Study: More Than One-Third of Millennials Carry Multiple Debts


More than one-third of Millennials carry significant student loan, mortgage, credit card and some other type of miscellaneous debt. 

That’s according to a recent study that surveyed 1,000 Millennials from the U.S. between the ages of 23 and 38. Respondents were split almost evenly between three income brackets: $49,999 or lower, $50,000 to $99,999 and $100,000 or higher. 

The study found that 36 percent of Millennials carried student loan debt, with an average amount of $39,456. Thirty-six percent of high-income Millennials carried an average student debt of $48,451, while 38 percent of low-income Millennials carried an average of $33,767 in student debt. 

Meanwhile, 37 percent of Millennials carried mortgage debt, with an average amount close to $190,000, and 43 percent of Millennials carried miscellaneous debt – like auto or medical debt – with an average amount of $13,550. 

Among all the different types of debt that were discussed in the survey, credit card debt was the most widespread. Overall, 50 percent of Millennials had some amount of credit card debt, with an average amount of $6,206. 

In every single debt category the survey covered, Millennials who made $100,000 or more had the highest average amount of debt. 

The LendEdu study’s authors considered this data troubling because debt bubbles become a serious problem when even the wealthiest can’t avoid taking on financial water during economic downturns.