ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida ranks No. 10 in the U.S. for the highest debt in federal and private student loans among borrowers, according to data from the Lending Tree.
The state owes a total of $98.3 billion in federal and private student loans. With 2.6 million borrowers, the average balance for an individual is $35,496, according to the data.
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President Joe Biden has been considering broader student debt forgiveness and the Biden administration proposed new rules on July 6 that would make it easier for borrowers to have their debt forgiven through existing programs.
This proposal would make the debt forgiveness process easier as the relief programs have been criticized for long processing times and burdensome paperwork requirements.
“We are committed to fixing a broken system,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement. “If a borrower qualifies for student loan relief, it shouldn’t take mountains of paperwork or a law degree to obtain it.”
The administration froze student loan payments in 2020, and it has been extended through Aug. 31. Interest rates remain at 0% during this time.
Florida offers many grants and scholarships such as the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program, the First Generation Matching Program and the Mary McLeod Bethune Scholarship
According to Campus Reel, there are 446 scholarships available for Florida residents.
Although there are federal options, there are only two Florida-specific loan repayment programs that can lead to forgiveness, according to the Lending Tree.
But these two programs are specific to nurses and attorneys. They are the Nursing Student Loan Forgiveness Program and the Florida Bar Foundation Loan Repayment Assistance Program.
Eight counties in Central Florida are among the 21 most populous counties in the state. These are the average student loan balances per county, according to the Lending Tree:
- Brevard: $33,803
- Lake: $31,270
- Marion: $31,581
- Orange: $36,366
- Osceola: $34,669
- Polk: $37,445
- Seminole: $32,082
- Volusia: $30,721
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