How Much Student Loan Debt Does The Quad Cities Have?

On Wednesday, a lot of people were really excited and really angry and the President of the United States announced his administration would be canceling $15 billion in student loan debt. No matter what emotion you expressed, student debt from people going to college is real and a lot. How much student loan debt does the Quad Cities have? A number is hard to say, but we know that those on one side of the Mississippi River have more than the other.

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On Wednesday, President Joe Biden announced that his administration would be canceling $15 billion in student loan debt. Folks who went to college on Pell Grants will receive $20,000 in loan forgiveness on Federal student loans, and those who have Federal student loans but didn't go to college on Pell Grants will receive $10,000. A person must make less than $125,000 a year (less than $250,000 per household) to qualify for loan forgiveness.

The Biden administration also announced that the pause on student loans will end on December 31, 2022.

Millions of Americans will see a lot of student debt go away including people in Iowa and Illinois. But how much student loan debt do Iowans and Illinoisans have? Our friends at WalletHub have given us that answer.

In order to determine the best and worst states for student debt, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across two key dimensions:

• Student-Loan Indebtedness
• Grant & Student Work Opportunities

WalletHub evaluated those dimensions using 11 relevant metrics. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 being granted to the state with the most student debt.

Finally, WalletHub determined each state and the District’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score giving us 2022's States with the Most and Least Student Debt.

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Of the Quad-City states, WalletHub found that Iowa ranks higher on this list than Illinois does. Iowa has the 16th most student debt and received an overall score of 52.61. In the two key dimensions, this is how Iowa ranked:

• Student-Loan Indebtedness - 12th
• Grant & Student Work Opportunities - 37th

In the first quarter of 2022, StudentAid.gov reported that more than 429,000 Iowans have more than $13.3 billion of student loan debt. This means the average Iowan carries almost $31,000 in student debt.

Across the river, WalletHub found that Illinois has the 30th most student debt and received an overall score of 44.75. In the two key dimensions, this is how Illinois ranked:

• Student-Loan Indebtedness - 26th
• Grant & Student Work Opportunities - 39th

StudentAid.gov reported that more than 1.6 million Illinoisans have more than $62.3 billion of student loan debt. This means the average Illinoisan has more than $38,000 in student loan debt.

In total, Iowa and Illinois student loan borrowers owe back more than $75 billion.

If you're looking at our math compared to WalletHub, WalletHub also looked at home ownership ranking for people between the ages of 25-34. Iowa ranked #1 in that category which means that the age group has high homeownership and high student loan debt. Illinois ranked 33rd in that home ownership category.