(NEXSTAR) – Texans are among the least likely in the U.S. to have student loan debt, and they tend to owe less per borrower than residents in other states. Which college or university you attend in Texas though can have a significant impact on just how much debt you have, a new report has found.
Using the latest data from Peterson’s, an educational services company, The Institute for College Access & Success analyzed the student debt of those who graduated from four-year higher education institutions in 2020. Only public and private nonprofit colleges were included in the analysis.
TICAS found the state averages for debt at graduation for the class of 2020 ranged from $18,350 to $39,950. In Texas, about 52% of graduates finished school with student debt. The average debt among graduates was $26,273.
Graduates at these five Texas public institutions finished school with the highest average amount of debt, according to TICAS:
Institution | Average Debt of Graduates |
Midwestern State University | $49,146 |
Texas Tech University | $34,219 |
Lamar University | $32,171 |
Prairie View A & M University | $31,450 |
Sam Houston State University | $27,373 |
Nearly all of Midwestern State University’s graduates – a whopping 97% – leave the school with debt, TICAS found.
On the opposite end, graduates from the University of Houston-Downtown have an average debt of $4,902.
Below are the five private, non-profit institutions that had the highest average debt among graduates in 2020:
Institution | Average Debt of Graduates |
Texas Christian University | $49,287 |
Baylor University | $46,475 |
Schreiner University | $43,063 |
Lubbock Christian University | $39,288 |
Hardin-Simmons University | $36,707 |
Though it tops the list, only one-third of 2019-20 graduates from Texas Christian left with federal student loan debt. Graduates of Our Lady of the Lake University had the lowest average debt among private universities at $8,674.
In terms of private debt, meaning a borrower received funds from a source other than the federal government, the average graduate owes $27,221. Only about 6% of Texas graduates in 2020 had private student loan debt.
Graduates from these five public institutions had the highest private debt in Texas:
Institution | Average Debt of Graduates |
The University of Texas at Dallas | $26,323 |
Texas A & M University-College Station | $25,647 |
Texas Tech University | $24,496 |
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley | $24,150 |
Sam Houston State University | $24,122 |
Graduates from these five private, non-profit institutions had the highest average private debt:
Institution | Average Debt of Graduates |
Texas Christian University | $58,159 |
Baylor University | $56,364 |
Southern Methodist University | $46,659 |
Rice University | $45,681 |
University of Dallas | $37,022 |
Reviewing data from the Federal Student Aid office, the Education Data Initiative found Texas has one of the highest amounts of net federal student loan debt at $120 billion, second only to California at $141.8 billion.
There are over 3.6 million student borrowers living in Texas, according to the Education Data Initiative. Among them, 16.9% owe less than $5,000 while another 20.3% owe between $20,000 and $40,000.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently joined 21 other Republican governors in calling for President Biden to withdraw his plan to forgive up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt per borrower.