This brief highlights trends in consumer student loan debt in the Third District states of Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania as of the first quarter of 2025.
Here are some key findings:
- About the same share of borrowers in Third District states had student loan debt compared with the same period a year before, with 23 percent of Pennsylvania borrowers, 21 percent of New Jersey borrowers, and 19 percent of Delaware borrowers carrying student loan debt.
- Average student loan debt was $37,700 in Pennsylvania, $40,100 in Delaware, and $40,200 in New Jersey. Across all three states, borrowers aged 35 to 54 and 55 to 84 had higher average student loan debt than borrowers aged 18 to 34.
- The share of student loan borrowers in Third District states with severely delinquent debt increased sharply, primarily because of the end of the pandemic-era pause on reporting missed payments. At least 11 percent of student loan borrowers had severely delinquent debt across the three states.
- A higher share of student loan borrowers aged 35 to 54 had severely delinquent debt, although borrowers aged 18 to 34 and 55 to 84 were not far behind.
- Some regions had a higher share of severely delinquent student loan borrowers, including the Vineland, NJ, and Dover, DE, metropolitan areas.
This brief uses data from the Consumer Credit Explorer, a user-friendly tool for examining how people across the United States are using credit cards and loans over time. The tool allows users to look at quarterly trends for the whole country, specific states, or regions.
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