US Household Student Loan Balances (NY Fed)

## What this measures

Student loan balances owed by US households at the end of each quarter, in trillions of dollars, federal and private combined as reported to the credit bureau.

## Why it matters

Student debt sits with younger households for a decade or more and competes with saving, home buying and family formation. Policy decisions on repayment and forgiveness move it more than the economy does.

## How to read it

Read the level for scale and the quarterly change for direction. Breaks in the series usually follow policy events, such as the federal payment pause and its end, rather than borrowing behaviour.

## What it does not say

It does not show repayment status, which borrowers are in default, or how much of the balance is federal.

## Source

Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit (NY Fed Consumer Credit Panel / Equifax), data workbook Page 3. Palanor downloads the workbook each quarter; every release carries the full history from 2003.