Issue Brief: Student Loan Debt in Connecticut

ConnPIRG

Without a new plan from Congress, on July 1 the interest rate on subsidized Stafford student loans will double, from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. In Connecticut, 73,051 federal student loan borrowers will be impacted if the rate doubles .

Sixty-four percent of Connecticut’s graduates carry student loan debt, with an average of $28,783 in debt per borrower.   Unfortunately, student loan borrowers in Connecticut will be hit with higher loan costs on July 1, which translates into an additional $937 in cost per student, per loan. 

If the low 3.4 percent rate gets extended, this year’s student loan borrowers in Connecticut would save a combined $68,448,787, which could be spent in the consumer economy rather than being applied toward paying down debt.