Image: Janet Berry-JohnsonStudent debt is fast becoming a fact of life for Americans: research has estimated that by 2020 as many as two-thirds of jobs will require post-high school education or training, tuition continues to rise in all sectors of the education market, and students are taking on debt at an alarming rate. Student debt has more than doubled in the last 10 years and, according to MarketWatch, it grows by $2,726 each second in America.
Borrowing to pay for a college or university education can also be a major source of financial strain for young adults. According to Credit Karma’s Credit Fumble™ survey, 32 percent of all loan defaults were on student loans. Fifty-eight percent of surveyed respondents who had a student loan experienced some sort of difficulty managing payments, with over a quarter (27 percent) having to enter deferment or forbearance and 9 percent defaulting.
To examine where in America young adults were taking on the heaviest student loan burdens, we looked at data from our more than 50 million members to determine the 10 cities where 18- to 24-year-old Credit Karma members had the highest average student loan balances. According to the US Census Bureau, the cities have one thing in common: a higher-than-average percentage of residents with college degrees.
- Boston, MA: $26,059
- San Francisco, CA: $23,174
- Pittsburgh, PA: $22,411
- Durham, NC: $21,681
- Atlanta, GA: $21,312
- Washington, DC: $20,958
- Greensboro, NC: $20,882
- Richmond, VA: $19,770
- Madison, WI: $19,413
- Minneapolis, MN: $19,377
Alongside free credit scores and reports, Credit Karma offers its members friendly information to help each of them understand and make the most of their individual situation.
The data looks at the average student loan balances for Credit Karma members between the ages of 18 and 24 who have open loans, live in the 100 largest cities in the U.S., and pulled their credit report through Credit Karma in 2015. Credit Karma’s Credit Fumble research draws upon a survey of 1,051 Americans between the age of 31-44, done in partnership with Qualtrics in late 2015, about the struggles they had managing their finances before entering their thirties.