WalletHub ranks Mississippi as the state where student debt weighs heaviest in 2026, followed by Delaware, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and West Virginia.
The Sept. 17 report scored the 50 states and the District of Columbia on 12 metrics. Eighty-five percent of the score measures indebtedness: average balances, the share of students who borrow, debt versus income, past-due and default rates, use of income-driven repayment and the share of borrowers age 50 and older. Fifteen percent covers grants, youth jobs, internships, and whether a state has a student-loan ombudsman. Data were pulled as of Aug. 20.
At the other end of the list, New Mexico, Washington, California, Hawaii and Utah show the lightest overall burden.
National balances exceeded $1.72 trillion at the end of the second quarter of 2026, WalletHub said, more than $40,000 per borrower across 42.6 million Americans.
Average balances are highest in New Hampshire, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Connecticut, and lowest in Utah, New Mexico, California, Nevada and Wyoming. New Hampshire’s typical balance is about twice Utah’s. Debt as a share of income, adjusted for living costs, is about four times higher in Mississippi than in California. Past-due or defaulted balances are highest in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina and West Virginia, and lowest in Wisconsin.
“College keeps getting progressively more expensive, and so does borrowing money to attend. Federal student loan interest rates recently hit a 12-year high and remain elevated, making it important for borrowers to plan carefully when taking on student debt. In addition to attending college in a less expensive state and pursuing other avenues of funding like financial aid and grants, students should also carefully calculate how much they can afford to borrow before taking out a loan,” said Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst.
The ranking is an index, not a single dollar figure. A state can have a high average balance and still rank better if fewer students borrow or if defaults are low. WalletHub used Census, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Department of Education, and labor data. The study does not tell an individual borrower what to refinance.
