Minnesota Student Loan Borrowers
Survey
Mar. 2021
Sample Size:
480
Demographics:
US adults
Topics:
Covid-19
Value
Affordability
State-Level
Top Findings:
- As a result of the COVID-19 crisis, payments have been paused for federal student loan borrowers nationwide until at least September 2021. Almost one in three (28%) Minnesota borrowers are not confident that they will be able to resume payments on their student loans when they need to.
- Three-quarters of MN student loan borrowers report that their student loans cause them stress. Additionally, more than half of borrowers (59%) report they would have trouble paying for an unexpected expense or are already falling behind in their finances.
- A fifth (22%) of MN student loan borrowers are unaware of the current pause in payments. Further, 30% report having problems that have resulted in lower credit and a quarter of borrowers (27%) report that their servicer did not tell them about income-driven repayment options.
- Over half (51%) of Minnesota’s student loan borrowers struggle to afford their payments. Borrowers report that they have delayed saving for retirement (50%), put off buying a home (29%), been unable to buy basic necessities like food or clothing (26%), put off starting a family (20%), or have gone without medical care (17%) in order to pay their student loans.
- A strong majority of MN borrowers, across the political spectrum, support eliminating student loan interest on all federal loans (83%), designating an office in Minnesota to take student loan complaints and advocate for borrowers (79%), and reducing student loan debt by $50,000 for all borrowers (71%).