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Biggest increase in student debt in more than 20 years

Posted at 3:07 PM, Sep 27, 2012
and last updated 2012-09-27 15:07:30-04

The nation’s total student loan debt is approaching one-trillion-dollars, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York

A record number of American households are carrying student loan debt.

Student loan debt is on the rise as more people borrow money to attend college, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center.

In fact 19 percent of U.S. households had student loans in 2010 — up from 15 percent just three years earlier.

The average student loan in 2010 was almost $27,000 dollars, more than double what borrowers owed in 1995..

Student debt levels are rising across the board, but they are growing the fastest for the nation’s poorest and most affluent.

The increase is driven by tuition increases and rising college enrollment, something commonly seen during a down economy.