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California may be known for its public colleges, but student loan bills here are still among the nation’s highest.
The Golden State ranks No. 9 in the U.S. for average monthly student loan payments, according to a new WalletHub analysis.
Californians pay an average of $237 a month — with no other Western state cracking the top 10.
Washington state came in at No. 21, just ahead of Oregon at No. 22.
Home of the Ivy League, the northeast dominated the top five of the list, with Vermont taking the top spot with an average monthly student loan payment of $258.
The Green Mountain state is followed by Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire and Connecticut.
Nationwide, around 42.6 million Americans owe a total of $1.72 trillion in student loans, according to the US Department of Education.
“Monthly student loan payments vary quite a lot across the country,” said Chris Lupo, an analyst with WalletHub.
“The median student loan payment in Wyoming is slightly over $159 per month, while the median in Vermont is $258, a nearly $99 difference,” he explained. “In either case, that leads to extremely long payoff timelines,”
With nearly $40,500 in average student loan debt and a 6.52% fixed interest rate — the federal rate for undergraduate loans — borrowers would need to pay about $302 a month to wipe out the balance within 20 years.
Source: WalletHub
Despite those hefty monthly payments, California has a shockingly low amount of student loan debt in the nation. A separate study ranked the Golden state 49th out of 50 states for the amount borrowers owe.
That relatively low debt load may be tied to California’s heavy reliance on public higher education.
Between the University of California (UC), California State University (CSU), and California Community Colleges (CCC) systems, the state has roughly 150 public colleges and universities.
About 83% of California’s college-age students attend public colleges and universities, according to the latest available statistics.
That may help explain why California freshmen are 44% less likely to take out a student loan than their counterparts nationwide, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.
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