | +158.21% |
| 16 | Colorado | +148.77% |
| 17 | Ohio | +134.15% |
| 18 | Nevada | +133.02% |
| 19 | Pennsylvania | +128.36% |
| 20 | South Carolina | +120.07% |
| 21 | Indiana | +119.76% |
| 22 | Oklahoma | +114.90% |
| 23 | Virginia | +113.40% |
| 24 | Idaho | +106.67% |
| 25 | District of Columbia | +100.71% |
| 26 | Arkansas | +96.57% |
| 27 | Utah | +93.49% |
| 28 | Maryland | +92.20% |
| 29 | Wisconsin | +88.38% |
| 30 | Missouri | +87.63% |
| 31 | Minnesota | +84.94% |
| 32 | Washington | +84.77% |
| 33 | Kentucky | +84.15% |
| 34 | Maine | +80.41% |
| 35 | Nebraska | +79.35% |
| 36 | New York | +74.29% |
| 37 | Louisiana | +70.12% |
| 38 | Oregon | +69.11% |
| 39 | Florida | +59.89% |
| 40 | Connecticut | +53.34% |
| 41 | Illinois | +47.27% |
| 42 | New Jersey | +44.36% |
| 43 | New Hampshire | +39.02% |
| 44 | California | +37.83% |
| 45 | Montana | +33.37% |
| 46 | West Virginia | +28.64% |
| 47 | Massachusetts | +28.16% |
| 48 | Hawaii | +20.17% |
| 49 | Alaska | +19.13% |
| 50 | Rhode Island | +18.71% |
| 51 | Wyoming | -44.01% |

## National monthly history behind the charts

The amount series is **Aggregate student-loan dollar volume**. The count series is **Number of new student loans**.

| Period | Amount | Count |
|---|---:|---:|
| Jan 2006 | $11.84B | 1421022 |
| Feb 2006 | $12.93B | 1455534 |
| Mar 2006 | $14.86B | 1490408 |
| Apr 2006 | $16.06B | 1506645 |
| May 2006 | $18.9B | 1634319 |
| Jun 2006 | $22.68B | 2077017 |
| Jul 2006 | $21.11B | 1986932 |
| Aug 2006 | $11.41B | 1538106 |
| Sep 2006 | $10.65B | 1405225 |
| Oct 2006 | $13.1B | 1580964 |
| Nov 2006 | $15.13B | 1587000 |
| Dec 2006 | $13.63B | 1604501 |
| Jan 2007 | $11.55B | 1501419 |
| Feb 2007 | $12.6B | 1487886 |
| Mar 2007 | $13.38B | 1507668 |
| Apr 2007 | $13.1B | 1515523 |
| May 2007 | $11.86B | 1487747 |
| Jun 2007 | $12.66B | 1547953 |
| Jul 2007 | $11.78B | 1594673 |
| Aug 2007 | $10.22B | 1494419 |
| Sep 2007 | $10.45B | 1437442 |
| Oct 2007 | $9.47B | 1446912 |
| Nov 2007 | $11.27B | 1500571 |
| Dec 2007 | $10.11B | 1433782 |
| Jan 2008 | $10.29B | 1464033 |
| Feb 2008 | $10.29B | 1426414 |
| Mar 2008 | $9.18B | 1421741 |
| Apr 2008 | $9.52B | 1470860 |
| May 2008 | $9.03B | 1381738 |
| Jun 2008 | $7.51B | 1316037 |
| Jul 2008 | $9.86B | 1610206 |
| Aug 2008 | $11.08B | 1628391 |
| Sep 2008 | $11.12B | 1665655 |
| Oct 2008 | $11.61B | 1718104 |
| Nov 2008 | $10.4B | 1623045 |
| Dec 2008 | $11.07B | 1723443 |
| Jan 2009 | $11.27B | 1699162 |
| Feb 2009 | $11.07B | 1753237 |
| Mar 2009 | $11.17B | 1740010 |
| Apr 2009 | $10.82B | 1744406 |
| May 2009 | $11.43B | 1840712 |
| Jun 2009 | $9.2B | 1718315 |
| Jul 2009 | $11.18B | 1766178 |
| Aug 2009 | $11.41B | 1698792 |
| Sep 2009 | $10.93B | 1687860 |
| Oct 2009 | $11.66B | 1732817 |
| Nov 2009 | $11.56B | 1789567 |
| Dec 2009 | $11.36B | 1812923 |
| Jan 2010 | $11.87B | 1782696 |
| Feb 2010 | $11.99B | 1823203 |
| Mar 2010 | $11.89B | 1886723 |
| Apr 2010 | $11.51B | 1745075 |
| May 2010 | $11B | 1610799 |
| Jun 2010 | $11.12B | 1710012 |
| Jul 2010 | $10.54B | 1571253 |
| Aug 2010 | $11.33B | 1568695 |
| Sep 2010 | $11.75B | 1633716 |
| Oct 2010 | $13.16B | 1739026 |
| Nov 2010 | $11.86B | 1694527 |
| Dec 2010 | $10.83B | 1537470 |
| Jan 2011 | $12.29B | 1618711 |
| Feb 2011 | $12.01B | 1604549 |
| Mar 2011 | $11.34B | 1685881 |
| Apr 2011 | $16.28B | 2006361 |
| May 2011 | $13.58B | 2019420 |
| Jun 2011 | $12.82B | 1935693 |
| Jul 2011 | $13.05B | 1995536 |
| Aug 2011 | $12.44B | 1957347 |
| Sep 2011 | $11.98B | 1878546 |
| Oct 2011 | $11.02B | 1747368 |
| Nov 2011 | $12.25B | 1759637 |
| Dec 2011 | $11.56B | 1784124 |
| Jan 2012 | $11.78B | 1840083 |
| Feb 2012 | $11.23B | 1775975 |
| Mar 2012 | $11.56B | 1872264 |
| Apr 2012 | $12.17B | 1981139 |
| May 2012 | $12.72B | 2060589 |
| Jun 2012 | $14.26B | 2250531 |
| Jul 2012 | $15.04B | 2156048 |
| Aug 2012 | $12.16B | 1785567 |
| Sep 2012 | $11.91B | 1742649 |
| Oct 2012 | $12.19B | 1753044 |
| Nov 2012 | $10.92B | 1583516 |
| Dec 2012 | $11.14B | 1599517 |
| Jan 2013 | $11.16B | 1614736 |
| Feb 2013 | $11.39B | 1638087 |
| Mar 2013 | $10.2B | 1603367 |
| Apr 2013 | $9.98B | 1568013 |
| May 2013 | $10B | 1530019 |
| Jun 2013 | $9.46B | 1523454 |
| Jul 2013 | $9.62B | 1353303 |
| Aug 2013 | $10.76B | 1489126 |
| Sep 2013 | $11.01B | 1528375 |
| Oct 2013 | $10.53B | 1511509 |
| Nov 2013 | $11.07B | 1515579 |
| Dec 2013 | $9.94B | 1367832 |
| Jan 2014 | $9.93B | 1467700 |
| Feb 2014 | $10.74B | 1519810 |
| Mar 2014 | $11.02B | 1473893 |
| Apr 2014 | $11.26B | 1490956 |
| May 2014 | $10.37B | 1461417 |
| Jun 2014 | $10.98B | 1465092 |
| Jul 2014 | $11.23B | 1411670 |
| Aug 2014 | $11.83B | 1474464 |
| Sep 2014 | $11.76B | 1451728 |
| Oct 2014 | $11.57B | 1380077 |
| Nov 2014 | $12.06B | 1423016 |
| Dec 2014 | $14.12B | 1436885 |
| Jan 2015 | $12.4B | 1401473 |
| Feb 2015 | $12.37B | 1398342 |
| Mar 2015 | $12.64B | 1414757 |
| Apr 2015 | $12.13B | 1370876 |
| May 2015 | $11.97B | 1400060 |
| Jun 2015 | $12.11B | 1358886 |
| Jul 2015 | $11.9B | 1395106 |
| Aug 2015 | $11.5B | 1353048 |
| Sep 2015 | $11.94B | 1374093 |
| Oct 2015 | $12.19B | 1359500 |
| Nov 2015 | $11.46B | 1328255 |
| Dec 2015 | $13.44B | 1325847 |
| Jan 2016 | $12.02B | 1364156 |
| Feb 2016 | $11.67B | 1324266 |
| Mar 2016 | $12.1B | 1345955 |
| Apr 2016 | $12.02B | 1339300 |
| May 2016 | $12.33B | 1291270 |
| Jun 2016 | $12.11B | 1321888 |
| Jul 2016 | $11.95B | 1279476 |
| Aug 2016 | $11.82B | 1296943 |
| Sep 2016 | $11.87B | 1300402 |
| Oct 2016 | $11.89B | 1299498 |
| Nov 2016 | $13.65B | 1374226 |
| Dec 2016 | $13.49B | 1331598 |
| Jan 2017 | $12.77B | 1314129 |
| Feb 2017 | $13.13B | 1337981 |
| Mar 2017 | $14.01B | 1313688 |
| Apr 2017 | $12.09B | 1289897 |
| May 2017 | $13.19B | 1317172 |
| Jun 2017 | $13.38B | 1300024 |
| Jul 2017 | $12.46B | 1289674 |
| Aug 2017 | $12.2B | 1301545 |
| Sep 2017 | $12.23B | 1284196 |
| Oct 2017 | $12.39B | 1310237 |
| Nov 2017 | $12.25B | 1252634 |
| Dec 2017 | $12.43B | 1324226 |
| Jan 2018 | $12.25B | 1249547 |
| Feb 2018 | $12.23B | 1216136 |
| Mar 2018 | $12.13B | 1238545 |
| Apr 2018 | $12.63B | 1257977 |
| May 2018 | $12.66B | 1281150 |
| Jun 2018 | $12.86B | 1251585 |
| Jul 2018 | $12.95B | 1271362 |
| Aug 2018 | $12.23B | 1266309 |
| Sep 2018 | $11.97B | 1246169 |
| Oct 2018 | $12.29B | 1253297 |
| Nov 2018 | $12.15B | 1243008 |
| Dec 2018 | $12.1B | 1332398 |
| Jan 2019 | $12.04B | 1244359 |
| Feb 2019 | $12.11B | 1231876 |
| Mar 2019 | $12.96B | 1239053 |
| Apr 2019 | $12.87B | 1260608 |
| May 2019 | $12.5B | 1231371 |
| Jun 2019 | $12.24B | 1240254 |
| Jul 2019 | $12.53B | 1217719 |
| Aug 2019 | $12.57B | 1244552 |
| Sep 2019 | $12.36B | 1242143 |
| Oct 2019 | $12.55B | 1206082 |
| Nov 2019 | $12.63B | 1190254 |
| Dec 2019 | $12.3B | 1175838 |
| Jan 2020 | $12.1B | 1152477 |
| Feb 2020 | $12.5B | 1149165 |
| Mar 2020 | $13.41B | 1106036 |
| Apr 2020 | $11.66B | 1013282 |
| May 2020 | $10.08B | 1040319 |
| Jun 2020 | $9.72B | 1023801 |
| Jul 2020 | $10.51B | 1073455 |
| Aug 2020 | $10.86B | 1084999 |
| Sep 2020 | $10.07B | 1017476 |
| Oct 2020 | $9.72B | 1040264 |
| Nov 2020 | $9.46B | 1042912 |
| Dec 2020 | $8.91B | 1011761 |
| Jan 2021 | $10.5B | 1072894 |
| Feb 2021 | $10.84B | 1093166 |
| Mar 2021 | $10.68B | 1069386 |
| Apr 2021 | $10.24B | 985222 |
| May 2021 | $10.1B | 1034775 |
| Jun 2021 | $10.58B | 1026344 |
| Jul 2021 | $9.96B | 998453 |
| Aug 2021 | $10.69B | 1044784 |
| Sep 2021 | $10.45B | 1051662 |
| Oct 2021 | $9.8B | 1012964 |
| Nov 2021 | $10.68B | 1035576 |
| Dec 2021 | $11.6B | 1031016 |
| Jan 2022 | $11.9B | 1060584 |
| Feb 2022 | $11.67B | 1057033 |
| Mar 2022 | $11.4B | 1041850 |
| Apr 2022 | $11.88B | 1077113 |
| May 2022 | $12.25B | 1163355 |
| Jun 2022 | $11.87B | 1194101 |
| Jul 2022 | $13.3B | 1200393 |
| Aug 2022 | $12.77B | 1180627 |
| Sep 2022 | $13.04B | 1178054 |
| Oct 2022 | $14.71B | 1193243 |
| Nov 2022 | $22.48B | 1368803 |
| Dec 2022 | $10.7B | 1137041 |
| Jan 2023 | $9.24B | 1143307 |
| Feb 2023 | $9.43B | 1126063 |
| Mar 2023 | $9.73B | 1143077 |
| Apr 2023 | $8.51B | 1125313 |
| May 2023 | $9.42B | 1147902 |
| Jun 2023 | $10.36B | 1152549 |
| Jul 2023 | $10.92B | 1237070 |
| Aug 2023 | $12.29B | 1181937 |
| Sep 2023 | $13.4B | 1184189 |
| Oct 2023 | $16.82B | 1223352 |
| Nov 2023 | $14.05B | 1270732 |
| Dec 2023 | $14.03B | 1270692 |
| Jan 2024 | $14.38B | 1247340 |
| Feb 2024 | $14.76B | 1233227 |
| Mar 2024 | $14.66B | 1225251 |
| Apr 2024 | $17.33B | 1273557 |
| May 2024 | $20.08B | 1178857 |
| Jun 2024 | $17.1B | 1429300 |
| Jul 2024 | $14.42B | 1166454 |
| Aug 2024 | $12.37B | 1149798 |
| Sep 2024 | $11.41B | 1169867 |
| Oct 2024 | $9.6B | 1154032 |
| Nov 2024 | $10.29B | 1143017 |
| Dec 2024 | $10.85B | 1154531 |
| Jan 2025 | $11.78B | 1446908 |
| Feb 2025 | $11.04B | 1174666 |
| Mar 2025 | $10.47B | 1180526 |
| Apr 2025 | $9.65B | 1220626 |
| May 2025 | $13.99B | 1285402 |
| Jun 2025 | $11.71B | 1225339 |
| Jul 2025 | $12.96B | 1210683 |
| Aug 2025 | $13.42B | 1194323 |
| Sep 2025 | $13.11B | 1189160 |
| Oct 2025 | $18.37B | 2302734 |

## Why student-loan activity needs extra context

### Education borrowing has a calendar
Student-loan activity can move with school calendars, tuition timing, program mix, and the way federal and private loans are reported. A monthly map should not be read like a simple consumer-shopping signal.
Source: [Federal Student Aid Data Center quarterly portfolio update](https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2026-06-23/federal-student-aid-posts-updated-reports-fsa-data-center) (as of March 2026).

### Federal-only is part of the national total
Federal Reserve figures describe the broader student-loan category, while Federal Student Aid reports the federal portfolio separately. We can’t add the two numbers together, as the federal figure is already part of the national total.
Source: [Federal Reserve Consumer Credit - G.19](https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/current/) (as of Q1 2026).

These notes describe the U.S. student-loan reporting environment around the data. They do not prove why every state moved.

## Frequently asked questions

### What does this U.S. student-loan map show?
It shows state-level year-over-year change in new student-loan activity for the latest CFPB month.

### Can I add the federal and national student-loan numbers together?
No. The federal figure is already part of the national total, so adding them would double-count part of the debt.

### Why say recipients instead of students?
Recipients is clearer because many people with student loans are no longer students, and some federal borrowing involves parents or graduate and professional borrowers.

## Data files
- [Current CFPB consumer-credit dataset](/data/debt-data/consumer-credit-volume-cfpb-current.json)
- [Managed public-data manifest](/data/debt-data/manifest.json)

## Limitations
- This page shows new credit activity and year-over-year geographic changes; it does not show whether borrowers are struggling to repay.
- The state map uses CFPB geographic change files. The national charts use CFPB monthly lending-level files.
- The most recent months in origination datasets may be revised or less complete than older months, so recent movements should be read cautiously.

## Sources
- [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Consumer Credit Trends](https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/consumer-credit-trends/)
- [Federal Reserve Bank of New York Household Debt and Credit Report](https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/interactives/householdcredit/data/pdf/HHDC_2026Q1)
- [Federal Student Aid Data Center quarterly portfolio update](https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2026-06-23/federal-student-aid-posts-updated-reports-fsa-data-center)
- [Federal Reserve Consumer Credit - G.19](https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/current/)

## Related MyDebtLens pages
- [Consumer debt overview](/Consumer-Credit-Volume)
- [Mortgages Across the U.S.](/Consumer-Credit-Volume-Mortgages)
- [Credit Cards Across the U.S.](/Consumer-Credit-Volume-Credit-Cards)
- [Auto Loans Across the U.S.](/Consumer-Credit-Volume-Auto-Loans)

MyDebtLens is an educational planning tool, not a lender, financial adviser, credit-repair company, debt-settlement company, law firm, or tax adviser.