Top 10s

States with highest student loan default rates

Statistics from the website LendEdu show that the national default rate for college student loans in fiscal 2016 was 10.1%.
Nov. 4, 2019

More than one in 10 of college student loans were in default in fiscal 2016, a financial website says.

LendEDU, analyzing data from the U.S. Department of Education, found that the national default rate for college student loans in fiscal 2016 was 10.1%.

Overall, for-profit schools had a loan default rate of 15.2% public institutions had a default rate of 9.6%,  and non-profit private schools had a default rate of 6.6%.

LendEDU is a website that helps consumers learn about and compare student loans and other financial products.

A federal student loan is considered to be in default, LendEDU says, if a payment is late by 270 days—about nine months. The standard for private student loan default varies, but typically loans will be deemed in default when a payment is late by three or fourth months, LendEDU says.

"As colleges continue to raise tuition rates and with outstanding student loan debt in the United States at an all-time high of $1.6 trillion, student loan default only figures to be a growing issue," LendEDU says.

The state with the highest loan default rate in fiscal 2016 was Nevada, where 18.16% of student loans were in default.

Here are the 10 states with the highest loan default rates in fiscal 2016.

About the Author

Mike Kennedy

Senior Editor

Mike Kennedy, senior editor, has written for AS&U on a wide range of educational issues since 1999.

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