One In 4 People Are Behind On Student Loans

One in four people with a student loan payment due being behind is referring to a roughly 25% delinquency rate among borrowers in active repayment, which is dramatically higher than before the pandemic pause.

What “one in four” means

• Recent analyses show that about 25% of borrowers with a payment due are delinquent, i.e., late on required payments, after the federal repayment restart.

• Federal Student Aid data indicate that, by balance, roughly 30% of loans in active repayment were 31+ days delinquent in 2025, up from about 13% in late 2019.​

How this compares to pre‑pandemic

• Before the pandemic pause, overall student loan delinquency rates were closer to 9–11%, depending on measure and dataset.

• That means current delinquency is roughly double to nearly triple pre‑pause levels, confirming that repayment distress is materially worse now.

Who is most affected

• Analyses from TransUnion, the New York Fed, and others show higher serious delinquency among subprime borrowers and middle‑aged borrowers (e.g., ages 40–49 reaching near‑30% delinquency in some periods).

• Urban Institute estimates suggest around 16% are 60+ days late, equating to roughly 6 million Americans, underscoring that a significant share are not just a few days behind.

Context from regulators

• CFPB and Education Department reviews of the payment restart show that about 30% of borrowers missed payments early in the restart period, and a sizable share report struggling even with income‑driven repayment options.

• Earlier CFPB work similarly characterized about one in four borrowers as being in default or struggling to stay current, framing this as a persistent structural problem in the student loan system.

The 2025 spike is mostly a restart‑shock story layered on top of affordability problems, servicing breakdowns, and policy whiplash.

1. Restart after a 3‑year payment pause

• Required payments resumed in October 2023 after more than three years with no bills, so by late 2024–2025 borrowers were again exposed to delinquency, default, and credit reporting.

• Many borrowers—especially those who first entered repayment during the pause—had little or no prior experience making regular payments, leading to missed or sporadic payments when protections expired.

2. Affordability squeeze and broader household stress

• Analyses show borrowers’ balances are being paid down more slowly than before the pause, with delinquency rising back to or above pre‑pandemic levels, implying tighter budgets and reduced capacity to absorb the restarted payment.​

• Borrowers who missed student loan payments are much more likely to have high credit card utilization and other delinquencies, indicating broader financial distress rather than an isolated student‑loan problem.

3. Expiration of temporary protections and the “on‑ramp”

• For roughly a year after restart, missed payments generally did not trigger credit reporting or default; that protection ended around late 2024, allowing accumulated nonpayment to show up as delinquency in 2025.

• Analysts warn that this timing produced a “default cliff,” where many borrowers who had been informally nonpaying during the on‑ramp suddenly face full consequences once reporting and collections resume.

4. Servicing errors and borrower confusion

• CFPB and ED identified inaccurate and untimely billing statements, including wrong due dates and miscalculated IDR payments, affecting hundreds of thousands of accounts and disrupting borrowers’ ability to pay correctly.

• The rollout and subsequent litigation around the SAVE plan and other policy changes created confusion about amounts owed, eligibility for $0$‑payment IDR, and how to recertify income, contributing to missed or delayed payments.

5. Policy expectations and debt‑relief disappointment

• Many borrowers had expected broad cancellation that was later blocked, leaving them with unchanged or higher balances once payments resumed, which press accounts describe as a contributor to frustration and nonpayment.

• New targeted relief (PSLF fixes, IDR account adjustments, forgiveness for some borrowers) helped a subset, but left a large population still facing substantial balances, with the overall delinquency rate rising as those without relief struggled.

6. Who is driving the spike

• Credit‑panel and Urban Institute work show elevated missed‑payment rates among borrowers new to repayment, prior defaulters brought back into current status via Fresh Start, and borrowers in high‑poverty areas.

• These groups appear more likely to miss payments repeatedly, helping explain why delinquency keeps climbing even as some prime borrowers resume and sustain repayment.