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Student loans climb: top 10 states with the highest college debt

Going to college or university isn't cheap, and with an average debt of $29,400, many graduates will be paying for their student loans long after graduation day. These states are home to the highest average student debts among loan-carrying, graduating seniors in 2012, according to The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS). Can you guess which state had the highest? 

9. Ohio

Jeff Swinger/The Cincinnati Enquirer/AP/File
In a Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2013 photo, University of Cincinnati sophomore Sara Whitestone wheels across campus. Seniors at that campus had an average of $30,078 of debt when they graduated.

  • By John Hilliard Staff writer

Average debt: $29,037

Students with debt: 69 percent

Debt-carrying graduating seniors at the University of Dayton carried debt at an average of $40,628 per student. Compared to the state average, the school did have a lower number of students – about 62 percent -- who carried debt after graduation. 

Kent State University at Kent and the main campus of Bowling Green State University reported average graduating debt at $31,954 and $31,262, respectively. The public schools with the next-highest debt loads were the University of Toledo and the main campus of the University of Cincinnati – each between $30,000 and $30,500. 

[Editor's note: This entry originally indicated that all students at the University of Dayton had an average debt level of $40,628, when that total was only the average among debt-carrying students. The average debt for all University of Dayton students, including those without any debt, was $23,306.]

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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