A new study by personal finance website GOBankingRates finds northeastern states of the country most affected by the student debt crisis.
New Hampshire tops the list of states with 74 percent of its graduates having an average loan debt of $36,367, while Pennsylvania and Connecticut share the second and third spot with an average student loan debt of $35,759 and $35,494 respectively.
To compile the list of states with student debt crisis, the financial news website looked at data from the Institute for College Access and Success’s 12th Annual Student Debt Report.
For each state, the website broke down student loan debt by the percentage of graduates with debt and the average amount each student owed.
The study also finds that though New Hampshire has the highest rate of student loan debt in the U.S., the state is tied with North Dakota for the second-lowest unemployment rate in America.
It also notes that out of all the states, Utah has the lowest average student debt in the U.S., at $19,975.
According to a separate study in June 2018 by the same website, the women on average owe $2,740 more than men upon graduation and carry nearly two-thirds of the nation’s outstanding student loan debt.
“Women find less disposable income in their wallets and take longer to repay their student loans, further widening the economic gap between women and men,” the study noted.
