Rising tuition, bigger loan balances and weaker repayment options are making student debt look less like a safe investment and more like a long-term financial strain for many Americans.
01Summary
- 01More than 42 million Americans now carry federal education debt, with outstanding student debt above $1.7tn.
- 02The average annual price of tuition and fees at a private four-year college has risen from $14,550 in 1971-72 to $45,000 in 2025-26, after inflation.
- 03The average student loan balance across all borrowers is $40,768, up from $30,414 a decade ago, and 3.8 million borrowers now owe more than $100,000.
- 04As of 30 June, about 9.3 million federal student loan borrowers were in default, up from around 6.2 million in 2016.
- 05President Donald Trump’s OBBBA removed several cheaper repayment plans and the option to pause federal loan payments during unemployment.
02Why it matters
The story shows how higher education costs can affect household finances for years, from delayed homebuying to weaker retirement savings. It also matters because changes to repayment rules could make it harder for borrowers to manage existing debt.
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