History of Student Loan Debt

Check out the nifty interactive charts on Student Loan Debt History created by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The charts show total student loan debt, average loan balance, number of borrowers, and proportion of loans 90+ days delinquent for total borrowers and borrowers by age. The data are shown by quarter from the first quarter of 2005 through the first quarter of 2012.

Here are a few nuggets from the charts:

• The under-30 age group accounted for 38 percent of the 37.1 million student loan borrowers in the first quarter of 2012. This is down from their 46 percent share of the nation's 23.3 million student loan borrowers in the first quarter of 2005.
• Borrowers aged 30 to 39 have the highest average student loan balance--$28,906 in the first quarter of 2012, up from $20,047 in the first quarter of 2005. 
• More than 2 million people aged 60 or older have student loan debt.
• Borrowers aged 40 to 49 are most likely to be 90+ days delinquent on their loans, at 11.9 percent in the first quarter of 2012.