Richmond, Virginia— Virginia has one of the most educated populations in the US: we are ranked seventh in the nation in the percentage of people (59.3%) who hold a postsecondary degree. We also lead the nation in student loan debt: 55% of Virginia college graduates hold student loan debt, making us fifth in the nation for student debt, and we’re one of only four states whose average student loan debt exceeds $40,000.
Recent changes to student loan forgiveness are about to make things harder for borrowers. The Trump administration is proposing sweeping changes to the student loan repayment system, including eliminating the Biden administration’s SAVE and income-driven repayment plans, which lowered the monthly amounts people paid and allowed them to pay off their loans more quickly. They have also paused the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, started by George W. Bush, which forgives loans for students who take often low-paying public service jobs after graduation; the program is currently mired in legal challenges. They have proposed replacing the existing programs with two new programs: one plan with rigid monthly payments based on total loan amounts, and one tied to income that extends the amount of time that borrowers will pay on their loans. They are also proposing cuts to Pell Grants for low-income undergrads and PLUS loans for graduate students. As such, students currently enrolled in Biden-era repayment plans are stuck in limbo: the future of their repayment plans is unclear, but the bills are still coming due, and the government has started to pursue collections and wage garnishment actions against borrowers who are delinquent or in default.
“This is a disaster for over a million Virginians who are just trying to build a future,” said LaTwyla Mathias, Executive Director of Progress Virginia. “The Trump administration’s reckless attacks on student loan forgiveness programs, especially income-driven repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness, are a direct assault on working families and public servants. Virginians already carry some of the highest student debt in the country, and now they’re being thrown into chaos, with payments due, programs in limbo, and collections ramping up. Instead of helping people climb out of debt, Republicans are rigging the system to keep them buried in it. It’s cruel, it’s calculated, and we’re not going to let them get away with it.”
Statistics on Student Loan Debt Held by Virginians:
In Virginia, residents owe much more on average per borrower than their peers nationwide.
- $43.4 billion in student loan debt belongs to state residents.
- $40,137 is the average student loan debt.
- 1,081,300 student borrowers live in Virginia.
- 50.8% of them are under the age of 35.
- 12.4% of state residents have student loan debt.
- Among the state’s indebted student borrowers, 12.2% owe less than $5,000.
- 23.1% owe $20,000 to $40,000 (average $28,451).
- 2.58% owe more than $200,000.
- Virginians owe an average of $4,819 more per person than the national average, have experienced a 25% higher increase in debt percentage than the rest of the country, and have close to 139,000 borrowers in default or delinquency.
- Student debt for college graduates by school