How Atlanta Ranks In Student Loan Debt

ATLANTA — As more Democrat presidential hopefuls debate the idea of making all public colleges tuition-free, a new report shows Atlantans residents are burdened by some of the nation's highest student loan balances. A just-published report by StudentLoanHero.com, found that with a median balance of $28,706, Atlanta ranks second among cities with residents who carry the highest student loan debt.

Researchers analyzed the median balances of nearly half a million anonymized credit reports from the 100 largest U.S. metros. Analysts determined the median loan balances within each metro area — plus the percentage of borrowers who owe more than $50,000 and more than $100,000 in loans — by reviewing 485,000 anonymized credit reports of My LendingTree users. Credit reports without student loan debt listed were excluded.

Here are some key findings:

• Borrowers residing in Washington, D.C., carry the most student debt, with a median balance of $29,314. And 15% of those borrowers owe more than $100,000 — the highest percentage among the 100 metros under review.
• Atlanta and Charleston, S.C., have the second- and third-highest median balances, at $28,706 and $27,591, respectively.
• Besides D.C. and the seven Southern metros mentioned above, two Ohio urban centers round out the top 10 most indebted: Akron (4th) and Toledo (7th).
• McAllen, Texas, reported the lowest median debt, at just $13,641. Fresno, Calif., and Ogden, Utah, complete the bottom three with median balances of $16,160 and $17,331, respectively.

More: Graduating From This Georgia College Earns You Highest Salary

Here are the top 10 metro areas with the most student loan debt in 2019:

1. Washington, D.C.
2. Atlanta
3. Charleston, S.C.
4. Akron, Ohio
5. Columbia, S.C
6. Raleigh, N.C.
7. Toledo, Ohio
8. Augusta, GA
9. Birmingham, AL
10. New Orleans

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders recently floated a controversial federal plan to make public universities and community colleges tuition-free. Sanders also wants to eliminate student loan debt, and pay for it with an ambiguously defined tax on Wall Street.

Billionaire Robert F. Smith, the 2019 commencement speaker at Morehouse College, told the graduating class that he is creating a grant to eliminate their student loans. Smith's donation has set off a national debate about the support from the wealthy African-American communities for among historically black colleges and universities.