Brief Racial and Ethnic Differences in Family Student Loan Debt
Breno Braga
Display Date
File
File
Download Report
(154.05 KB)

Rising student debt is an important topic for academics and policymakers, but we know little about loans that finance a family member’s education expenses. This study shows that 7 percent of Americans ages 25 to 55 have taken on debt to finance their child’s or grandchild’s education. In addition, we find that while blacks are substantially more likely to obtain debt for their own education, there are no systematic racial differences in debt to finance a family member’s education expenses.

Research Areas Education Wealth and financial well-being Families Race and equity
Tags Higher education Asset and debts Economic well-being Racial and ethnic disparities Inequality and mobility Racial equity in education Family credit and debt
Policy Centers Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population