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Key Takeaways
- Among the 14.9 million federal student loan borrowers ages 35 to 49, the average borrower in this age group holds about $45,295 in student loan debt.
- This age group has the highest delinquency rate among student loan borrowers.
Are you a federal student loan borrower between the ages of 35 and 49? Here’s how your balance and repayment status compare with other borrowers your age.
About 14.9 million borrowers ages 35 to 49 hold $674.9 billion in student loan debt as of September 2025, according to the Department of Education’s most recent data. This age group holds the most debt and includes the most borrowers, with borrowers ages 35 to 49 accounting for about 34% of total student loan borrowers.
The average borrower in this group owes about $45,295, the second-highest average of all age groups.
The Group Facing the Highest Delinquency Rates
Since payments resumed after the COVID-19 pandemic, many borrowers ages 35 to 49 have struggled to make payments. The average delinquent student loan borrower is 40.4 years old, according to the most recent data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
During the first quarter of 2025, borrowers ages 40 to 49 had the highest delinquency rate, with 28.4% of payments past due. Almost 23% of borrowers ages 30 to 39 were delinquent.
In the third quarter of 2025, student loan borrowers ages 40 to 49 had the second-highest rate of people becoming seriously delinquent, meaning they hadn’t made payments for more than 90 days. Only borrowers 50 and older had higher rates, according to the New York Federal Reserve. For borrowers in this group, about 15% of their student loan balances were in serious delinquency.
How Delinquent Borrowers Can Return To Good Standing
Many student loan borrowers are struggling to make their payments, partly because of changes to repayment policies and inflation squeezing their budgets. But borrowers behind on payments still have options.
Borrowers are delinquent once they’ve missed one or more payments. They can still lower or pause their payments. Some delinquent borrowers can move to a cheaper repayment plan. The Federal Student Aid Loan Simulator lets borrowers compare repayment plans.
If none of the repayment plans are affordable, borrowers can also request forbearance or deferment from their servicer.
Borrowers in default—meaning they haven’t made a payment for more than 270 days—can’t pause or lower their payments. They can apply for loan consolidation or loan rehabilitation. These programs restore borrowers to good standing and set them up to resume payments.
