Federal Student Loan Debt per Borrower by State (March 2026)
Where Federal Student Loan Balances Are Highest by State
Maryland leads the 50 states at about $45,600 in federal student loan balances per borrower (March 31, 2026). Georgia follows at $43,800, and North Dakota is lowest at $30,500. These are outstanding-balance ratios, not debt at graduation.
Data and scope: 50 U.S. states, ranked from highest to lowest estimated federal loan balance per reported borrower. The figures are calculated from March 31, 2026 state totals published by Tate Law using Federal Student Aid data, with cross-checks against DebtData and DegreeDividend reviewed October 11, 2026. All 50 amounts are estimates in U.S. dollars, rounded to $100; none is an official FSA average or a forecast.
Maryland: $38.4B outstanding / 842,300 borrowers. Estimated ratio, not an official average.
North Dakota: $2.7B outstanding / 88,400 borrowers. Estimated ratio from rounded inputs.
DC, Puerto Rico, Other, and Not Reported are excluded throughout.
$1,621.0B of rounded state balances / 42,261,300 reported borrowers; not the national FSA average.
Median of 50 state ratios: $37,055 before display rounding, with equal weight per state.
50 estimates calculated from observed March 2026 figures; no forecasts or projections. Source: Tate Law's FSA-derived state totals.
What Is Federal Student Loan Debt per Borrower?
This metric divides outstanding federal student loan balances assigned to a borrower location by the number of borrowers assigned to that location. Federal Student Aid tracks Direct Loans, Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL), and Perkins Loans in the federal portfolio. These are outstanding balances, not debt incurred in a single school year, average debt at graduation, a median individual balance, or private student loans.
Location is the reported borrower address, not the campus where the person studied. For Parent PLUS loans the parent is the borrower; a student and the parent can live in different states. A large state total is not the same as a large per-borrower ratio: California has about $156.7B in reported state balances, whereas Maryland leads among states on the estimated ratio.
This ranking uses one date and one reporting universe. Both the numerator and denominator are rounded before they reach the public transcription. The displayed ratios therefore represent estimates from those observed inputs; a neighboring state can have a slightly different rank under more detailed balance data.
Top 10 States by Estimated Federal Student Loan Debt per Borrower
Maryland and Georgia have the two highest estimated balances per borrower. Seven of the Top 10 states are in the Census South; Illinois, New York, and Hawaii are the remaining three. All ten stay in the Top 10 under the unrounded limits of the stated input-rounding assumptions, although close positions within the group could change.
| Rank | State | Approx. USD per borrower | Region / source and calculation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maryland | $45,600 | South. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $38.4B outstanding balance / 842,300 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $45,500–$45,700. |
| 2 | Georgia | $43,800 | South. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $74.6B outstanding balance / 1,702,700 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $43,700–$43,900. |
| 3 | Virginia | $41,900 | South. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $45.5B outstanding balance / 1,085,500 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $41,800–$42,000. |
| 4 | Florida | $41,200 | South. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $113.1B outstanding balance / 2,747,700 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $41,100–$41,200. |
| 5 | Illinois | $40,800 | Midwest. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $65.3B outstanding balance / 1,601,500 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $40,700–$40,900. |
| 6 | New York | $40,700 | Northeast. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $99.9B outstanding balance / 2,456,600 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $40,600–$40,700. |
| 7 | Delaware | $40,600 | South. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $5.6B outstanding balance / 137,800 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $40,200–$41,100. |
| 8 | Hawaii | $40,500 | West. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $4.9B outstanding balance / 121,000 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $40,000–$41,000. |
| 9 | North Carolina | $40,500 | South. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $55.8B outstanding balance / 1,379,300 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $40,400–$40,500. |
| 10 | South Carolina | $40,100 | South. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $31.4B outstanding balance / 782,300 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $40,000–$40,300. |
Values shown to the nearest $100. Positions follow unrounded quotients of the published, rounded balance and borrower figures; close ranks should not be read as exact.
Chart: Top 20 Estimated State Balances per Borrower
Bar lengths use the unrounded calculated ratios from the main table. Maryland is the 100% reference. Labels are approximate amounts rounded to the nearest $100.
Maryland about $45,600; Georgia about $43,800; Virginia about $41,900; Connecticut is 20th in this calculation at about $38,400. Middle-rank ordering depends on the published input precision.
Methodology: March 2026 Source Data and Calculation
Metric and rank
Federal outstanding student-loan balance per reported borrower, in current U.S. dollars per borrower. Rank 1 is the largest calculated ratio. Every rank is determined from the unrounded result of the ratio applied to the published inputs, not from the nearest-$100 label.
Period and access
The observation date is March 31, 2026 (fiscal 2026 Q2). Federal Student Aid announced the March report refresh on June 23, 2026. The state transcriptions and the relevant cross-source methodology were reviewed October 11, 2026. This is not a June 2026 state ranking.
Observed inputs and formula
For each state: (published outstanding balance in billions of USD x 1,000,000,000) / published borrower count. Example, Maryland = $38.4B / 842,300 = $45,589 from the rounded inputs, displayed as about $45,600. North Dakota = $2.7B / 88,400 = $30,543, displayed as about $30,500. The source publishes the inputs; the ratio is calculated here.
Coverage and exclusions
Include the 50 states with both March 2026 numeric inputs. Exclude Washington, DC; Puerto Rico; Other; and Not Reported from the ranks, weighted denominator, sum, and state median. Location reflects reported borrower residence, not school location. Census regions are Northeast (9 states), Midwest (12), South (16), West (13).
Source roles and priority
Federal Student Aid's Portfolio by Location workbook is the original government dataset. Tate Law is the published numerical source used here for the March balances and borrower counts, and DebtData provides a check on those figures. DegreeDividend is a separate check on the calculated amounts per borrower. The College Investor offers a comparison using a different FSA debt-size report; its values are not combined with this ranking. FSA supplies reporting and loan definitions, while the Census Bureau supplies the regional groupings. Several websites drawing on FSA data do not represent separate underlying loan datasets.
Data status and definitions
All 50 per-borrower figures are calculated by StatRanker from published state loan balances and borrower counts. They are not per-borrower averages officially published by FSA. No future values are forecast. The FSA portfolio covers outstanding federal Direct Loans, FFEL, and Perkins loans, not private student loans. Location follows the borrower's reported address; Parent PLUS debt is attributed to the parent borrower.
Rounding sensitivity, not confidence intervals
Published balances are rounded to $0.1 billion and borrower counts to 100. Assuming ordinary rounding, a state's lowest possible ratio is (reported balance minus $50 million) / (reported borrower count plus 50); its highest is (reported balance plus $50 million) / (reported borrower count minus 50). Of the 49 neighboring pairs in the ranking, 33 have overlapping intervals before display rounding. The table rounds each lower limit down and each upper limit up to the next $100 to avoid false precision. These wider, displayed intervals overlap or touch for 40 of the 49 pairs. The difference between 33 and 40 is caused solely by widening the limits for display, not by seven additional overlaps in the unrounded calculations.
For example, South Carolina (rank 10) has an unrounded lower limit of about $40,072, above California's (rank 11) upper limit of about $39,993. Both displayed ranges touch $40,000 after outward rounding, even though their underlying intervals do not overlap. The Top 10 membership is therefore unchanged under these assumptions. The intervals reflect uncertainty from published rounding, not statistical confidence intervals or exact individual loan balances.
Conflicts and handling
The College Investor uses the distinct FSA Portfolio by Location and Debt Size report and sums nine debt brackets before rounding to $100. It reports Delaware at about $40,700 and New York at about $40,600, while the published rounded location totals produce New York $40,666 and Delaware $40,639. Its North Dakota estimate is about $30,200 versus $30,543 from the location-total quotient. These results are not averaged or interchanged. Close positions should be read as approximate point-estimate ranks rather than federally certified dollar-precise ranks.
Independent publication check
All 50 state balance-and-borrower-count pairs published by Tate Law match those reproduced by DebtData. The 50 per-borrower calculations also match DegreeDividend's figures to the nearest dollar. These checks support the March 31, 2026 figures, but the original FSA Excel workbook has not been checked directly, row by row. Agreement between websites using FSA data is not the same as an independent audit of the government file.
Why state sums differ from U.S. totals
The weighted ratio divides $1,621.0 billion in the 50 selected state balances by 42,261,300 reported state borrower counts. Its $38,357 result is specific to these rows. Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, Other, and Not Reported are excluded; FSA national portfolio summaries may also report a different unduplicated recipient population and loan scope. These totals are not a national federal average and should not be reconciled by treating excluded borrowers as zero.
Derived measures from the same 50 rounded inputs: sum of state balances = $1,621.0B; sum of state borrower counts = 42,261,300; weighted 50-state ratio = $1,621.0B / 42,261,300 = $38,357 before display rounding. The equal-state median of 50 ratios is $37,055 before display rounding. Maryland minus North Dakota = $15,046, or 49.3% of North Dakota (using the latter as denominator). Summary cards round dollar labels to $100; ratios and shares are calculated before display rounding. None is a national FSA-published average.
Limitations: the ranking does not measure borrowers' median balance, private loans, debt per U.S. resident, the cost of attending college, default risk, monthly payment, household income, or causes of state differences. More precise FSA data can change near-tie ordering. No missing location is redistributed and no different year or loan universe is blended into this calculation.
State-by-State Ranking: All 50 March 2026 Estimates
Find a state, filter by Census region, sort by value or name, or display the Top 10, Top 20, or all 50 states. Ranks are based on the calculated amounts before display rounding, so small differences between nearby states should be interpreted with care.
Showing all 50 states.
| Rank | State | Approx. USD per borrower | Region / source and calculation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maryland | $45,600 | South. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $38.4B outstanding balance / 842,300 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $45,500–$45,700. |
| 2 | Georgia | $43,800 | South. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $74.6B outstanding balance / 1,702,700 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $43,700–$43,900. |
| 3 | Virginia | $41,900 | South. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $45.5B outstanding balance / 1,085,500 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $41,800–$42,000. |
| 4 | Florida | $41,200 | South. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $113.1B outstanding balance / 2,747,700 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $41,100–$41,200. |
| 5 | Illinois | $40,800 | Midwest. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $65.3B outstanding balance / 1,601,500 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $40,700–$40,900. |
| 6 | New York | $40,700 | Northeast. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $99.9B outstanding balance / 2,456,600 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $40,600–$40,700. |
| 7 | Delaware | $40,600 | South. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $5.6B outstanding balance / 137,800 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $40,200–$41,100. |
| 8 | Hawaii | $40,500 | West. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $4.9B outstanding balance / 121,000 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $40,000–$41,000. |
| 9 | North Carolina | $40,500 | South. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $55.8B outstanding balance / 1,379,300 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $40,400–$40,500. |
| 10 | South Carolina | $40,100 | South. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $31.4B outstanding balance / 782,300 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $40,000–$40,300. |
| 11 | California | $40,000 | West. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $156.7B outstanding balance / 3,919,500 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $39,900–$40,000. |
| 12 | Oregon | $39,500 | West. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $20.8B outstanding balance / 526,600 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $39,300–$39,600. |
| 13 | New Jersey | $39,200 | Northeast. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $48.4B outstanding balance / 1,235,500 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $39,100–$39,300. |
| 14 | Alabama | $39,200 | South. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $26.0B outstanding balance / 664,000 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $39,000–$39,300. |
| 15 | Mississippi | $39,000 | South. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $17.8B outstanding balance / 456,300 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $38,800–$39,200. |
| 16 | Colorado | $38,800 | West. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $29.7B outstanding balance / 764,600 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $38,700–$39,000. |
| 17 | Vermont | $38,800 | Northeast. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $2.9B outstanding balance / 74,800 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $38,000–$39,500. |
| 18 | Tennessee | $38,700 | South. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $34.6B outstanding balance / 894,900 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $38,600–$38,800. |
| 19 | Michigan | $38,600 | Midwest. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $53.2B outstanding balance / 1,377,300 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $38,500–$38,700. |
| 20 | Connecticut | $38,400 | Northeast. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $19.8B outstanding balance / 515,400 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $38,300–$38,600. |
| 21 | Washington | $38,100 | West. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $29.6B outstanding balance / 776,100 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $38,000–$38,300. |
| 22 | Pennsylvania | $37,500 | Northeast. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $69.6B outstanding balance / 1,853,900 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $37,500–$37,600. |
| 23 | Alaska | $37,200 | West. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $2.4B outstanding balance / 64,500 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $36,400–$38,100. |
| 24 | Arizona | $37,100 | West. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $34.0B outstanding balance / 916,100 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $37,000–$37,200. |
| 25 | Massachusetts | $37,100 | Northeast. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $33.4B outstanding balance / 900,600 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $37,000–$37,200. |
| 26 | Missouri | $37,000 | Midwest. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $30.6B outstanding balance / 826,500 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $36,900–$37,100. |
| 27 | Ohio | $36,300 | Midwest. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $64.3B outstanding balance / 1,770,800 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $36,200–$36,400. |
| 28 | New Hampshire | $36,200 | Northeast. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $6.8B outstanding balance / 187,700 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $35,900–$36,600. |
| 29 | Louisiana | $36,200 | South. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $25.1B outstanding balance / 694,000 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $36,000–$36,300. |
| 30 | Maine | $35,900 | Northeast. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $6.7B outstanding balance / 186,600 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $35,600–$36,200. |
| 31 | Nevada | $35,900 | West. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $13.2B outstanding balance / 367,900 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $35,700–$36,100. |
| 32 | Montana | $35,600 | West. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $4.5B outstanding balance / 126,400 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $35,100–$36,100. |
| 33 | Minnesota | $35,600 | Midwest. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $27.5B outstanding balance / 772,600 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $35,500–$35,700. |
| 34 | Arkansas | $35,500 | South. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $14.5B outstanding balance / 408,400 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $35,300–$35,700. |
| 35 | Utah | $35,400 | West. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $11.1B outstanding balance / 313,300 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $35,200–$35,600. |
| 36 | New Mexico | $35,400 | West. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $8.0B outstanding balance / 226,000 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $35,100–$35,700. |
| 37 | Kentucky | $35,100 | South. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $21.6B outstanding balance / 615,600 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $35,000–$35,200. |
| 38 | Texas | $35,000 | South. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $138.3B outstanding balance / 3,949,800 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $35,000–$35,100. |
| 39 | Idaho | $34,600 | West. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $7.5B outstanding balance / 216,500 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $34,400–$34,900. |
| 40 | Kansas | $34,500 | Midwest. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $13.1B outstanding balance / 379,300 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $34,400–$34,700. |
| 41 | Indiana | $34,500 | Midwest. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $31.0B outstanding balance / 898,500 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $34,400–$34,600. |
| 42 | Rhode Island | $34,100 | Northeast. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $5.1B outstanding balance / 149,700 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $33,700–$34,500. |
| 43 | Wisconsin | $33,800 | Midwest. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $24.0B outstanding balance / 709,100 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $33,700–$34,000. |
| 44 | West Virginia | $33,700 | South. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $7.7B outstanding balance / 228,300 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $33,500–$34,000. |
| 45 | Nebraska | $33,700 | Midwest. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $8.2B outstanding balance / 243,500 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $33,400–$33,900. |
| 46 | Oklahoma | $33,500 | South. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $17.1B outstanding balance / 510,700 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $33,300–$33,600. |
| 47 | Wyoming | $32,800 | West. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $1.8B outstanding balance / 54,800 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $31,900–$33,800. |
| 48 | Iowa | $31,900 | Midwest. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $13.5B outstanding balance / 423,400 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $31,700–$32,100. |
| 49 | South Dakota | $31,700 | Midwest. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $3.7B outstanding balance / 116,700 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $31,200–$32,200. |
| 50 | North Dakota | $30,500 | Midwest. March 31, 2026. StatRanker estimate using Tate Law (FSA-derived data): $2.7B outstanding balance / 88,400 borrowers. Possible range due to source rounding: $29,900–$31,200. |
Each row shows the source, March 31, 2026 loan balance, borrower count, estimated amount per borrower, and a possible range caused by rounding of the reported inputs. Amounts are displayed to the nearest $100; the detailed source checks and calculation method appear above in Methodology.
Key Findings from 50 State-Level Calculations
Key Insight
Maryland has the highest state point estimate ($45,600) and North Dakota the lowest ($30,500). The rounded-input gap is $15,046, or 49.3% of North Dakota. Their extreme positions do not overlap the next state under the stated rounding bounds.
Notable Pattern
The estimated weighted 50-state ratio is $38,400 per borrower (exact quotient from rounded inputs: $38,357); the median of 50 state ratios is about $37,100 (underlying median: $37,055). The two differ by about $1,300 because the weighted calculation counts borrowers, while the median weights states equally.
Regional / Source Concentration
Seven of the 10 highest point-estimate states (70%) belong to the Census South, whereas only 16 of the 50 states (32%) are in the South. This percentage is a share of ranked states, not a share of U.S. borrowers or debt.
Outlier
Texas has the most reported state borrowers (3,949,800) and $138.3B in balances but ranks 38th among the 50 states by point-estimate ratio (about $35,000). California has 3,919,500 borrowers and $156.7B yet ranks 11th at about $40,000. Total-debt size and per-borrower position differ.
How to Interpret the March 2026 State Ranking
The ratio is a description of the federal loan portfolio assigned to a state, not an individual repayment recommendation. It does not establish why balances differ; state incomes, degree composition, household budgets, and payment status have not been adjusted for. A borrower in a high-ranking state may owe much less or much more than the displayed estimate.
The order is reproducible from the balance and borrower count printed for each row, but its precision is limited by those published rounded inputs. For example, New York and Delaware are only $27 apart in the original point estimates, and an independent debt-size aggregation reverses them. Treat very close ranks as indicative; compare the rounding ranges rather than assuming a decisive difference.
Washington, DC is excluded because this is a 50-state ranking. Its separately calculated March 2026 ratio is about $55,846 from $6.4B and 114,600 borrowers, higher than any of the included states. Puerto Rico and missing or other locations likewise are excluded. Do not compare the selected 50-state weighted estimate with an all-location federal portfolio average without matching populations and denominators.
Frequently Asked Questions About Federal Student Loan Balances
Which U.S. state has the highest estimated federal loan balance per borrower in March 2026?
Maryland, approximately $45,600 from $38.4 billion in outstanding federal loans divided by 842,300 reported borrowers. Georgia follows at about $43,800. These amounts are calculations from rounded observed inputs.
Which state has the lowest estimated amount?
North Dakota, approximately $30,500 from $2.7 billion divided by 88,400 reported borrowers. Because the original balance is rounded, the possible range of the calculated estimate is wider than the $100 shown in the ranking.
What is the date of the figures, and when did FSA publish the report?
The observation date is March 31, 2026. Federal Student Aid announced the quarterly report update on June 23, 2026. This is not a ranking of June 30, 2026 state values.
Did Federal Student Aid publish these state per-borrower numbers?
FSA publishes federal loan balances and borrower counts by location, but not this ranked list of per-borrower state figures. StatRanker calculates the estimates by dividing the published state balance by the reported number of borrowers. The ranking shows approximate amounts, not official dollar-precise state averages.
Why do some websites rank New York and Delaware differently?
The location balance/count quotient is roughly $40,666 for New York and $40,639 for Delaware. The College Investor uses an alternative FSA location-and-debt-size aggregation, displaying approximately $40,600 and $40,700, respectively. These close ranks are method-sensitive; the tables should not be blended.
Which loans and which borrowers are covered?
The FSA federal portfolio includes Direct Loans, FFEL and Perkins loans, not private loans. Location reflects a reported borrower address rather than the school attended. A Parent PLUS loan is associated with the parent borrower rather than the child studying.
Why is Washington, DC missing from the first rank?
The page ranks the 50 U.S. states. Washington, DC is a separate jurisdiction and is excluded consistently. Using the rounded March inputs would put DC at approximately $55,846 per borrower, above Maryland.
Is this debt per resident, debt at graduation, or a projection?
No. The denominator is reported federal loan borrowers within each state; it is not all residents, college graduates, or households. All 50 ratios use historical observed inputs; no future value or default rate is forecast.
Why is the 50-state average different from a national student-debt average?
The weighted 50-state calculation includes $1,621.0 billion in balances and 42,261,300 reported borrowers. It excludes Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, Other, and Not Reported. FSA national portfolio summaries can use different recipient definitions or include locations outside the 50 states, so national totals should not be substituted as this calculation's denominator.
Data Sources, Validation, and Method Notes
Tate Law - Student Loan Debt Statistics
Numerical data source. Publishes March 31, 2026 state balances and borrower counts derived from FSA's Portfolio by Location series. These are the two inputs used for every state in this ranking.
DebtData - Student Loan Debt by State
Data cross-check. Publishes the same March 2026 state balance and borrower figures; the values for all 50 states agree with Tate Law. Both refer back to FSA, so this is not a separate federal loan dataset.
DegreeDividend / College ROI - Average Student Debt
Calculation cross-check. Publishes March 31, 2026 federal balances per borrower by state using FSA location data. Its values agree with the 50 estimates calculated here to the nearest dollar. It is used to check the arithmetic, not to replace the input figures.
The College Investor - Average Student Loan Debt by State
Alternative-method comparison. Calculates state amounts by combining debt-size bands from a separate FSA report. It helps explain why New York, Delaware, and North Dakota can have different published estimates. These figures are not mixed with the main table.
Federal Student Aid - Portfolio by Location
Original government dataset and methodology reference. FSA's Portfolio by Location workbook documents the location-based reporting series. Row values in this ranking come from Tate Law's published FSA-derived totals, with DebtData used to cross-check them.
https://studentaid.gov/sites/default/files/fsawg/datacenter/library/Portfolio-by-Location.xls
Federal Student Aid - June 23, 2026 Quarterly Update
Reporting-date verification. FSA announced on June 23, 2026 that its quarterly Data Center update included March 31, 2026 information. This notice supplies the release context, not state loan balances.
U.S. Census Bureau - Geographic Terms and Definitions
Regional methodology reference. Defines the Northeast, Midwest, South, and West groupings used to compare states in this article. This source contains no student loan figures.
https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/about/glossary/geo-terms.html
