Student Loan Delinquency and Reporting Statistics (2026)
The share of student loan balances 90 or more days delinquent is 10.6% as of 2026-Q2, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Household Debt and Credit Report. Federal payments resumed in October 2023; the separate on-ramp ended September 30, 2024, before the later reporting transition. Annual borrower payment-status data from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System's Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED), updated as comparable releases arrive.
What Is the Current Student Loan Default Rate?
The student loan delinquency rate — balances 90 or more days past due as a share of total student loan debt — stood at 10.6% in 2026-Q2, according to the NY Fed's Household Debt and Credit Report. The series low through the pause/on-ramp reporting period was 0.5%. The Q4 2024 to Q1 2025 reported share then changed by 7.2 percentage points after the on-ramp ended. That comparison does not mean payment obligations first returned in Q1 2025.
Federal student-loan payments resumed in October 2023 after the CARES Act pause and subsequent extensions. The Department of Education's separate 12-month on-ramp limited adverse reporting for missed payments through September 30, 2024. The later NY Fed movement is therefore a post-on-ramp reporting transition, not a count of borrowers whose payment obligations first returned in that quarter. At 10.6%, the reported balance share can be compared with the 2019 average of 10.9%, while keeping the reporting break explicit. The American Distress Index treats student-loan delinquency as supporting context rather than a composite input.
Key Statistics at a Glance
The American Distress Index currently reads 43.8 (Typical). On average, its inputs sit higher than in 44% of their own quarterly histories. Student loan delinquency is not included in the ADI composite. The payment pause and later on-ramp reporting transition create a comparability break. The series is separate context for the Delinquency domain; co-movement with mortgage, auto, or credit-card delinquency does not establish the same borrowers or one common cause.
How Has Student Loan Delinquency Changed Over Time?
The rate rose during much of 2003–2012, peaked at 11.8% in Q3 2013, and averaged 10.9% in 2019. The series is a share of balances 90 or more days delinquent; it does not measure borrower earnings or, by itself, identify why the rate moved.
The CARES Act pause began in March 2020, and the reported rate fell to 0.9% by late 2022. Payments resumed in October 2023, while the separate on-ramp limited adverse reporting through September 30, 2024. Readings across that interval are not directly comparable with an ordinary repayment-and-reporting period.
Share of Student Loan Balances 90+ Days Delinquent (Quarterly, 2003–Present)
Source: NY Fed Household Debt and Credit Report, Consumer Credit Panel / Equifax. Quarterly frequency.
Full data and trend: Student Loan Delinquency Rate time series →
Key Moments in the Student Loan Delinquency Timeline
Seven reference points show the pre-pandemic series, payment-pause period, on-ramp reporting transition, and current reported rate without treating them as one continuous measurement regime.
| Period | Rate | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 2003 | 6.1% | Earliest available data |
| Q3 2013 | 11.8% | Historical peak — IBR enrollment still nascent |
| Q4 2019 | 11.1% | Pre-pandemic baseline |
| Q1 2020 | 10.8% | CARES Act payment pause begins (March 2020) |
| Q3 2024 | 0.5% | Low during the on-ramp reporting period; payments had resumed October 2023 |
| Q1 2025 | 7.7% | Post-on-ramp reporting transition; on-ramp ended September 30, 2024 |
| 2026-Q2 | 10.6% | Current reported balance share |
From the Reporting-Protection Low to 10.6% in 7 Quarters
Federal student-loan payments resumed in October 2023. The Department of Education's separate on-ramp limited adverse credit reporting for missed payments through September 30, 2024. The reported balance share was 7.7% in Q1 2025, a 7.2 percentage-point change from Q4 2024. That is a post-on-ramp reporting transition, not the date payments resumed or a count of newly delinquent borrowers.
The rate was 10.2% in Q2 2025 and is 10.6% in 2026-Q2. The aggregate series does not identify whether repayment-plan enrollment, payment amounts, servicing, reporting, or another factor caused those movements.
Student Loan Delinquency Through the Pause and On-Ramp Transition
Source: NY Fed Household Debt and Credit Report. Quarterly frequency.
How Many Student Loan Borrowers Are Behind on Payments?
In 2024, 20% of adults with outstanding student loans for their own education were behind on payments or in collections, according to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System's Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED). That was up from 16.0% in 2023.
This SHED measure is a share of borrowers, not a share of their income or a debt-service ratio. It also differs from the New York Fed series above, which measures the share of outstanding balances that are seriously delinquent. Together, the surveys describe borrower-level payment trouble and balance-level delinquency without treating the two denominators as interchangeable.
Student Loan Borrowers Behind on Payments or in Collections (Annual)
Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED). Annual frequency.
Full data: Student Loan Borrowers Behind on Payments or in Collections time series →
How Do Student Loans Compare to Other Debt?
From 2012 through 2019, student loans carried the highest delinquency rate of any consumer debt category. In the four years just before the pandemic (2016–2019), that meant consistently 10–12% (90+ days past due) versus a 30+ days past due rate of 4–5% for all consumer debt combined. The gap collapsed during the payment pause and later widened again: student loan delinquency at 10.6% (90+ days past due) against total consumer debt delinquency at 4.7% (30+ days past due). The thresholds and denominators differ, and this page does not normalize one into the other or claim a comparable structural ranking.
Student loans are unsecured education debt, while mortgage and auto loans are collateralized. Those product differences can inform research questions, but the plotted aggregates do not establish why one reported rate is higher, whether underwriting alone caused the gap, or which borrowers overlap with another series.
Student Loan vs. Total Consumer Delinquency Rate (Quarterly, 2003–Present)
Source: NY Fed Household Debt and Credit Report, Consumer Credit Panel / Equifax.
Related data: Total Delinquency Rate (Falling Behind) time series →
What the Reporting Break Means
The payment pause and on-ramp changed required payments and adverse reporting at different times. The resulting low readings and later increase cannot be interpreted as one uninterrupted measure of newly delinquent borrowers.
The NY Fed series reports the share of balances 90 or more days delinquent under the applicable reporting environment. It does not estimate a hidden or "true" default rate, repayment progress, or borrowers' ability to pay. If student-loan payments are affecting other bills, see options for getting help before falling further behind.
Read more: "The Two-Economy Problem: Why the Headlines Don't Match Your Bank Account" →Data Sources and Methodology
NY Fed Household Debt and Credit Report
Quarterly report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York based on the Consumer Credit Panel, a nationally representative 5% sample of Equifax credit records. Student loan delinquency is measured as the share of balances 90+ days past due. Published approximately 6 weeks after quarter end.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
The annual Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED) asks adults with outstanding student loans for their own education whether they are behind on payments or in collections. The series measures the share of those borrowers reporting payment trouble.
Payment Pause Context
The CARES Act (March 2020) suspended federal student loan payments and interest accrual. Federal payments resumed in October 2023. A separate 12-month "on-ramp" limited adverse credit reporting for missed payments through September 30, 2024. The quarterly delinquency series after that date reflects a reporting transition as well as payment outcomes.
American Distress Index
Student loan delinquency is context for the ADI's Delinquency domain but excluded from the composite due to the pause-induced data discontinuity. Current ADI: 43.8.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the current student loan default rate?
The 90+ day student loan delinquency rate was 10.6% in 2026-Q2, according to the NY Fed Household Debt and Credit Report. This measures the share of balances, not borrowers, that are 90 or more days past due. Federal payments resumed in October 2023; the temporary on-ramp ended September 30, 2024. The later reporting transition should not be mislabeled as the date payments resumed. The historical series peak was 11.8% in Q3 2013.
How many student loan borrowers are behind on payments?
The New York Fed's 10.6% reading cannot answer how many borrowers are behind because it measures the share of outstanding balances 90 or more days delinquent. The separate SHED borrower-status series reports 20.0% of student-loan borrowers behind on payments or in collections in 2024. Those populations and denominators are not interchangeable.
What happened when the student loan payment pause ended?
Federal student-loan payments resumed in October 2023. A separate 12-month on-ramp limited adverse credit reporting through September 30, 2024. The reported 90+ day balance share later moved from 0.5% in Q4 2024 to 7.7% in Q1 2025, a 7.2 percentage-point reporting transition. The series alone cannot separate newly missed payments from the timing of reporting after the on-ramp.
Are student loan defaults rising or falling?
The reported delinquency rate is currently below its Q2 2025 reading of 10.2% but above the 0.5% low recorded during the pause/on-ramp reporting period. At 10.6%, it can be compared with the 2019 average of 10.9%. The series does not identify which repayment plan, servicing action, payment amount, or reporting change caused the movement.
How do student loan defaults connect to the American Distress Index?
Student loan delinquency is supporting context for the ADI's Delinquency domain but is not included in the composite calculation. The payment pause and later on-ramp/reporting transition break comparability with an ordinary quarterly series. Co-movement with mortgage, auto, or credit-card measures does not establish the same borrowers or a common cause.