Washington, DC - With college students preparing for the fall semester and 11 percent of all student loans in delinquency or default as of Q1 2016, the personal-finance website WalletHub conducted an in-depth analysis of 2016’s Best and Worst States for Student Debt.

In order to identify the states that are friendliest toward student-loan debtors, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across nine key metrics. Our data set ranges from “average student debt” to “unemployment rate for people aged 25 to 34” to “percentage of students with past-due loan balances.”  
 

 
Best vs. Worst

• Utah has the lowest average student debt, $18,921, which is 1.8 times lower than in Delaware, where the average is highest, $33,808. 
   
• Wyoming has the lowest proportion of students with debt, 46 percent, which is 1.7 times lower than in New Hampshire, where the proportion is highest, 76 percent. 
   
• Wyoming has the lowest student debt as a percentage of income (adjusted for cost of living), 29.63 percent, which is 2.3 times lower than in the District of Columbia, where the student-debt portion of income is highest, 67.47 percent. 
   
• Nebraska has the lowest unemployment rate for people aged 25 to 34, 2.5 percent, which is 3.7 times lower than in Alabama, where the rate is highest, 9.3 percent. 
   
• Vermont has the lowest percentage of student loans in past-due or default status, 7.89 percent, which is 2.3 times lower than in West Virginia, where the percentage is highest, 18.36 percent. 
   
• Hawaii has the lowest percentage of student-loan borrowers aged 50 or older, 4.01 percent, which is 2.6 times lower than in Vermont, where the percentage is highest, 10.33 percent.

For the full report and to see where your state ranks, please visit: 
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-states-for-student-debt/7520/