Connecticut’s college graduates in 2017 had the sixth-highest average student loan debt in the U.S., according to a new report.
The report by student lending marketplace LendEDU says the average debt per borrower in Connecticut was $31,643, a 35.6 percent increase vs. $23,326 in 2016. The state’s average student borrower had $36,864 in debt in 2015, the nation’s highest that year.
States with higher student loan debt last year were Pennsylvania ($36,193), Rhode Island ($35,371), Delaware ($34,144), New Hampshire ($33,144) and Alabama ($31,861). States with the lowest student debt in 2017 were Utah ($18,425), New Mexico ($21,805) and Nevada ($22,026).
Almost 58 percent of college graduates in 2017 had student debt, owing an average of over $28,000, the report said.
LendEDU says the report aims to raise awareness of the nation’s $1.5 trillion student loan crisis.
In Connecticut, the Board of Regents for Higher Education last year approved a 4.4 percent tuition hike for the current fiscal year at each of the four state universities and a 2.5 percent increase at the 12 community colleges.
To curb future tuition increases, the Board recently agreed to use over $8 million from its reserves to support the system’s current budget.
Drawing from 1,080 institutions, the LendEDU report used the latest Peterson’s financial aid data released earlier this month.
