Hawaiʻi Ranks 3rd in U.S. for Post-Grads with Most Debt

Americans with graduate degrees carry an average of 61% more debt than the national average, according to a new report released by the credit reporting agency Experian.

Of the top five states where people holding graduate degrees have the most debt, Hawaiʻi ranked 3rd in the report with an average overall balance of $196,610, falling just behind Washington D.C. and California.

On average, Americans carry a total debt of $34,906 in student loans, according to Experian. But Americans with a graduate degree carry on average 30% more student loan debt with a total of $46,798. Across all open accounts, graduate degree holders have $150,824 in average debt; roughly 23% more total debt than the average consumer.

Broken down by category, consumers with graduate degrees had higher balances than the national average in every account except retail cards: 44% higher in average personal loan balances, 34% higher in student loan debt and 26% higher in credit card balances. However, their credit scores fare better despite heftier financial obligations.

Post-graduates showed an average FICO score of 741—40 points higher than the national average. That score also beat the average score of 667 held by people with student loan debt by 63 points.

The Experian report analyzed consumer credit data from the fourth quarter of 2018 to determine its findings.