Wyoming Ranked Better Than the Majority of the Country with Student Debt

There are probably a fair share of Wyomingites that would say otherwise, but the Cowboy State is beating out over 80% of America when it comes to student debt.

According to a new study from personal finance website, WalletHub, Wyoming ranked 4th overall on their "2023's States with the Most and Least Student Debt" (as the state with the fourth least student debt).

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WalletHub stated:

Student debt is a huge problem in America. Save for mortgages, student loans make up the largest component of household debt for Americans. Our collective debt keeps growing, too. At the end of the first quarter of 2023, total outstanding college-loan balances stood at nearly $1.64 trillion, according to the Department of Education. That comes out to an average of over $37,000 for each of the 43.8 million borrowers.

Not all states are equal when it comes to the burden of student loans, though. With student-loan debtors in mind, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on 12 key measures of indebtedness and earning opportunities. Our data set ranges from average student debt to unemployment rate among the population aged 25 to 34 to share of students with past-due loan balances.

Here are some of the key metrics and how Wyoming ranked against the rest of the country (1 = Most; 25 = Average):

• 48th – Grant Growth
• 47th – Average Student Debt
• 44th – Availability of Paid Internships
• 44th – Percentage of Student Loans Past Due or in Default
• 41st – Proportion of Students with Debt
• 40th – Student Debt as Percentage of Income (Adjusted for Cost of Living)
• 37th – Unemployment Rate of Population Aged 25 to 34
• 20th – Availability of Student Jobs

While there is no doubt that our relatively low population played into our overall ranking, it's still one of many good reasons why living in Wyoming is much better than the more highly populated areas.