Illinois residents had $65.3 billion in outstanding federal student loan debt across about 1,601,500 borrowers as of March 31, 2026. Using Federal Student Aid’s published balance and borrower count, that works out to an approximate outstanding balance of $40,774 per borrower.
Among the 50 states, Illinois had the seventh-largest reported federal student loan balance, the eighth-largest borrower population, and the fifth-highest approximate balance per borrower. These rankings use borrower residence, not the state where a borrower attended college.
Where Illinois Ranks
Illinois is near the top of the state distribution on both total outstanding federal debt and the approximate balance carried by each borrower. The ranking changes depending on which measure is used because total debt is affected by the number of borrowers as well as their balances.
Illinois federal student loan debt rankings
Ranks among the 50 states using Federal Student Aid borrower-location data for March 31, 2026.
| Measure | Illinois value | State rank |
|---|---|---|
| Outstanding federal balance | $65.3 billion | 7th |
| Federal borrowers | 1,601,500 | 8th |
| Approx. balance per borrower | ≈$40,774 | 5th |
The per-borrower figure is a calculation from FSA’s published $65.3 billion balance and 1,601,500 borrower count. Because the balance is published in rounded billions, the calculated average should also be read as approximate rather than as an independently reported exact FSA statistic.
Illinois Compared With Bordering States
Illinois had the highest approximate federal student loan balance per borrower among its five bordering states and Illinois itself. Missouri was next at about $37,024 per borrower, while Iowa had the lowest figure in this comparison at about $31,885.
Federal student loan balances in Illinois and bordering states
Outstanding balance and borrowers by residence as of March 31, 2026. Per-borrower values are calculated from the published figures.
| State | Outstanding balance | Borrowers | Approx. balance per borrower |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | $65.3 billion | 1,601,500 | ≈$40,774 |
| Missouri | $30.6 billion | 826,500 | ≈$37,024 |
| Kentucky | $21.6 billion | 615,600 | ≈$35,088 |
| Indiana | $31.0 billion | 898,500 | ≈$34,502 |
| Wisconsin | $24.0 billion | 709,100 | ≈$33,846 |
| Iowa | $13.5 billion | 423,400 | ≈$31,885 |
Federal student loan balance per borrower around Illinois
Approximate outstanding balance per borrower in Illinois and bordering states, March 31, 2026.
Federal Student Aid, Portfolio by Location, March 31, 2026.
How Illinois differs from its neighbors
- Illinois’ approximate $40,774 balance per borrower was about $3,750 above Missouri, the next-highest bordering state.
- Illinois’ $65.3 billion outstanding balance was more than twice Indiana’s $31.0 billion, the second-largest total among the states in this comparison.
- Illinois also had substantially more federal borrowers: about 1.60 million compared with 898,500 in Indiana and 826,500 in Missouri.
The complete state-by-state federal student loan debt table provides the same measures for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
What Illinois Student Loan Debt Measures Here
The $65.3 billion figure is an outstanding federal student loan balance. It measures federal debt associated with borrowers whose reported location is Illinois. A person who attended college in another state and later moved to Illinois can therefore appear in the Illinois total.
It is not the average amount borrowed by students attending Illinois colleges, and it is not average debt at graduation. Graduation-debt statistics describe a specific graduating cohort at a particular point in time, while the FSA location portfolio covers borrowers with outstanding federal loans from many different cohorts.
Federal and private student loans should not be combined silently. The figures on this page come from the federal student loan portfolio and do not represent a statewide total that adds private education loans.
The Federal Portfolio in the Same Quarter
Federal Student Aid reported 42.6 million recipients with about $1.7 trillion in outstanding federal student loans nationally as of March 31, 2026. More than 90% of the national outstanding portfolio was in the Direct Loan program. Illinois’ state figures use the same March 31 reporting period, but the national totals and state-location table should not be used to create overly precise state shares because several published balance figures are rounded.
Data Notes
- The Illinois balance and borrower count are from Federal Student Aid’s Portfolio by Location data through March 31, 2026.
- Federal Student Aid announced on June 23, 2026 that its quarterly portfolio reports had been refreshed through March 31, 2026.
- Location refers to the borrower’s reported residence, not the location of the institution attended.
- The approximate per-borrower values equal published outstanding balance divided by published borrower count. They are calculated from rounded source balances and are therefore shown as approximate.
- State rankings exclude the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico so that Illinois is compared with the other 49 states.
- The bordering-state comparison is intentionally limited to Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, and Wisconsin rather than repeating the full state dataset.
Sources
- Portfolio by Location — U.S. Department of Education, Office of Federal Student Aid; outstanding federal balances and borrower counts by borrower location through March 31, 2026.
- Federal Student Aid Posts Updated Reports to FSA Data Center — Federal Student Aid, June 23, 2026; confirms the quarterly portfolio refresh through March 31, 2026 and provides national portfolio context.
Cite This Page
DebtData.org. (2026). Illinois Student Loan Debt. https://debtdata.org/illinois-student-loan-debt/“Illinois Student Loan Debt.” DebtData.org, September 21, 2026, https://debtdata.org/illinois-student-loan-debt/.DebtData.org. “Illinois Student Loan Debt.” Published September 21, 2026. https://debtdata.org/illinois-student-loan-debt/.