Georgia is among the states where student debt is the highest, according to an analysis examining student loan indebtedness and borrowers’ economic opportunities.
WalletHub ranked Georgia 10th in the nation for the most student debt in its 2026 “States With the Most and Least Student Debt” analysis.
Mississippi ranked No. 1, followed by Delaware, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, West Virginia, South Dakota, Ohio, Louisiana, Kentucky and Georgia.
At the opposite end, Utah had the lowest overall student debt burden, followed by Hawaii, California, Washington and New Mexico.
WalletHub compared all 50 states and the District of Columbia using 12 measures divided between student-loan indebtedness and grant and student work opportunities.
More Than Just the Amount Owed
The analysis considered average student debt, the percentage of students with debt, debt relative to income, delinquency and default rates, income-driven repayment participation, and the share of borrowers age 50 or older.
It also factored in unemployment and underemployment among younger adults, availability of student jobs and paid internships, state and local grant funding, and whether states have enacted student loan ombudsman laws.
Georgia Borrowers Carry Significant Balances
Federal student loan borrowers in Georgia carry an average outstanding balance of approximately $43,813, according to EducationData.org. Approximately 1.7 million Georgia residents have federal student loan debt, totaling roughly $74.6 billion.
The average federal student loan balance in Georgia is about 10.5% higher than the national average.
A separate LendingTree analysis of more than 400,000 consumer credit reports during the first quarter of 2026 found Georgia borrowers with active federal or private student loans carried an average balance of $54,836, the fourth-highest in the nation.
The studies measure different borrower populations, but both indicate Georgians carry comparatively large education debt balances.
Repayment also remains an issue. A separate WalletHub analysis found 12.84% of student loans in Georgia were delinquent during the first quarter of 2026, though that represented an improvement from the previous quarter.
College Affordability in Georgia
The findings come as Georgia lawmakers and others have been discussing financial aid and higher education affordability.
A Georgia Senate study committee examining higher education affordability concluded in late 2025 that rising attendance costs were outpacing resources available to many students. Georgia has relied heavily on merit-based programs such as HOPE and Zell Miller scholarships, leaving lower-income students with fewer state-funded options for covering unmet costs.
That changed in 2026 with the creation of Georgia’s first broad state-funded need-based college aid program.
The DREAMS scholarship – acronym meaning Dedicating Resources to Educationally Advance More Students – is being implemented beginning this fall. The program provides awards of up to $3,000 for eligible students.
Read the full analysis.
The data was collected as of August 20, 2026, from sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics and U.S. Department of Education.
