American student loan debt up more than 450% in US since 2003

A report shows that student loan debt in the United States has surged by more than 457 percent since 2003. (File photo)

Student loan debt in the United States has skyrocketed since 2003, increasing by more than 450 percent, a new report says.

According to an analysis of statistics from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York published by FOX Business Network on Friday, student loan balances have increased by 457 percent over the past 14 years, drawing a comparison between the first quarter of 2003, when the student loans stood at $241 billion and the first quarter of 2017, when that number jumped to $1.34 trillion.

The report also indicated that student loan delinquencies have remained high with 11 percent of total loan debt being at least 90 days in default during the first quarter of this year. It further added that the amount of balances falling into arrears has averaged about 10 percent annually over the past five years.

(New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel/Equifax)

Additionally, the price of higher education across the United States continues to surge, as the 2016-2017 school year witnessed that the average cost for a private, nonprofit four-year degree was more than $45,300, undergoing a 3.4-percent rise over the previous year.

This comes as student’s debt can sometimes amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars and that many college graduates struggle to pay back loans amid a weak economy and ailing job market.

The FOX Business report, meanwhile, noted that mortgage debt has increased only 74 percent to $8.6 trillion and auto loan debt jumped 82 percent to more than $1.16 trillion since 2003. Overall household debt was up 75 percent over the same time frame.