California leads the nation in student loan debt: Here’s how much residents owe

California has the highest amount of student loan debt in the nation, according to a study by the Kaplan Group.

The commercial collection agency ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia to determine which areas struggled the most with debt. The study used data sourced from the Education Data Initiative.

The District of Columbia had the highest average in the nation, with residents owning $53,782.

Compared to the other states, California had the largest student loan debt total of $146.7 billion. That means, on average, residents who borrowed money to pursue higher education own $36,891.

According to the study, about 2.9% of student loan debts in California exceed $200,000.

The Golden State also has more than 3.9 million student loan borrowers, 51% of whom are under the age of 35.

Various factors have contributed to the ongoing issue, including high student housing costs and limited help from parents.

“(If) there’s no money from the parents to basically pay for college, the student has no choice but to basically take out these loans,” Derek Stimel, associate economics professor at the University of California, Davis, told the Sacramento Bee.

Stimel also noted that state programs aimed at increasing the number of students entering higher education could compound the problem.

“There’s a big push in California for people to go to college,” he told the Sacramento Bee. “That’s good, but that could also fuel some of this debt issue.”

These states have the highest student loan debt in the country:

• California: $146.7 billion
• Texas: $125.7 billion
• Florida: $103.3 billion
• New York: $93.3 billion
• Georgia: $69 billion

North Dakota has the lowest student loan debt average of $28,921.

The full report can be viewed here.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com | KSEE24 and CBS47.