This Generation Has The Highest Amount Of Student Loan Debt (And It's Not Millennials)

With student loan wage garnishment resuming in 2026, many borrowers are facing additional strain on their finances. While younger generations have largely faced the brunt of ever-growing college tuition and associated costs –- with the Education Data Initiative estimating that the average cost of tuition, fees, and housing for the 2025-26 school year was over $24,000 compared to under $1,500 for the 1975-76 school year –- you might be surprised to learn that these younger generations don't necessarily boast the highest average student loan debt amounts. In fact, according to debt data from Experian, baby boomers actually had the highest average student loan debt balance, as of June 2025.

Owing an average of $39,870, baby boomers only barely beat out Gen X which had an average balance of $38,426. Interestingly, this ranking reflects a recent shift, with Gen X previously boasting the highest average balance the year prior. That said, Gen X was able to drop their average student loan debt balance by 14.15% from 2024 to 2025, while baby boomers only dropped their average by 4.37% during the same time frame. In comparison, millennials had an average student loan debt balance of $32,911. While student loan debt is troubling enough already for those who have it, the possibility of potentially inheriting student loan debt from an older relative can complicate matters even further, especially given just what can happen to debt after a person dies.

For starters, it's worth noting that just 4.3% of baby boomers had student loan debt in June 2025. Also, if you find yourself wondering why a generation that largely attended college when it was still affordable has high student loan debt averages, it's important to realize that a considerable amount of baby boomer student loan debt was taken out on behalf of their kids. Given the ever-inflating price of college tuition, most students can't afford to pay for college without taking out loans to do so. However, according to Federal Student Aid, dependent undergraduate students have an aggregate loan limit of just $31,000 -– an amount not likely to cover the full costs of a four-year degree, and not factoring in other recent changes to student loan terms. This has left many parents taking out what are known as PLUS loans, or even co-signing on private loans, in order to cover the difference.

With this in mind, while baby boomers may boast higher student loan averages, they still have less overall debt than younger generations. Experian estimates their overall average debt at under $93,000, compared to millennials who had an average of $132,280 and Gen X with over $158,000. Also, millennials make up the majority of borrowers –- 31.5% of all borrowers, to be exact –- meaning over 11 million millennials faced outstanding student loan debt in 2025.