Program availability across the U.S.
The US is divided into four regions (Northeast, Midwest, South and West) and nine divisions (New England, Middle Atlantic, West North Central, East North Central, East South Central, South Atlantic, West South Central, Mountain and Pacific), each with unique economic, demographic and social characteristics.
North Dakota has the lowest overall average debt at $28,604, and Washington, DC has the highest at $54,945. This is highly related to the number of graduate degrees in the state. North Dakota has the lowest percentage of graduate degrees with only 7.85% of the state having a graduate degree while DC has the highest percentage of graduate degrees with 33.04% of the city having them.
Image via the U.S. Census Bureau (PDF)
While the overall average debt is similar between regions, the Middle Atlantic and New England regions have the highest overall debt, and the Mountain and Pacific regions have the lowest overall debt. The Middle Atlantic, New England, and West North Central regions have the greatest percentage of students graduating with debt, but the south central area of the united states has the most students behind on payments, with East South Central at 8.5% of students behind on payments and West South Central at 8.8% of borrowers behind on payments. Despite having the highest debt, New England has the lowest number of borrowers behind on payments.
| Region | Median household income | Average Debt | Percent Graduating w/Debt | Percent Behind on Payments | Number of Programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East North Central | $70,711 | 29,562 | 58.8 | 7.8 | 15 |
| East South Central | $59,203 | 28,979 | 55.5 | 8.5 | 5 |
| Middle Atlantic | $82,751 | 36,287 | 60.3 | 87.5 | 20 |
| Mountain | $73,303 | 36,387 | 50.6 | 6.8 | 23 |
| New England | $83,533 | 35,609 | 61.0 | 6.0 | 24 |
| Pacific | $88,009 | 24,580 | 47.6 | 7.4 | 19 |
| South Atlantic | $76,466 | 29,589 | 55.1 | 7.6 | 23 |
| West North Central | $72,241 | 30,624 | 62.7 | 7.4 | 35 |
| West South Central | $62,146 | 26,928 | 52.3 | 8.8 | 13 |
The number of programs and types of programs varies widely by region, with the largest number of programs in the West North Central region, mostly due to Minnesota which has 21 programs. The East South Central region has by far the least number of programs, with only 5 programs.
| Region | No. of programs | Education Programs | Healthcare Programs | Legal Programs | Other Programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East North Central | 15 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 0 |
| East South Central | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Middle Atlantic | 19 | 2 | 9 | 4 | |
| Mountain | 23 | 2 | 18 | 2 | 1 |
| New England | 24 | 3 | 14 | 4 | 3 |
| Pacific | 19 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 0 |
| South Atlantic | 23 | 2 | 13 | 6 | 2 |
| West North Central | 34 | 3 | 28 | 1 | 2 |
| West South Central | 13 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 0 |