Ohio Ranks Among States With Heaviest Student Debt Burdens
By CU Today Staff —
MIAMI--Ohio has one of the nation’s heavier student loan burdens, ranking seventh overall in WalletHub’s 2026 analysis of student debt as outstanding balances nationwide have climbed above $1.72 trillion.
WalletHub said the national total amounts to more than $40,000 per borrower across 42.6 million Americans.
WalletHub compared the 50 states and District of Columbia using 12 measures of student-loan indebtedness and economic opportunity. Ohio ranked 17th for average student debt and the proportion of students with debt, ninth for student debt as a percentage of income adjusted for cost of living, and 18th for the percentage of student loans past due or in default. Overall, only Mississippi, Delaware, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, West Virginia and South Dakota ranked worse than Ohio.
Other measures were somewhat more favorable for Ohio, according to WalletHub. The state ranked 30th for unemployment among people ages 25 to 34, 17th for availability of student jobs and 24th for availability of paid internships. WalletHub gave Ohio an overall score of 56.59, ranking it seventh for student-loan indebtedness and 16th for grant and student-work opportunities.
“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,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said. “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.”
Originally reported by CU Today.