U.S. student loan debt tops $32.4 billion, SmartAsset says

Unpaid student loan debt across the United States totaled more than $32.4 billion at the end of 2025, a SmartAsset study found, according to Nexstar. The study found an average of 12.55% of adults are currently paying student loan debt.

Nexstar reported that the total has continued to grow nationwide. The outlet cited the SmartAsset analysis as showing a rising burden of unpaid educational loans.

The Nexstar article said SmartAsset provided additional details, including average balances, but the excerpt released by Nexstar did not include those specific figures.

Nexstar raised the question of whether Mississippi is among the worst states for student loan debt. The Nexstar excerpt did not include state-by-state rankings or Mississippi’s standing, and the SmartAsset figures cited in the excerpt did not provide that breakdown.

Source: Original Article