If you're pursuing higher education in the United States, you'll likely need to take out a student loan to afford it due to the high cost. This is often the case regardless of where in the country you're enrolled; however, student loan debt does vary by state, so students seeking the same kind of degree may owe more or less than their peers in other regions.

But wherever you live, all states have student loan forgiveness programs th🃏at may offer relief for graduates struggling to pay off their debt.

Understanding Student Loan Debt Forgiveness

澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Student debt is what's owed when a borrower takes out either a federal or private loan to cover the costs of higher education, which can include—among other things—tuition, textbooks, other school supplies, and basic living expenses. As of March 2024, Americans collectively owed $1.75 trillion in student loan debt. To put that number in context, that's more than the gross domestic product (GDP) of all but 12 countries in 2023.

🦩Even when accounting for potential scholarships or parental financial assistance, most people will likely still need a loan. Additionally, the cost of education has risen over time, meaning even larger sums may be required in the future.

Student debt is a reality for over 43 million Americans, and there are myriad reasons why someone would be unable to repay their loans. 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Delinquency in repayments can eventually lead to a loan going into default, both of which have long-lasting impacts on a borrower's 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:credit score and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:credit report.

And even if someone is able to keep up with their loan payments, this expense can make it harder to save for bigger purchases or e⛎ven an emergency fund.

Fortunately, there are programs available that offer 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:student loan forgiveness to graduates struggling to manage their debt burdens. In addition to the student loan forgiveness options provided by the federal government—which are available to anyone who meets the criteria regardless of their location within the U.S.—individual state governments may also have their own debt cancellation programs.

Below is our analysis of how student loan balances and forgiveness programs differed by state in 2020 (latest information); the dꦑata is provided by the Institute for College Access & Success.

Student Loan Debt by State

According to the Institute for College Access & Success, 19 states reported an average debt of more than $30,000 in 2020, while six states reported average amounts of over $35,000. Many of the same states appeared at the higher and lower ends of this range as they did in previous years. States with larger amounts of debt remained concentrated in the Northeast, while states with smaller student debt burdens were mainly in the West.

At $39,950, borrowers in New Hampshire had the highest average student debt burden. Conversely, at $18,350, Utah's graduates owed the least in student debt on average, and it was the only state with a figure below $20,000.

In addition to the size of the debt, the loan burden is also measured by the percentage of students who carry debt. The same report found that for the 2019 to 2020 academic year, 73% of graduates in South Dakota had student loan debt, the highest percentage in the U.S. Likewise, at 39%, Utah had the lowest percentage of graduates with student loan debt for this same period.

At 27% of graduates, North Dakota had the highest rate of private borrowing, with New Hampshire's just two percentage points lower. However, New Hampshire's nonfederal debt as a percent of total debt was only the sixth highest in the country at 38%. North Dakota ranked 15th on that measure with 29%. Utah had the lowest rate of private debt utilization with only 3% of 2020 graduates exiting with private debt. However, nonfederal debt accounted for the smallest percentage of total debt in Nevada (3%).

Although not a state, at $64,354, the District of Columbia had the highest average total on-campus cost of attendance in 2020. At $53,853, Massachusetts had the second-highest. The state with the lowest cost of attendance was Idaho, at $19,296.

Additionally, Vermont had the highest average tuition and fees at $31,764, accounting for 72.35% of the total cost of attendance. Wyoming's $4,747 in tuition and fees made up just 31.86% of its total cost of attendance.

Lastly, by subtracting the average total cost of attendance of each state from its respective 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:average student loan debt, we can see which parts of the U.S. generally offer more student aid than the minimum amount required. The excess cash can go toward off-campus living expenses or debt repayment after🥀 graduation.

Twenty-seven states have attendance costs lower than the average graduate debt. North Dakota borrowers had an average of $12,592 left after accounting for the cost of attendance. Conversely, at -$27,194 on average, students in the District of Columbia will have to pay far more for their education than their mean student loan amount covers.

Student Loan Forgiveness by State

As of 2024, all states and the District of Columbia offer at least one student loan forgiveness program. There are over 140 state-level student debt cancellation plans in the U.S. Minnesota has the most student loan forgiveness programs. These programs are subject to change or close at any time and states can offer new ones as well.

Most education loan forgiveness plans are designed to help 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:borrowers in specific professions so as to attract more studen🦄ts seeking the same careers to a particular s👍tate (for example, doctors, science and math teachers, lawyers, etc.).

That this allows the state to potentially draw multiple kinds of workers into the local economy is also why a state might offer m💧ore than one program. Because economic circumstances will also differ by state, other variations are likely to exist among programs pertaining to th🦩e same careers. Below are the three areas that can differ the most from program to program.

• Amount: Among all U.S. state programs, the amount of educational debt that can be forgiven can range from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars. Additionally, some debt cancellation plans offer different amounts of 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:student debt forgiveness depending on the applicant. For instance, Florida's Nursing Student Loan Forgiveness Program (NSLFP) offers a flat rate of up to $4,000 per year.
• Eligibility: Each student loan forgiveness program has a set of criteria that borrowers must meet in order to have their debt forgiven. On a basic level, applicants typically must be a citizen of the U.S. and/or the relevant state, have outstanding educational debt, and be 🗹澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:actively working in t﷽he required profession. The Massachusetts Loan Repayment Program (MLRP) for health professionals, for example, is available to a wide variety of 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:healthcare workers, whereas Missouri's Health Professional Nursing Student Loans program is, as the name implies, only available to nurses.
• Application process and cycle: Unlike the procedure for federal programs, there is no standard procedure for applying to state loan forgiveness programs. For example, not all states have online application processes available on their websites. Some simply require emailing an individual involved in the program. Required information and/or documentation also varies.

Although federal loan 🅰f💟orgiveness options are available for U.S. citizens in any part of the country, state programs are still worth looking into, regardless of whether a borrower is a graduate or a prospective student trying to decide which school to attend.

In fact, certain programs were implemented in an effort to attract more workers in highly sought-after fields within a state's communities. Iowa's Health Professional Recruitment Program (HPRP), for example, was established to increase the number of athletic trainers, occupational therapists, physicians, physician assistants, podiatrists, and physical therapists practicing in high-need communities.

Although no one should plan their academic future around having to seek debt cancellation, there's no harm in students who are seeking higher education in these coveted fields researching which programs could serve as a backup plan should they encounter some sort of financial hardship.

Below is a list of each state's student loan forgiveness program in the U.S.:

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

District of Columbia

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

The Bottom Line

Althoug▨h there are avenues available for student loan cancellation both on the federal and state levels, the public calls for change show that these programs have been insufficient to meet the needs of borrowers.

Although debt forgiveness won't completely eliminate the student lending gap between states, it may at least help level the playing field between the borrowers struggling to repay their loans in some regions and the debt-free graduates in other parts of the country.