Analysis shows how debt for Hawaii graduates stacks up
“Student Debt and the Class of 2017,” TICAS’ 13th annual report on debt for bachelor’s degree graduates of public and nonprofit colleges, finds that Hawaii ranks among the ten lowest average student debt states in the country. According to the report, the average debt load at graduation in 2017 in Hawaii was $25,125, and nearly half of students in the state (49 percent) graduated with debt.
“When you’re talking about this much debt, there are very few people who can escape it,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) said. “Millions of families in every state struggle with these financial burdens, and that’s why Congress needs to take action.”
“Higher education has become increasingly more important in today’s economy and earning a college degree can open doors to opportunity and success,” Sen. Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) added. “With the cost of college increasingly out of reach for many Hawaii families, I will continue to fight for and support programs like Pell Grants that make college more affordable.”
The new report finds that, nationally, the average debt for the Class of 2017 was only 1 percent higher than the 2016 average. The slower growth in student debt for recent college graduates is welcome news, though additional, targeted investments from states and the federal government remain an important priority for reducing students’ need to borrow and ensuring that borrowers’ debts are manageable.
“While the growth of student debt slowed down in recent years, averages mask important differences in who carries debt and whether they can repay it,” said James Kvaal, TICAS president. “Lower income graduates are more likely to leave college with debt and have more of it, and more than one in 10 of them will end up in default. We need to invest more in student aid and in colleges to reduce students’ need to borrow and make their loans easier to repay.”
An interactive map with details for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and more than 1,000 public and nonprofit four-year colleges is available here.
