Student debt burdens are weighing on the economic fortunes of today’s young adults. Among the college-educated, those with outstanding student debt are lagging far behind those who are debt free in terms of household wealth.
About one out of five (19%) of the nation’s households owed student debt in 2010, more than double the share two decades earlier and a significant rise from the 15% that owed such debt in 2007. A record 40% of all households headed by someone younger than age 35 owed student debt in 2010.