Student loan debt in America reached $1 trillion in 2012. That was 54 years after passage of the National Defense Education Act of 1958, the country’s first federally supported student loan initiative. By 2019, just seven years later, that amount had risen to more than $1.7 trillion, an amount expected to keep increasing without legislative intervention.

A federal COVID-19 relief measure temporarily suspended repayment of student loans, but according to EducationData.org, the average student loan debt for graduates of the Class of 2021 stands at $36,900, with an average monthly minimum payment (when resumed) of $433. That marks a 76% increase over the amount owed by members of the Class of 2000. Since 2013 alone, the total national student loan debt load has ballooned by over 600%.

This sharp rise in the cost of higher education has burdened millions of recent college graduates and young working adults with a level of debt that can delay important life decisions. Buying a home, investing for retirement, starting a business, saving for rainy days or simply having money to spend on goods and services remain out of reach for many.

Most people simply live with their student loan debt until they finally pay it off, well into their 30s or 40s, or beyond. According to data from the federal student aid website, 14.2 million student loan debtors between the ages of 35 and 49 owe a total of $602 billion. Another $349 billion is owed by people 50 years or older.

Borrowers can default on their monthly student loan payments and risk having their debt go into collections for different reasons, but one of the most important is the lack of employment opportunities that match their educational and professional histories.

This analysis reveals how the total amount owed and the amount in collections vary from in the state with the most debt in collection.

To identify the state with the most student loan debt in collections, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the share of people with a credit report in each state who have student debt in collections from “Debt in America 2021,” a report by the Urban Institute, based on credit bureau data from 2020. The share of student debt in collections is the percentage of total individuals with any form of student debt that is open, deferred and sent out to a collection agency.

Vermont has the highest median student debt in default at $17,237. Ironically, adults with student debt in default are only 6.2% of the total, the lowest among all states. The average overall debt of graduates is $30,566, the 18th highest among the states.

Click here to see all the states where people struggle the most with student debt.

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