North Dakota has Less Student Debt than Most States
Congrats, North Dakotans, you don't have as much student debt to pay off as most of the other states in the U.S.
Our friends at WalletHub performed another study and the results show that North Dakota has the 8th least student debt of all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
The largest percentage of household debt throughout the country falls in the category of student loan debt. The number doesn't seem to be getting smaller anytime soon as the total outstanding balances on credit reports was at $1.34 trillion as of the end of the first quarter in 2017. However, with more schooling comes more income potential and less of a chance of being unemployed.
The key factors in determining the ranking are listed below along with North Dakota's ranking as well. Such key factors include:
- 40th – Student Debt as % of Income (Adjusted for Cost of Living)
- 47th – Unemployment Rate of Population Aged 25 to 34
- 43rd – % of Student Loans Past Due or in Default
- 15th – Grant Growth
- 51st – Underemployment Rate
You'll notice some pretty high rankings for our state for each of those key factors. The high rankings are good as far as being compared to the rest of the country. The higher the rankings, the lower our state's student debt.
The states with the lowest student debt that finished better on the list than North Dakota are listed below by rank:
- Hawaii
- Utah
- Wyoming
- California
- Nevada
- Alaska
- Washington
The states with the most student debt from worst to 'less worse' are Ohio, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New Hampshire.
Well done, North Dakota! Keep paying off those student loans.