Mounting student loan debt has put financial strain on millions of Americans, and the problem only seems to be getting worse.
The federal student loan balance has reached nearly $1.67 trillion as of the third quarter of 2025, which is almost half a trillion dollars more than it was 10 years ago. That said, the number of borrowers hasn’t changed as rapidly, and in recent quarters it has ticked down to 42.3 million borrowers, according to the Federal Student Aid office.
