Cities and States Where Americans Have the Most and Least Student Loan Debt [Data]

Student loan debt remains one of the biggest financial burdens for American households, shaping everything from homeownership timelines to retirement savings. The burden of student debt isn't distributed evenly, though: differences in income and job opportunities mean that in some places less than 7% of people manage student debt, while in others nearly a quarter of residents have loans to pay.

The gap isn't just about who went to college. It tracks closely with local income levels and, in some places, with how easily residents can keep up with payments once they leave school.

The FinanceBuzz research team analyzed the share of residents with student loan debt, median debt balances, and delinquency rates across every state in the country and hundreds of cities nationwide to find where the burden is heaviest and where it barely registers.

Key findings

• 24.3% of Jackson, Mississippi residents carry student loan debt, the highest share of any city analyzed and well above the 14.4% national average.
• San Jose, California, has the lowest student debt rate, as just 6.7% of residents there have active debt.
• Washington, D.C. has the highest share of any state or state-equivalent, at 19.0%, with Pennsylvania second at 17.9%.
• Hawaii has the lowest percentage of residents with student loan debt, at 10.1%, followed by California (11.1%).

U.S. cities where student loan debt is most common

Southern and Rust Belt cities dominate the top of the list, with Jackson, Mississippi leading the way with a whopping 24.3% of residents holding active student loan debt. That is more than a full percentage point higher than any other city in the country, as Albany, Georgia, is second at 22.9%. Another Southern city, New Orleans, rounds out the top three, with 22.1% of residents carrying student loan debt.

Cities with the highest share of residents carrying student loan debt

1. Jackson, MS

• Share with student loan debt: 24.3%
• Median student loan debt: $23,042
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 26.9%

2. Albany, GA

• Share with student loan debt: 22.9%
• Median student loan debt: $24,508
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 30.1%

3. New Orleans, LA

• Share with student loan debt: 22.1%
• Median student loan debt: $27,446
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 23.8%

4. Fargo, ND

• Share with student loan debt: 21.9%
• Median student loan debt: $21,830
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 9.7%

5. Philadelphia, PA

• Share with student loan debt: 21.7%
• Median student loan debt: $23,669
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 16.9%

6. Scranton, PA

• Share with student loan debt: 21.4%
• Median student loan debt: $22,619
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 16.6%

7. Iowa City, IA

• Share with student loan debt: 21.0%
• Median student loan debt: $22,624
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 11.7%

8. Waldorf, MD

• Share with student loan debt: 20.8%
• Median student loan debt: $29,692
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 19.7%

9. Little Rock, AR

• Share with student loan debt: 20.8%
• Median student loan debt: $24,502
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 4.9%

10. Richmond, VA

• Share with student loan debt: 20.7%
• Median student loan debt: $25,245
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 16.5%

U.S. cities where student loan debt is least common

Cities at the bottom of the list land there largely because of two vastly different industries: tech and oil. More than half of the cities with the lowest student loan debt rates are in and around California's Greater Bay Area, including Silicon Valley. Incomes there are among the highest in the country, meaning residents in these cities earn more than enough to comfortably manage and pay down whatever student debt they may have incurred. The overall leader in this regard is San Jose, California, where just 6.7% of people have student loan debt. By contrast, Jackson, Mississippi's 24.3% rate is more than three and a half times as high.

On the other hand, cities such as Odessa, Texas, and nearby Midland appear on the list because they rely heavily on the oil-and-gas industry. Many jobs in those fields do not require a four-year college degree, meaning that a higher percentage of residents living in those cities don't have student loan debts to pay down because they never took on those debts in the first place.

Cities with the lowest share of residents carrying student loan debt

1. San Jose, CA

• Share with student loan debt: 6.7%
• Median student loan debt: $19,331
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 11.1%

2. Odessa, TX

• Share with student loan debt: 7.0%
• Median student loan debt: $14,672
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 25.9%

3. San Mateo, CA

• Share with student loan debt: 7.2%
• Median student loan debt: $21,836
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 11.1%

4. Santa Rosa, CA

• Share with student loan debt: 7.5%
• Median student loan debt: $20,112
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 11.8%

5. Yuma, AZ

• Share with student loan debt: 7.7%
• Median student loan debt: $15,910
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 20.8%

6. Midland, TX

• Share with student loan debt: 7.8%
• Median student loan debt: $17,442
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 20.5%

7. Vallejo, CA

• Share with student loan debt: 8.3%
• Median student loan debt: $20,305
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 12.3%

8. Yuba City, CA

• Share with student loan debt: 8.4%
• Median student loan debt: $14,795
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 16.9%

9. Santa Maria, CA

• Share with student loan debt: 8.5%
• Median student loan debt: $18,040
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 14.4%

10. Folsom, CA

• Share with student loan debt: 8.6%
• Median student loan debt: $24,208
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 11.6%

City with the highest student debt share in every state

In many states, the city with the highest rate of residents with student loan debt is a college town or state capital rather than the largest metro. Notable examples of this include Iowa City, Iowa; Lawrence, Kansas; Morgantown, West Virginia; and Columbia, Missouri, among others. All of those cities lead their respective states. That likely reflects the concentration of young, recently graduated renters these areas draw, rather than where debt is heaviest statewide.

How student loan debt varies by state

State-level patterns split into two different stories. Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania lead in student debt share, joined by a number of states in the Northeast and Upper Midwest such as Minnesota, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and the Dakotas. Those patterns are consistent with higher four-year degree attainment in places where residents can more comfortably carry what they borrowed.

Mississippi, Louisiana, and Georgia land in the same top tier by share, but might land there for a different reason: these states have historically lagged behind the country on household income and job diversification, suggesting many residents there take on debt for a degree that doesn't always pay off as quickly once they enter the local labor market.

On the flip side, many of the states with the lowest student loan debt rates are in the West for a few reasons. States like California, Washington, and Hawaii are expensive places to live, meaning it is difficult to live there unless you are a high earner. As a result, people with stable careers and higher incomes are more likely to live and work in those states, and those are the same people who are better able to manage their student loans. In other Western states such as Nevada, Wyoming, and Utah, there is more work to be found in industries such as oil, gas, mining, and hospitality that do not require a college degree in the first place.

States with the highest share of residents carrying student loan debt

1. District of Columbia

• Share with student loan debt: 19.0%
• Median student loan debt: $28,862
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 16.5%

2. Pennsylvania

• Share with student loan debt: 17.9%
• Median student loan debt: $23,670
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 15.3%

3. Minnesota

• Share with student loan debt: 17.5%
• Median student loan debt: $21,467
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 10.6%

4. South Dakota

• Share with student loan debt: 17.2%
• Median student loan debt: $19,451
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 11.4%

5. Rhode Island

• Share with student loan debt: 17.1%
• Median student loan debt: $20,935
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 15.2%

6. Connecticut

• Share with student loan debt: 17.1%
• Median student loan debt: $22,816
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 15.6%

7. Mississippi

• Share with student loan debt: 17.0%
• Median student loan debt: $20,418
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 22.3%

8. North Dakota

• Share with student loan debt: 16.9%
• Median student loan debt: $19,118
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 10.8%

9. Georgia

• Share with student loan debt: 16.9%
• Median student loan debt: $24,403
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 21.1%

10. Ohio

• Share with student loan debt: 16.8%
• Median student loan debt: $22,101
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 17.0%

States with the lowest share of residents carrying student loan debt

1. Hawaii

• Share with student loan debt: 10.1%
• Median student loan debt: $20,551
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 13.9%

2. California

• Share with student loan debt: 11.1%
• Median student loan debt: $19,209
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 13.7%

3. Wyoming

• Share with student loan debt: 11.3%
• Median student loan debt: $18,360
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 15.9%

4. Utah

• Share with student loan debt: 11.7%
• Median student loan debt: $17,392
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 11.9%

5. Washington

• Share with student loan debt: 11.7%
• Median student loan debt: $20,052
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 11.1%

6. Alaska

• Share with student loan debt: 11.8%
• Median student loan debt: $20,565
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 16.1%

7. New Mexico

• Share with student loan debt: 11.8%
• Median student loan debt: $18,749
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 19.2%

8. Nevada

• Share with student loan debt: 11.9%
• Median student loan debt: $17,472
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 19.2%

9. Florida

• Share with student loan debt: 12.3%
• Median student loan debt: $21,229
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 18.2%

10. Idaho

• Share with student loan debt: 13.1%
• Median student loan debt: $19,451
• Delinquency rate (60+ days overdue): 13.1%

Why student debt hits some places harder than others

• Income gaps compound the burden. Across the cities analyzed, we found that lower-income cities tend to have both more borrowers and more of them behind on payments. For residents of these cities, student loans are a major piece of a complicated puzzle when it comes to managing their money.
• Local job markets influence who needs to borrow in the first place. Tech-hub cities like those in Silicon Valley post some of the lowest shares of residents with debt, likely reflecting both very high incomes that allow faster payoff and a workforce concentrated in high-paying industries. West Texas oil towns like Midland and Odessa show low shares for a different reason, as a larger share of the workforce doesn't hold a four-year degree.
• A degree doesn't guarantee an income that matches the debt. Some degrees give graduates a better chance at paying off their loans than others based on the job prospects they open up. Cities like Jackson, Albany, and Montgomery combine above-average debt-holder shares with below-average household incomes and above-average delinquency, suggesting the jobs available to graduates in these markets doesn't always keep pace with what they borrowed.
• Regional job concentration matters as much as national trends. College towns like Iowa City and Ames, Iowa, as well as government-heavy cities like D.C. and Richmond, Virginia, show high shares of residents with debt but comparatively low delinquency. This suggests that having debt and struggling to repay it are two different problems shaped by different local conditions.

FinanceBuzz research has found that more than a fifth of U.S. adults cite student debt as a hurdle to saving for retirement, and the gap between cities like Jackson and Palo Alto shows how unevenly that pressure is distributed.

Full data

By City

By State

Bottom line

• Find the right plan for tackling your student loans. Eliminating student loans isn't a one-size-fits-all process, and there are a number of strategies for getting student loan relief or getting rid of student loans altogether. Finding the right strategy for you can go a long way toward eliminating student loan stress.
• Check your own balance. If you're carrying more debt than you can manage, refinancing or consolidating could lower your monthly payment.
• Build a buffer before debt becomes delinquent. A top high-yield savings account with no minimum balance can help cover a loan payment during a lean month without missing it entirely.
• If student debt is delaying bigger goals, try budgeting around it. Using one of the best budgeting apps can help free up room to pay down principal faster and strengthen your overall financial situation.

Methodology

Data on student loan debt comes from the Urban Institute's "Debt in America" map and is based on millions of credit bureau records and U.S. Census data. As the Urban Institute data is at the county level, we cross-referenced which counties more than 600 cities across the United States are located in to assign student debt figures to each city. When multiple cities shared a county, we kept only the largest city by population in the overall dataset. Urban Institute data was last updated in November 2025, based on credit bureau reports accessed in August 2025.

2026 Award Winner Best Overall Cash Back Credit Card

Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card

Benefits Card Details

• Low spend threshold for its welcome offer
• Cell phone protection benefit (subject to a $25 deductible)
• Apply Now

• Apply Now to take advantage of this offer and learn more about product features, terms and conditions.
• Earn a $100 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months.
• Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases.
• 0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers. 18.49%, 24.49%, or 28.49% variable APR thereafter; balance transfers made within 120 days qualify for the intro rate and fee of 3% then a BT fee of up to 5%, min: $5.
• $0 annual fee.
• No categories to track or remember and cash rewards don’t expire as long as your account remains open.
• Find tickets to top sports and entertainment events, book travel, make dinner reservations and more with your complimentary 24/7 Visa Signature® Concierge.
• Up to $600 of cell phone protection against damage or theft. Subject to a $25 deductible.

5.0

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Apply Now

on Wells Fargo's secure website

Rates and fees

Read Card Review

Intro Offer

$100 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months

Annual Fee

$0

+ -

Why we like it

• If you love earning cash rewards but prefer to avoid the hassle of tracking spending categories, the Wells Fargo Active Cash^® Card could be a good option for you. Card members can earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases.

• This card also offers a 0% intro APR on qualifying balance transfers and purchases for 12 months from account opening, then 18.49%, 24.49%, or 28.49% Variable. Those looking for straightforward rewards and an introductory APR will likely find value in this card.

• Apply Now