Why Pennsylvania Needs Student Debt Relief - A Look at our State’s Student Debt Crisis - Executive Summary

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Sarah

Executive Summary examining Pennsylvania’s student debt crisis and its financial and economic implications for families, students, and regions. The report links low state funding and rising college costs to a growing statewide student loan burden. It highlights underinvestment in higher education, tuition growth outpacing household income, and sharp increases in outstanding loan debt. It also documents disproportionate impacts on communities of color, differences between rural and urban areas, and gender and for-profit college outcomes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages42

Reading Time1 h 46 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

State funding and college cost pressures

Growth of outstanding student loan debt

Disproportionate community impacts

Urban vs rural effects

Gender and payoff challenges

For-profit colleges and student outcomes

Why Pennsylvania Needs Student Debt Relief: A Look at our State’s Student Debt Crisis by Diana Polson September 2022 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY President Biden’s recent announcement regarding student debt relief has brought the issue to center stage across Pennsylvania and the U.S. Access to quality higher education is so important to Pennsylvania’s individuals and families, yet the high cost of college in the state has both limited who has access to a good education and, for those attending college, weighed down students with crushing amounts of debt. Carrying such a debt burden at the start of one’s career hinders Pennsylvanians’choices, careers, and life decisions and holds back our economy. With this research, we examine the student debt crisis in Pennsylvania. We analyze publicly available data on Pennsylvania and look at the financial and economic implications of student debt for Pennsylvania families, students, and regions. We found: Low state funding and the high cost of college sets Pennsylvania up for a statewide student loan crisis. • Pennsylvania is a leader in the nation in underfunding higher education. Our state ranks 47th for per capita investment in higher education. We spend $143 per capita, half the national average of $288 per capita. • While Pennsylvania has long short-changed its students compared to other states, the state has also decreased its funding for public higher education over the last 13 years. Funding dropped from $2.5 billion in 2008-09 (in inflation-adjusted 2021 dollars) to $1.9 billion in 2011-12 and has remained stable since then. • The change in the price of college for both public and private 4-year colleges in Pennsylvania has increased at a greater rate than the median household income in Pennsylvania. While the state household median income has grown by only 13% since 2002-03, the cost of public college has increased by 47% and the cost of private college has increased by 43%, which makes higher education a growing financial strain for families across the Commonwealth. • In 2020-21, the cost of one year of college represents a significant portion of the average Pennsylvania household’s income—for public 4-year colleges it is 41%, and for private 4-year colleges it is more than three-quarters (77%) of the median household income in PA. Outstanding student loan debt has skyrocketed in the last two decades, and Pennsylvania graduates have high amounts of debt compared to other states. • More than 2 million students/former students currently have outstanding college loans in the state of Pennsylvania. • In PA, total student loan debt has increased 4 times what was owed in 2003—from $19 billion to $76 billion (inflation-adjusted) . • Pennsylvania ranks sixth highest in the nation for the percentage of 2020 college graduates graduating with debt (64%) . • Because of our state’s high tuition costs, in 2020 Pennsylvania graduates had the third-highest student loan debt in the nation, behind only New Hampshire and Delaware. Graduates in 2020 left college with an average debt of $39,375 . • A greater share of young people are student-debt-burdened than middle age or older people, but all age cohorts are impacted. Fifty-four percent of younger people (aged 18-34) in Pennsylvania with a credit record had student loan debt in March of 2021, compared to the national average of 42% . • In Pennsylvania, the average student debt (inflation-adjusted) owed by all age groups has increased since 2005. Those aged 35-54 with student debt have the highest average amount of student debt ($42,914 in March 2021), nearly double the amount in March 2005. Some communities are hit harder by the student loan crisis. Communities of color: • While our student debt crisis impacts Pennsylvanians across race and ethnicity, it is disproportionately affecting communities of color due to, and exacerbated by, racial income and wealth inequities. Higher shares of Black and Latino students rec

FAQs

What problem does the report focus on for Pennsylvania?

It examines how high college costs and low state funding contribute to a statewide student loan crisis, burdening students and families across Pennsylvania.

What major funding and cost findings are highlighted?

The report notes Pennsylvania’s low per-capita investment in higher education and shows college costs rising faster than median household income, increasing financial strain.

How does the report describe who is most affected?

It finds disproportionate impacts on communities of color, different challenges in rural versus urban areas, and greater debt burdens and payoff difficulties for women and other affected groups.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Sarah