New Student Loan Data Show a Historic Spike in Borrowers Falling Behind
Preston Cooper
November 18, 2025
The pandemic-era student loan payment pause, which effectively ended just last year, has left a lasting hangover. Recently, the Education Department provided new data (published by New America here) showing that nearly 12 million borrowers are behind on their federal student loans in some way. Some of these borrowers have long struggled with loan repayment. But millions of others are likely to default on their loans for the first time.
