Defaults on student loans have surged across the United States, as borrowers struggle to keep up with payments.
The numbers have spiked since payments came due again following a lengthy pause intended to provide relief during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, around 9.5 million people 鈥� 1 in 5 federal student loan borrowers 鈥� are in default, meaning they are more than nine months behind on their payments.
While credit scores can suffer when borrowers are just a few months behind, entering default brings the possibility of more serious consequences, including garnished wages or Social Security payments. For now, the Trump administration has on such involuntary collections.
Despair is on the rise, advocates say.
鈥淔olks are struggling to make ends meet and cover all the rising costs of everything else. The growing student loan bills are making things worse and folks are falling behind,鈥� said Aissa Canchola Ba帽ez, policy director for the advocacy group Protect Borrowers.
Here are some takeaways from an Associated Press analysis of student loan defaults.
Why a record number of people are in default now
The allowed borrowers to suspend federal student loan payments during the economic tumult of the pandemic. Though payments technically started coming due again in 2023, the Biden administration provided a one-year buffer period that ended in the fall of 2024.
Loans couldn鈥檛 enter default during this time, and federal programs designed to help delinquent borrowers and debt forgiveness initiatives brought millions out of default.
Starting in June 2025, with the pause having ended nine months prior, borrowers began defaulting again for the first time since the pandemic.
Since then, the number of defaulted borrowers has exploded from 5.3 million to around 9.5 million, according to data from the Office of Federal Student Aid. Out of $1.7 trillion in federally backed student loans nationwide, $233.3 billion is in default.
Another wave of defaults could be on the way. The Trump administration has eliminated the most generous income-driven repayment plan, , as part of its overhaul of the federal student loan system. The millions of borrowers who had been enrolled in SAVE now will face the strain of paying more each month.
Starting this month, new borrowers pick between one standard repayment plan and one income-driven option, as opposed to having several options. The Education Department has described the changes as a simplification of a 鈥渇ragmented and confusing鈥� system.
Many of the states with the most defaults are in the South
Many of the states with the highest concentrations of defaulted borrowers are in the South, an AP analysis found.
Mississippi has the nation鈥檚 highest default rate at 28.3%, and others near the top include Louisiana, Alabama, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Georgia, South Carolina and Texas. Rounding out the 15 states with the highest default rates are Alaska, Arizona, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, New Mexico and Nevada.
Of those states, New Mexico was the only one Republican President Donald Trump didn’t win in 2024.
鈥淭hese are folks who live in states that President Trump won in the previous election,鈥� Ba帽ez said. 鈥淎nd why I bring that up is, you know, there鈥檚 a lot of misconceptions and tropes about who student loan borrowers are, and who are the ones who are falling behind.鈥�
She said many are 鈥渨orking-class folks who just cannot keep up with these bills on top of everything else.鈥�
Meanwhile, the territory of Puerto Rico had a 30.9% default rate, higher than any of the states.
Borrowers who attended for-profit schools struggle more to repay loans
Students who attended for-profit colleges struggle more than others to pay back their loans. Thirty-three percent of those borrowers were 90 days or more behind on their student loan payments, a rate more than double that of borrowers who attended public schools, according to data by the Office of Federal Student Aid released this year to help schools understand and identify default risks.
Out of the schools in the top quarter for nonpayment rates, 76% were for-profit schools.
The FSA argues that a high nonpayment rate represents a 鈥渟erious risk鈥� of developing a high default rate.
An association for private trade schools and career colleges is so concerned it has created a task force to reach out to students about the importance of loan repayment.
Jason Altmire, the head of the group, Career Education Colleges and Universities, said some of it can be chalked up to the pandemic. Other borrowers are confused over the Biden administration鈥檚 failed loan forgiveness effort. Still, he said the issue will be discussed at the association鈥檚 summer convention.
鈥淲e take it seriously,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a real problem.鈥�
___
The Associated Press鈥� education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP鈥檚 for working with philanthropies, a of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
