A recent analysis by consumer financial products website WalletHub found that Connecticut produces high levels of student debt relative to its economy and incomes.
Connecticut ranked 45th out of the 50 states and Washington, D.C., in the analysis, which used a combination of data on debt levels, defaults, unemployment rates for post-college-aged residents and other factors.
WalletHub said the ranking shows that student borrowers will fare better in states that have lower college debt levels, stronger economies and higher incomes.
Connecticut ranked below average in all three of the most heavily weighted categories — student debt as a percentage of income adjusted for cost of living (50.4 percent), the unemployment rate of residents aged 25 to 34 (7.9 percent), and the percentage of people aged 50 and above who continue to carry a loan balance (8.36 percent).
Connecticut fared better in its relatively low student default rate of 14.1 percent and its percentage of loans past due or in default (9.5 percent).
The top state in the ranking was Utah. The bottom state was Rhode Island.
The analysis comes as student debt levels nationwide are climbing sharply. As of June 30, outstanding student loans totaled $1.12 trillion, second only to mortgages.
That number was up more than 12 percent since June 2013, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
