Latest rate
10.60% Q2 2026
Share of Student Loan Balances 90+ Days Delinquent
Up from 10.16% a year earlier.
Highest in data back to 2025.
Where the Share of Student Loan Balances 90+ Days Delinquent stands now
The Share of Student Loan Balances 90+ Days Delinquent was 10.60% in the second quarter of 2026, the highest in data back to 2025. It has been higher than a year earlier for two quarters in a row.
What it means for households: Student Loan Default & Delinquency Statistics Behind on payments? Your Rights with Debt Collectors
How the Share of Student Loan Balances 90+ Days Delinquent has moved since 2003
Share of Student Loan Balances 90+ Days Delinquent: up since 2024, the highest in data back to 2025
Share of student loan balances 90+ days past due: 10.60% in the second quarter of 2026, up from 10.16% a year earlier. Quarterly, 2003–2026.
What the Share of Student Loan Balances 90+ Days Delinquent measures
Measurement basis: Percent of outstanding student loan balances that are 90 or more days delinquent, using the "STUDENT LOAN" series in the New York Fed table "Percent of Balance 90+ Days Delinquent by Loan Type" (unit: Percent; source: New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax). This is a balance-level rate, not a share of borrowers.
A higher rate is worse for households.
Share of Student Loan Balances 90+ Days Delinquent by quarter, 2003 to 2026
Every quarter since 2003, newest first. The change compares each quarter with the same quarter a year earlier.
The source changed how it measures this in Q3 2012. The New York Fed says about $19 billion of previously defaulted student loans were newly updated on credit reports in the third quarter of 2012, which boosted the share of balances 90 or more days late. Figures on either side are not directly comparable, so the change column stays blank where a comparison would cross that date. Source documentation.
The source changed how it measures this in Q2 2020. From the second quarter of 2020 the Education Department reported federal loans eligible for the pandemic payment pause as current, which the New York Fed says caused that quarter's sharp drop in student-loan delinquency. Figures on either side are not directly comparable, so the change column stays blank where a comparison would cross that date. Source documentation.
The source changed how it measures this in Q4 2022. In the fourth quarter of 2022 the Education Department's Fresh Start program marked defaulted federal student loans as current, which the New York Fed tied to that quarter's drop in reported delinquency. Figures on either side are not directly comparable, so the change column stays blank where a comparison would cross that date. Source documentation.
The source changed how it measures this in Q1 2025. In the first quarter of 2025 the New York Fed says missed federal student-loan payments that had not been reported between 2020 and 2024 began appearing on credit reports, so readings from then on are on a new basis. Figures on either side are not directly comparable, so the change column stays blank where a comparison would cross that date. Source documentation.
| Quarter | Rate (%) | Change from a year earlier (percentage points) |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 10.60 | +0.44 |
| Q1 2026 | 10.34 | +2.60 |
| Q4 2025 | 9.57 | — |
| Q3 2025 | 9.36 | — |
| Q2 2025 | 10.16 | — |
| Q1 2025 | 7.74 | — |
| Q4 2024 | 0.53 | −0.07 |
| Q3 2024 | 0.49 | −0.18 |
| Q2 2024 | 0.65 | +0.02 |
| Q1 2024 | 0.62 | −0.05 |
| Q4 2023 | 0.60 | −0.27 |
| Q3 2023 | 0.67 | — |
| Q2 2023 | 0.63 | — |
| Q1 2023 | 0.67 | — |
| Q4 2022 | 0.87 | — |
| Q3 2022 | 3.92 | −1.41 |
| Q2 2022 | 4.55 | −1.14 |
| Q1 2022 | 4.70 | −1.46 |
| Q4 2021 | 4.99 | −1.46 |
| Q3 2021 | 5.33 | −1.17 |
| Q2 2021 | 5.69 | −1.28 |
| Q1 2021 | 6.16 | — |
| Q4 2020 | 6.45 | — |
| Q3 2020 | 6.50 | — |
| Q2 2020 | 6.97 | — |
| Q1 2020 | 10.75 | −0.10 |
| Q4 2019 | 11.06 | −0.36 |
| Q3 2019 | 10.90 | −0.63 |
| Q2 2019 | 10.83 | −0.11 |
| Q1 2019 | 10.85 | +0.19 |
| Q4 2018 | 11.42 | +0.46 |
| Q3 2018 | 11.53 | +0.36 |
| Q2 2018 | 10.94 | −0.28 |
| Q1 2018 | 10.66 | −0.32 |
| Q4 2017 | 10.96 | −0.21 |
| Q3 2017 | 11.17 | +0.23 |
| Q2 2017 | 11.22 | +0.16 |
| Q1 2017 | 10.98 | −0.06 |
| Q4 2016 | 11.17 | −0.35 |
| Q3 2016 | 10.94 | −0.62 |
| Q2 2016 | 11.06 | −0.39 |
| Q1 2016 | 11.04 | −0.02 |
| Q4 2015 | 11.52 | +0.20 |
| Q3 2015 | 11.56 | +0.47 |
| Q2 2015 | 11.45 | +0.53 |
| Q1 2015 | 11.06 | +0.05 |
| Q4 2014 | 11.32 | −0.19 |
| Q3 2014 | 11.09 | −0.74 |
| Q2 2014 | 10.92 | +0.02 |
| Q1 2014 | 11.01 | −0.18 |
| Q4 2013 | 11.51 | −0.22 |
| Q3 2013 | 11.83 | +0.83 |
| Q2 2013 | 10.90 | — |
| Q1 2013 | 11.19 | — |
| Q4 2012 | 11.73 | — |
| Q3 2012 | 11.00 | — |
| Q2 2012 | 8.92 | −0.17 |
| Q1 2012 | 8.69 | −0.27 |
| Q4 2011 | 8.45 | −0.67 |
| Q3 2011 | 8.84 | −0.33 |
| Q2 2011 | 9.09 | +0.14 |
| Q1 2011 | 8.96 | +0.30 |
| Q4 2010 | 9.12 | +0.46 |
| Q3 2010 | 9.17 | +0.72 |
| Q2 2010 | 8.95 | +0.69 |
| Q1 2010 | 8.66 | +0.78 |
| Q4 2009 | 8.66 | +0.84 |
| Q3 2009 | 8.45 | +0.90 |
| Q2 2009 | 8.26 | +0.71 |
| Q1 2009 | 7.88 | +0.50 |
| Q4 2008 | 7.82 | +0.31 |
| Q3 2008 | 7.55 | −0.04 |
| Q2 2008 | 7.55 | +0.26 |
| Q1 2008 | 7.38 | +0.53 |
| Q4 2007 | 7.51 | +0.37 |
| Q3 2007 | 7.59 | +0.43 |
| Q2 2007 | 7.29 | +0.63 |
| Q1 2007 | 6.85 | +0.46 |
| Q4 2006 | 7.14 | +0.55 |
| Q3 2006 | 7.16 | +0.17 |
| Q2 2006 | 6.66 | −0.05 |
| Q1 2006 | 6.39 | +0.36 |
| Q4 2005 | 6.59 | +0.27 |
| Q3 2005 | 6.99 | +0.49 |
| Q2 2005 | 6.71 | +0.33 |
| Q1 2005 | 6.03 | −0.31 |
| Q4 2004 | 6.32 | +0.09 |
| Q3 2004 | 6.50 | +0.23 |
| Q2 2004 | 6.38 | +0.24 |
| Q1 2004 | 6.34 | +0.21 |
| Q4 2003 | 6.23 | — |
| Q3 2003 | 6.27 | — |
| Q2 2003 | 6.14 | — |
| Q1 2003 | 6.13 | — |
Quarterly · New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel / Equifax
Counties with the highest delinquency scores
There's no county figure for this measure, so this list uses the delinquency part of our County Distress Index.
| Rank | County | Score (0–100) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coahoma County, MS | 99.5 |
| 2 | Washington County, MS | 99.3 |
| 3 | Leflore County, MS | 99.3 |
| 4 | Williamsburg County, SC | 99.2 |
| 5 | Dillon County, SC | 98.9 |
| 6 | Clayton County, GA | 98.9 |
| 7 | Yazoo County, MS | 98.6 |
| 8 | Sunflower County, MS | 98.5 |
| 9 | Marlboro County, SC | 98.4 |
| 10 | Dallas County, AL | 98.3 |
Questions about the Share of Student Loan Balances 90+ Days Delinquent
What is the student loan serious delinquency rate?
It is the share of student loan balances that are 90 or more days past due. In the second quarter of 2026, 10.6% of student loan balances were seriously delinquent, according to the New York Fed, up from 10.16% a year earlier.
Why was the rate so low from late 2022 through 2024?
Reporting policy, not repayment. The Education Department reported paused federal loans as current from 2020, the Fresh Start program marked defaulted federal loans current in late 2022, and missed payments stayed off credit reports through September 30, 2024. What was left came from private and commercially held federal loans.
Is this the share of borrowers who are behind?
No. It is a share of balances, and the balances include loans in school, deferment or forbearance that cannot go late. The New York Fed found 23.7% of borrowers with a payment due were behind in the first quarter of 2025.
Where does the student loan delinquency data come from?
The New York Fed's Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, built from Equifax credit reports. Student loans use a 1% random sample of people with credit reports. It is published quarterly.
Sources and method for the Share of Student Loan Balances 90+ Days Delinquent
- New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel / Equifax Measurement basis: Percent of outstanding student loan balances that are 90 or more days delinquent, using the "STUDENT LOAN" series in the New York Fed table "Percent of Balance 90+ Days Delinquent by Loan Type" (unit: Percent; source: New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax). This is a balance-level rate, not a share of borrowers. We use the quarterly figures as published, from the first quarter of 2003 through the second quarter of 2026, with no adjustment of our own. Federal Reserve Bank of New York doesn’t adjust this rate for the season, so compare a quarter with the same quarter a year earlier. Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s report
We write with assistance from AI tools. Figures come from the data and sources named on this page.