Generation Gap Narrows For Student Debt

Parents may finally have something in common with their children. “The college class of 2016 graduated with $29,669 in student debt on average, according to an analysis of government data by Mark Kantrowitz, the publisher of Savingforcollege.com,” Jillian Berman reports on Market Watch. “That represents a just a slight jump — about 1% or $285 — from the class of 2012.”

“The 2016 number is the latest for which government data is available, but Kantrowitz projects that students who received their bachelor’s degree in 2018, left school with $29,812 in student debt on average, also just a small uptick from current levels.” Meanwhile, back at the ranch, “On average, families with a student who graduated with a bachelor’s degree and borrowed from the Parent PLUS program — the government product that parents can use to borrow for college on behalf of their kids — had an average of $32,596 in parent PLUS debt,” Berman reports. “That’s a 19.2% or $5,244 increase from the class of 2012, Kantrowitz found.”

Related Topics