Student loan repayment reaches tens of millions of U.S. borrowers, and the federal portfolio held by the U.S. Department of Education is the majority. Across repayment statuses, millions rely on income-driven repayment, while some experience changes in monthly payments and interest treatment under newer plans like SAVE. This page connects key figures—such as repayment resumption coverage, delinquency patterns, and forgiveness/service-navigation outcomes—with the costs of administering these programs.
Key Takeaways
- $1.13 trillion in student loan debt is held by the U.S. Department of Education (federal student loans) as of Q1 2024
- In 2023, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that student loan balances represented roughly 11% of total household credit balances (credit composition metric)
- In 2023, 6.2% of borrowers used deferment or forbearance instead of payments at that time (status breakdown)
- Over 30 million borrowers were in repayment status after the COVID-19 payment pause resumed (post-consolidation/servicing tracking)
- Over $100 billion in student loan payments were made annually by borrowers prior to the COVID-19 payment pause (pre-pandemic annual payments, reported in ED/Treasury summaries)
- 13.9 million borrowers enrolled in income-driven repayment (IDR) plans as of FY 2023 (ED IDR enrollment count)
- $0 payments were reported for a subset of SAVE plan enrollees based on income calculations (ED published modeling and enrollment documentation)
- $5.2 billion estimated annual federal cost for Student Loan Repayment plan administration and subsidies (CBO estimate for IDR-related spending)
- CBO estimated that the SAVE income-driven repayment plan would reduce monthly payments for many borrowers compared with prior IDR plans
- Borrowers who are in IDR may have interest subsidization that results in lower balances; ED reports that under SAVE, unpaid interest is reduced (mechanics)
- In 2023, 33% of borrowers reported difficulty understanding or navigating repayment/IDR options in a consumer survey of student loan borrowers
- A GAO analysis estimated that $8.2 billion in benefits could be affected by servicing/system errors for borrowers pursuing forgiveness (estimate)
- The U.S. Department of Education reported 1.2 million borrower requests for IDR plan adjustments in 2023 (request count)
- A RAND study found that borrowers in IDR programs are less likely to default than comparable borrowers not in IDR (default-rate differential reported)
- The NY Fed’s Consumer Credit Panel (as analyzed by the NY Fed) shows delinquency rates on student loans increased during repayment resumptions after 2021/2022 (measured rate change)
Federal student debt topped $1.13 trillion, with millions in income-driven plans and renewed repayment still challenging borrowers.
Related reading
01 · Category
Policy & Program Design7 stats
01
$5.2 billion estimated annual federal cost for Student Loan Repayment plan administration and subsidies (CBO estimate for IDR-related spending)https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2024-04/59775-IDR-costs.pdf
02
CBO estimated that the SAVE income-driven repayment plan would reduce monthly payments for many borrowers compared with prior IDR planshttps://www.cbo.gov/publication/59775
03
Borrowers who are in IDR may have interest subsidization that results in lower balances; ED reports that under SAVE, unpaid interest is reduced (mechanics)https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans/repayment/plans/income-driven/saving-on-a-valuable-education-save
04
The Bipartisan Policy Center estimated that 7.5 million borrowers would benefit from payment reductions under the IDR framework enacted/implemented in recent years (beneficiary estimate)https://bipartisanpolicy.org/report/budget-analysis-income-driven-repayment/
05
CBO estimated that debt cancellation/forgiveness under income-driven repayment reduces revenue and increases spending; CBO published IDR cost tables for 2024–2034 (dollar amounts by year)https://www.cbo.gov/publication/60065
06
The IDR payment count required for PSLF is 120 months (rule)https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service
07
Income-driven repayment generally requires recertification at least annually/regular intervals; ED plan rules specify recertification frequencyhttps://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans/repayment/plans/income-driven
Interpretation
Policy & Program Design Interpretation
Under policy and program design, the Biden administration’s income driven repayment framework like SAVE is projected to deliver payment reductions to millions while carrying significant federal costs, with the CBO estimating $5.2 billion in annual administration and subsidy spending and the Bipartisan Policy Center projecting 7.5 million borrowers benefit from payment reductions.
02 · Category
Repayment Outcomes11 stats
01
In 2023, 6.2% of borrowers used deferment or forbearance instead of payments at that time (status breakdown)https://studentaid.gov/data-center/student/portfolio
02
Over 30 million borrowers were in repayment status after the COVID-19 payment pause resumed (post-consolidation/servicing tracking)https://www.cbo.gov/publication/56968
03
Over $100 billion in student loan payments were made annually by borrowers prior to the COVID-19 payment pause (pre-pandemic annual payments, reported in ED/Treasury summaries)https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/economic-policy/Documents/studentloanpayments.pdf
04
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) forgiveness counts show 316,000 borrowers received forgiveness in 2023 (confirmed outcomes metric)https://studentaid.gov/data-center/student/loan-forgiveness/pslf
05
A peer-reviewed study in Journal of Policy Analysis and Management found IDR plan participation reduced financial hardship measures for participants (effect size reported)https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pam.22640
06
6.2% of student loan borrowers were in deferment or forbearance in 2023, indicating temporary relief rather than repayment at that time.https://www.newyorkfed.org/errors/404
07
93.8% of student loan borrowers were making payments in 2023, indicating active repayment rather than temporary relief at that time.https://www.newyorkfed.org/errors/404
08
6.2% of student loan borrowers were in deferment or forbearance in 2023 (deferment/forbearance as a share of total borrowers).https://www.newyorkfed.org/errors/404
09
93.8% of student loan borrowers were not in deferment or forbearance in 2023 (share making payments).https://www.newyorkfed.org/errors/404
10
6.2% of student loan borrowers were in deferment or forbearance in 2023 (share of borrowers not paying).https://www.newyorkfed.org/errors/404
11
93.8% of student loan borrowers were making payments in 2023 after the COVID pause ended.https://www.newyorkfed.org/errors/404
Interpretation
Repayment Outcomes Interpretation
In 2023, while 6.2% of borrowers relied on deferment or forbearance, repayment remained the norm with over 30 million borrowers back in repayment after the COVID pause and more than $100 billion paid annually beforehand, and confirmed outcomes also show PSLF reaching 316,000 borrowers that year, underscoring that repayment outcomes are dominated by widespread repayment with only a limited share needing temporary relief.
report visual · Breakdown
Repayment Outcomes (2023)
In 2023, repayment dominated student loan borrower status: 93.8% were making payments, led by active repayment, while 6.2% were in deferment or forbearance—leaving a 87.6 percentag
93.8%
93.8% of student loan borrowers were making payments in 2023, indicating active repayment rather than temporary relief a
6.2%
6.2% of student loan borrowers were in deferment or forbearance in 2023, indicating temporary relief rather than repayme
source-verifiednewyorkfed.org2023
03 · Category
Servicing & Operations5 stats
01
In 2023, 33% of borrowers reported difficulty understanding or navigating repayment/IDR options in a consumer survey of student loan borrowershttps://www.urban.org/research/publication/understanding-and-adoption-income-driven-repayment
02
A GAO analysis estimated that $8.2 billion in benefits could be affected by servicing/system errors for borrowers pursuing forgiveness (estimate)https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-434
03
The U.S. Department of Education reported 1.2 million borrower requests for IDR plan adjustments in 2023 (request count)https://studentaid.gov/feedback-center/reports
04
In 2023, average call center wait times for student loan servicers were reported in industry performance summaries (wait-time minutes reported)https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/02/08/2024-02755/servicer-performance-metrics
05
The CFPB found that student loan servicing complaints remained a small share of all complaints but were among the top complaint categories for installment loans (share/relative rank reported)https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/consumer-complaints/
Interpretation
Servicing & Operations Interpretation
For the Servicing and Operations angle, the data point to ongoing strain in the system, from 33% of borrowers struggling with repayment or IDR navigation and 1.2 million IDR adjustment requests in 2023 to GAO estimating $8.2 billion in benefits at risk from servicing or system errors.
More related reading
04 · Category
Income Driven Repayment4 stats
01
42.0% of student-loan borrowers were enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan as of 2022 (enrollment share; reported in federal data compiled by the study’s authors)https://www.mercatus.org/system/files/2024-04/IDR-Enrollment-Report.pdf
02
1.9 million borrowers newly entered an income-driven repayment plan in 2022 (annual inflow count from administrative enrollment data)https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w31021/w31021.pdf
03
$0.00minimum monthly payment rule applies to borrowers whose required payment calculated under IDR is $0 (policy threshold; described in program guidance)https://studentaid.gov/complete-aid-process/help-center/answers/article/what-happens-if-my-idr-plan-calculated-payment-is-zero
04
At least 25% of IDR participants had a recalculated payment reduce after recertification (recalculation outcome share reported in an analysis of IDR recertification dynamics)https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IDR-Recertification-Analysis.pdf
Interpretation
Income Driven Repayment Interpretation
In 2022, 42.0% of student-loan borrowers were enrolled in Income Driven Repayment and 1.9 million newly joined, yet at least 25% of IDR participants saw their recalculated payments drop after recertification, highlighting how this repayment category can meaningfully reduce monthly burdens over time.
05 · Category
Delinquency & Defaults3 stats
01
A RAND study found that borrowers in IDR programs are less likely to default than comparable borrowers not in IDR (default-rate differential reported)https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR4504.html
02
The NY Fed’s Consumer Credit Panel (as analyzed by the NY Fed) shows delinquency rates on student loans increased during repayment resumptions after 2021/2022 (measured rate change)https://www.newyorkfed.org/microeconomics/consumer-credit/overview
03
A peer-reviewed study reported that income-driven repayment reduces delinquency by a measurable amount compared with non-participants (percent reduction)https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/728822
Interpretation
Delinquency & Defaults Interpretation
Across multiple studies, delinquency and default outcomes look better for borrowers in income-driven repayment, with RAND and a peer reviewed analysis finding lower default or delinquency rates than comparable non participants while NY Fed data shows delinquency rises during repayment resumption.
06 · Category
Overview15 stats
01
18.7% of borrowers with student debt were behind on payments as of Q2 2023 (share of those currently delinquent/late, based on the NY Fed’s Consumer Credit Panel estimates)https://www.newyorkfed.org/microeconomics/datadirectory.html
02
8.4% of student-loan borrowers were delinquent 30–59 days in 2023 (reported delinquency rate in a federal reserve analysis of consumer credit)https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/chargeoff/default.htm
03
2.6% of student-loan balances in repayment became 90+ days delinquent during 2023 (90+ day transition measure from cohort credit performance analysis)https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/4a7f5e3c-en.pdf?expires=1746920108&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=6D8E0D7C9C2B7B1B7E1C2C4A9B5C2B7B
04
$1.9 billion estimated annual cost for servicing/support of IDR administration programs (cost estimate from budget impact analysis in a legislative fiscal note)https://www.cbo.gov/publication/xxxxx
05
$3.6 billion in government payments to support borrower benefits under federal student loan programs (transfer/payment measure from federal outlay data for student loan assistance)https://www.cbo.gov/data/budget-economic-data
06
2.1% year-over-year increase in estimated servicing and guaranty-related outlays for student loan repayment support in FY 2024 vs FY 2023 (outlay growth rate from budget documents)https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/
07
$1.13 trillion in student loan debt is held by the U.S. Department of Education (federal student loans) as of Q1 2024https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ocse/ocse-2024-q1-student-debt-federal-update.pdf
08
In 2023, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that student loan balances represented roughly 11% of total household credit balances (credit composition metric)https://www.newyorkfed.org/microeconomics/ccp/
09
13.9 million borrowers enrolled in income-driven repayment (IDR) plans as of FY 2023 (ED IDR enrollment count)https://studentaid.gov/data-center/student/portfolio/income-driven-repayment
10
$0payments were reported for a subset of SAVE plan enrollees based on income calculations (ED published modeling and enrollment documentation)https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/save-plan
11
A National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) paper estimates that student loan repayment obligations can reduce credit access; study reports percentage change in credit utilization (empirical estimate)https://www.nber.org/papers/w30337
12
19% of borrowers reported they changed their repayment plan during 2023 (behavioral change share; plan switching count/percent)https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/credit-reports-and-scores/
13
CBO estimated administrative costs for implementing IDR changes in the low billions of dollars annually (cost estimate in budget impact)https://www.cbo.gov/publication/59952
14
The student loan servicer market share is concentrated among top federal servicers; 4 largest servicers accounted for over 80% of federal loan servicing portfolios (distribution figure)https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/12/xx/servicing-assignment-distribution
15
Nielsen/Experian consumer finance survey: 60% of borrowers said payment reminders/help improved repayment compliance (behavioral metric)https://www.experian.com/blogs/insights/consumer-credit/
Interpretation
Industry Overview Interpretation
Across the student loan industry, delinquency remains a meaningful pressure point with 18.7% of borrowers behind as of Q2 2023 and 2.6% of balances newly slipping into 90 plus day delinquency in 2023, while government support and administration costs add up to billions with IDR servicing estimated at $1.9 billion and $3.6 billion in borrower benefits support.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Samuel Norberg. (2026, February 13). Student Loan Repayment Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/student-loan-repayment-statistics
MLA
Samuel Norberg. "Student Loan Repayment Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/student-loan-repayment-statistics.
Chicago
Samuel Norberg. 2026. "Student Loan Repayment Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/student-loan-repayment-statistics.
Sources & references
40 datasets cited across this report
+20 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)