New Jersey among top 10 states with the highest student loan debt among millennials

PHILADELPHIA – A new study is shedding light on the cost of student loan debt in the United States.

GOBankingRates used the Education Data Initiative’s Student Debt by Generation 2023 to find each state’s total number of millennials with student debt and the total outstanding debt held by the generation. 

The company then used the data, collected earlier this month, to determine the average millennial student debt in every state.

GOBankingRates found the highest average student loan debt among millennials was on the East Coast, with nine of the top 10 most expensive student debts found in the region. Illinois was the only outlier.

Here is a list of the top 10 states with the highest student debt among millennials: 

1. Maryland: $37,337
2. New York: $37,173
3. Illinois: $35,976
4. Virginia: $35,846
5. Georgia : $35,246
6. Massachusetts: $34,821
7. New Jersey: $34,801
8. South Carolina: $34,672
9. Florida: $34,561
10. North Carolina: $34,440

Of the top ten, New Jersey is ranked seventh with an average debt for millennials of $34,801. 

Among the full list, Pennsylvania has an average student debt of approximately $33,951. The PA’s total outstanding millennial student debt is over $23 billion.

And in Delaware, the average millennial student debt is $33,110.

While $1.48 billion is no small tab and approximately 44,700 millennials share it in outstanding student loan debts for DE.

“It’s no surprise that states such as New York, Massachusetts and Illinois have some of the highest student debt amounts,” Andrew Murray, the lead data content researcher at GOBankingRates, told FOX Television Stations. “Cities such as Chicago, Boston and New York are popular destinations for college graduates, who take their student debt with them when they move.” 

A recent survey shows that students throughout the country agree that student loan forgiveness is a must. An Axios survey found that students on both sides of the political spectrum think the government should be doing more to help them pay off their debts.

Of the 4,168 students surveyed, 89% of the Democratic students and 81% of Republicans said the government should offer more relief options.