Demographic Research - Do student loans delay marriage? Debt repayment and family formation in young adulthood (Volume 30 - Article 69 | Pages 1865–1891) (2024)

FAQs

Do student loans delay marriage, debt repayment, and family formation in young adulthood? ›

Conclusions: Our study lends support to the proposition that the financial weight of monthly loan repayments impedes family formation in the years immediately following college graduation -- however, only for women.

The data analysis above shows that among surveyed Black or African American people who have attended some college or higher, a disproportionately higher share have student loan debt than other racial groups. The share of student loan debt is also higher for women than men across nearly all racial groups.

Specifically, an increase of $1,000 in student loan debt is associated with a reduction in the odds of first marriage by 2% a month among female bachelor degree recipients during the first four years after college graduation. This relationship attenuates over time.

34% of adults aged 18 to 29 years report having student loan debt. Among 30- to 44-year-olds, 22% report student loan debt. 32.1% of federal student loan debt belongs to borrowers in their 30s.

About a third of all student loan borrowers who have not yet completed their degree report their loans have delayed a home purchase, along with other major life events such as buying a car or moving out of their parents' home.

Key Takeaways. Carrying student debt can affect your ability to buy a home if your debt-to-income ratio is too high. If you have too much student loan debt, you won't be able to save as much for retirement. Student loan debt can lower your credit score, especially if you fail to make on-time payments.

The highest-income 40% of households (those with incomes above $74,000) owe almost 60% of student loan debt. These borrowers make almost three-quarters of student loan payments. The lowest-income 40% of households hold just under 20% of student loans and make only 10% of the payments.

By 2030, Millennials (born between 1981 to 1996) are expected to have the most total debt at an average of $228,891 per person. Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980) holds the most student debt at an average of $45,796, while Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) has the lowest with $20,468.

Total federal student loan debt

Most student loans — about 92.5% — are owned by the government. Total federal student loan borrowers: 43.2 million. Total outstanding federal student loan debt: $1.60 trillion.

As a general rule: If you file a joint federal income tax return with your spouse, we're going to base your student loan payment on your joint income. If you file a separate federal income tax return from your spouse, we're going to base your student loan payment on your individual income.

Is a spouse responsible for student loan debt incurred before marriage? ›

Unfortunately, there's no one answer. It depends. Sometimes the answer is no. Marriage can affect your student loans in a number of ways, but thankfully, you won't be liable for your spouse's loans as long as they took them out before marriage.

Your marital status can affect your eligibility for need-based financial aid. This includes grants and certain scholarships. But in general, getting married won't affect other forms of aid. For instance, federal student loan eligibility won't be affected because it's not considered need-based aid.

Unsurprisingly, younger people hold the majority of student loan debt. Borrowers between the ages of 25 and 34 carry about $500 billion in federal student loans—the majority of people in this age group owe between $10,000 and $40,000. However, people carry their education debt well into middle-age and beyond.

Student Loan Debt by Degree Level

In 2023, among people between the ages of 18-29: 60% of graduate degree-holders went into debt for their education. 57% of bachelor's degree-holders incurred student debt. 39% of associate degree-holders incurred student debt.

How Is Student Debt Assigned During a Divorce? Instead, California law considers student loan debt to benefit, by default, the individual and not the community. California Family Code Section 2641 assigns loans incurred either before or during a marriage for the education or training of one spouse to that spouse.

Student debt you bring into a marriage typically remains your own, but loans taken out while married can be subject to state property rules in divorce. And if one spouse co-signs the other's private student loan, he or she is legally bound to the loan unless you can obtain a co-signer release from the lender.

Most couples work on student loan debt together

More than 43 percent of survey respondents said they fight about money with their partners at least “somewhat often.” Given the fact that debt is a large source of stress among individuals, it's no surprise that it can lead to strain for couples.

Overall, we find limited evidence that student loan debt is responsible for declining young adult homeownership. Instead, indicators for the recession and transition to adulthood markers have a stronger association with homeownership.