As of June 30, 2026, the federal student loan portfolio included 42.3 million recipients with outstanding federal student loans, according to Federal Student Aid. That is the clearest current administrative count for how many people are represented in the federal student loan system. It should not be treated as a count of every person with any federal or private education loan.
A separate Federal Reserve survey offers a broader population measure. In October 2025, 16% of U.S. adults reported having outstanding student loans for their own or someone else’s education. The two figures measure different populations and should not be combined.
How Many People Have Federal Student Loans?
Federal Student Aid reported 42.3 million recipients in the outstanding federal student loan portfolio as of June 30, 2026. Their loans totaled more than $1.7 trillion.
The Direct Loan Program accounted for nearly 91% of the outstanding federal portfolio by balance. FFEL loans represented about 9%, while Perkins Loans accounted for less than one-sixth of 1%.
The 42.3 million figure refers to the federal student loan portfolio. It does not add private student loan holders who have no federal loans.
How Many Federal Loan Recipients Are in Repayment?
Having an outstanding student loan does not mean a person is currently required to make a monthly payment. Federal Student Aid reported several different loan-status populations within the federally managed portfolio.
Federal student loan recipient counts by portfolio measure
Federal Student Aid data through June 30, 2026. Status groups can overlap when a recipient has loans in more than one status.
| Portfolio measure | Recipients | What the figure represents |
|---|---|---|
| Total outstanding federal portfolio | 42.3 million | Recipients with outstanding federal student loans |
| Federally managed portfolio | 40.5 million | Recipients with Direct Loans or ED-held FFEL loans |
| Current repayment or delinquency status | More than 17.4 million | Recipients with at least one federally managed loan in repayment or delinquency |
| Forbearance | 8.0 million | Recipients with at least one loan in forbearance |
| Deferment | More than 3.3 million | Recipients with at least one loan in deferment |
| Default | More than 9.3 million | Recipients in the federally managed defaulted portfolio |
These status rows cannot be added together. Federal Student Aid states that a recipient can appear in more than one status category when different loans are in different statuses.
What Share of U.S. Adults Have Student Loans?
The Federal Reserve Board’s Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking found that 16% of U.S. adults had outstanding student loans in 2025. The survey was fielded in October 2025 and asked about loans used for the respondent’s own education or someone else’s education.
Among adults who had attended at least some college, 21% reported outstanding student loans. The Federal Reserve measure is survey-based and is not limited to the federal loan portfolio, so it answers a different question from the 42.3 million Federal Student Aid administrative count.
Two ways to measure how many Americans have student loans
The measures use different sources, populations and reporting periods.
| Measure | Result | Population | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Student Aid portfolio | 42.3 million recipients | Outstanding federal student loan portfolio | June 30, 2026 |
| Federal Reserve SHED | 16% of adults | U.S. adults reporting outstanding student loans | October 2025 survey |
| Federal Reserve SHED, college attendees | 21% | Adults who attended at least some college | October 2025 survey |
Why “Recipient” and “Borrower” Can Differ
Federal Student Aid’s current portfolio release uses the term recipient. In most federal student loan cases, the recipient and borrower are the same person. Parent PLUS loans are an exception: the parent is the borrower while the student is the recipient of the education financed by the loan.
This distinction is one reason different federal publications may use borrower, recipient or account counts that are close but not identical. For a current portfolio count, the terminology used by the underlying Federal Student Aid release should be retained rather than replacing it with a different population label.
Data Notes
- The 42.3 million figure covers the outstanding federal student loan portfolio as of June 30, 2026.
- The 40.5 million federally managed population is a subset of the total federal portfolio and covers Direct Loans and ED-held FFEL loans.
- Loan-status recipient counts are not mutually exclusive. One person can have different loans in different statuses.
- The Federal Reserve’s 16% estimate comes from a household survey rather than federal administrative loan records.
- The Federal Reserve question includes student loans used for the respondent’s own education or another person’s education.
- No federal administrative figure on this page is presented as an unduplicated count combining federal and private student loan holders.
Sources
- Federal Student Aid Posts Updated Reports to FSA Data Center — Federal Student Aid, portfolio data through June 30, 2026; used for total federal recipients, federally managed recipients and loan-status populations.
- Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2025: Credit — Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, survey fielded in October 2025; used for the share of U.S. adults with outstanding student loans.
- Federal Student Aid Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Report — Federal Student Aid; used for the distinction between federal student loan recipients and borrowers, including Parent PLUS loans.
Cite This Page
DebtData.org. (2026). How Many People Have Student Loans?. https://debtdata.org/how-many-people-have-student-loans/“How Many People Have Student Loans?.” DebtData.org, September 26, 2026, https://debtdata.org/how-many-people-have-student-loans/.DebtData.org. “How Many People Have Student Loans?.” Published September 26, 2026. https://debtdata.org/how-many-people-have-student-loans/.