The 10 US cities where college grads are the most burdened by student debt

Today, Americans owe on $1.5 trillion in student loans, and research shows that it is impacting the ways Americans save, spend and live out their lives.

The Federal Reserve Board of Washington, D.C. found that an increase in student debt has led to a decrease in refuge ownership. A study from NerdWallet predicts that students who graduated from college in 2015 will make to delay retirement until the age of 75, in part because of the increasing burden of student debt.

Of course, a manageable amount of schoolchild debt can be worth it to get a college degree — in 2018, college graduates earned weekly wages that were 80 percent high-class than those of high school graduates. But when students take on high levels of debt but do not experience valuable earnings boosts needed to pay off their loans, the balance can become unwieldy.

It’s a situation that can be seen playing out in metropolises across the U.S. To determine which cities have the highest concentrations of overleveraged borrowers, WalletHub divided the median student-loan rest (based on TransUnion data from 2018) by the median earnings of bachelor’s degree holders over the age of 25 in 2,510 U.S. burghs.

What they found is that that borrowers in select cities owe more than 80 cents for every dollar they get. Here are the 10 cities where residents are most impacted by student debt, according to WalletHub:

Median trainee debt balance: $20,655
Median earnings of bachelor’s degree holders: $26,250
Ratio of student debt to median earnings of bachelor’s step little by little holders: 78.69%

Median student debt balance: $25,146
Median earnings of bachelor’s degree holders: $31,935
Correlation of student debt to median earnings of bachelor’s degree holders: 78.74%

Median student debt steady: $21,555
Median earnings of bachelor’s degree holders: $27,356
Ratio of student debt to median earnings of bachelor’s degree holders: 78.79%

Median student debt equilibrium: $24,339
Median earnings of bachelor’s degree holders: $30,172
Ratio of student debt to median earnings of bachelor’s degree holders: 80.67%

Median devotee debt balance: $27,290
Median earnings of bachelor’s degree holders: $33,675
Ratio of student debt to median earnings of bachelor’s decidedly holders: 81.04%

Median student debt balance: $17,994
Median earnings of bachelor’s degree holders: $22,158
Proportion of student debt to median earnings of bachelor’s degree holders: 81.21%

Median student encumbered balance: $18,466
Median earnings of bachelor’s degree holders: $22,222
Ratio of student debt to median earnings of bachelor’s point holders: 83.1%

Median student debt equality: $21,487
Median earnings of bachelor’s degree holders: $25,772
Ratio of student debt to median earnings of bachelor’s degree holders: 83.37%

Median student debt balance: $20,464
Median earnings of bachelor’s degree holders: $24,250
Ratio of observer debt to median earnings of bachelor’s degree holders: 84.39%

Median student debt command: $17,771
Median earnings of bachelor’s degree holders: $21,046
Ratio of student debt to median earnings of bachelor’s degree holders: 84.44%

According to WalletHub’s analysis, Sun Borough West, Arizona, is the city most overleveraged by student debt, with median student debt balances of around $17,771 and median earnings for college graduates of just $21,046, leading to a debt-to-earnings ratio of 84.44%. That means for every dollar got by these college graduates, they owe more than 84 cents in student debt.

According to Data USA, the median household profits for Sun City West residents is closer to $46,067, but that’s still significantly lower than the national median household gains of $57,652.

To avoid being burdened by debt the way that residents in Sun City West are, Don Hossler, senior scholar at the Center for Enrollment Scrutinization, Policy and Practice, at the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education, suggests looking closely at projected earnings.

“Leave alone borrowing more than the estimated starting salary of the job anticipated post-graduation. Beware of private loans,” he tells WalletHub. “Don’t use allowance dollars like they are an ATM.”

“One of the most common mistakes I see students make when borrowing to finance their course of study is not fully understanding the terms of the loan, how much to expect in monthly payments after graduation, and who is lending them the bundle (federal government, private lender, or the school),” Brad Lindberg, Assistant Vice President for Enrollment and prior Director of Student Financial Aid at Grinnell College tells WalletHub.

“To prevent making borrowing decisions they influence come to regret, students need to educate themselves on the loan they are agreeing to pay back,” he says. “Students should not hem to reach out to their lender or the financial aid office to get the answers they need. Keeping in contact as the situation change is an urgent step to successful borrowing and repayment.”

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