5 key findings about student debt
A record 37% of young households had outstanding student loans in 2010 and a median student debt of $13,000.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
All
Publications
A record 37% of young households had outstanding student loans in 2010 and a median student debt of $13,000.
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.
From 1996 to 2012, college enrollment among Hispanics ages 18 to 24 more than tripled (240% increase), outpacing increases among blacks (72%) and whites (12%).
Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision upholding Michigan’s ban on affirmative action affects more than college admissions, and more than just Michigan. Seven other states have similarly broad bans in their constitutions or statute books, and opponents of affirmative action have called on other states, and the federal government, to follow suit.
Even though college enrollment rates among young people have risen in recent decades, a Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data shows that females outpace males in college enrollment, especially among Hispanics and blacks.
Millennials are the nation’s most educated generation in history in terms of finishing college. But despite the stereotype that today’s recent college graduates are largely underemployed, the data show that this generation of college grads earns more than ones that came before it.
Outstanding household debt increased $241 billion during last October-December, the biggest quarterly jump since 2007.
For the first time in 50 years, the share of couples in which the wife is the one “marrying down” educationally is higher than those in which the husband has more education.
College-educated millennials are outperforming their less-educated peers on virtually every economic measure, and the gap between the two groups has only grown over time.
For those who question the value of college in this era of soaring student debt and high unemployment, the attitudes and experiences of today’s young adults—members of the so-called Millennial generation—provide a compelling answer.
Notifications