An education in default

More than one in four Louisiana residents—27%—with federal student loans are in default, the second-highest rate in the country; only Mississippi (28.3%) is worse.

About 187,000 Louisiana borrowers are more than a year behind on their payments, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal data. That number has grown by roughly 92,000 since pandemic-era repayment protections ended.

Why it matters: Default can hammer borrowers’ credit and lead to garnished wages, tax refunds or Social Security payments. Federal officials have so far held off on involuntary collections.

The surge is part of a national wave. Federal student-loan payments resumed in 2023, followed by a one-year buffer that kept overdue loans from entering default. When that protection expired, millions of borrowers who remained behind began falling into default—generally after nine months without payment.

Nationwide, about 9.5 million borrowers, or one in five, are now in default. Together, they owe more than $233 billion.