Student Loan Delinquency
Who is falling behind on student loans since federal reporting resumed. Most student debt is owed to the federal government, which commercial bank figures never see, so the credit files are the only broad measure.
Source note. The New York Fed says the re-reporting of defaulted student debt was still distorting student loan delinquency rates in the second quarter of 2026, so this count is not a clean reading of borrower health against 2019. New York Fed Household Debt and Credit Report, Q2 2026.
| Measure | Latest | 2019 | vs 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balance 90+ days late | 10.60% | 10.91% | At or below |
| Newly 90+ days late, annualized | 7.83% | 9.44% | At or below |
| Newly 30+ days late, annualized | 7.83% | 9.61% | At or below |
Counted: latest more than 10% over a positive 2019 average. Up to 10% above and at or below 2019 are shown, not counted; a series whose 2019 average is zero or negative has no base. Near record: at least 90% of the series high, leaving out the 2020–2024 reporting gap. Counted, never scored. Descriptions, not forecasts.
Latest reading
In Q2 2026, 10.60% of student loan balances were 90 or more days late in credit files, against a 2019 average of 10.91% and a record of 11.83% in Q3 2013. Over the four quarters to Q2 2026, 7.83% of balances newly became seriously late, against 12.88% a year earlier. Balances stood at $1.65T, +0.8% on a year and −0.4% on the quarter.
Sources, methodology & freshnessNew York Fed Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit (Equifax credit files); Federal Reserve bank delinquency, charge-off, G.19 and SLOOS series via FRED · Quarterly; the Q2 2026 report was published 42 days after the quarter ended. Release dates before the latest report are estimated as quarter end + 40 days; the latest quarter uses the report monthData as of Q2 2026, released August 11, 2026 · Open ↓Close ↑
Late payments in credit files
Balances 90+ days late: 10.60% in Q2 2026, +0.44 pts on a year, the 59th percentile of 75 readings since 2003. Newly 30+ days late over the year: 7.83% in Q2 2026, −5.20 pts on a year, the 7th percentile of 71 readings since 2004. Federal student loan delinquencies were not reported to the credit bureaus from the 2020 payment pause until the first quarter of 2025, so the series collapse and then jump for reasons unrelated to borrowers. The charts mark both dates, and every ranking and record on this page leaves that stretch out. Federal servicers report a missed payment once a loan is 90 days late, so the flows into 30+ and 90+ days late run almost together.
Who is falling behind, by age
In Q2 2026, the highest rate was ages 50+ at 9.86% and the lowest ages 18–29 at 5.32%. Each line is the share of that age group’s student balances that newly became 90+ days late over the last four quarters. The New York Fed groups everyone 50 and over together for student loans.
How much is owed
Balance outstanding: $1.65T in Q2 2026, +0.8% on a year, the 96th percentile of 75 readings since 2003. The credit-file balance counts every student loan on a credit report. The federal line is the government’s own holdings from the Federal Reserve’s financial accounts (Z.1), which make up most of the total.
How the numbers are built
Borrower side. The New York Fed's Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit reads a random five percent sample of Equifax credit files, so it covers every lender: banks, credit unions, finance companies and the federal government. Its delinquency shares are of balances, not of borrowers. Each reading covers a quarter and is plotted on the quarter's last day; the New York Fed publishes it weeks later (the Q2 2026 report on August 11, 2026), so the charts show when each period ended, not when it became known.
Lender side. Where the Federal Reserve publishes a bank series for this loan type, it is charted beside the credit files and never combined with them. Banks count loans 30+ days late on their own books, seasonally adjusted.
The answer card counts delinquency measures above their 2019 average and near their record by the rule printed under it, the same rule as the Delinquency Tracker. No forward study ships with this page: the series are quarterly and hold three recessions, too few to test one.
Download the series: student-loans.json.
Source note. The New York Fed says the re-reporting of defaulted student debt was still distorting student loan delinquency rates in the second quarter of 2026, so this count is not a clean reading of borrower health against 2019. New York Fed Household Debt and Credit Report, Q2 2026.
| Measure | Latest | 2019 | vs 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balance 90+ days late | 10.60% | 10.91% | At or below |
| Newly 90+ days late, annualized | 7.83% | 9.44% | At or below |
| Newly 30+ days late, annualized | 7.83% | 9.61% | At or below |
Counted: latest more than 10% over a positive 2019 average. Up to 10% above and at or below 2019 are shown, not counted; a series whose 2019 average is zero or negative has no base. Near record: at least 90% of the series high, leaving out the 2020–2024 reporting gap. Counted, never scored. Descriptions, not forecasts.
How Student Loan Delinquency Works
- 1Start with the answer cardEach row is one measure at its latest quarter, against its 2019 average and its own record, with the printed rule that marks it above 2019 or near its record. The rows are counted, never blended into a score.
- 2Read the borrower sideThe New York Fed reads a five percent sample of Equifax credit files every quarter, so it sees every lender. Its headline is the share of balances 90 or more days late, and its flow measures show how much newly fell behind during the year.
- 3Compare the lender sideWhere the Federal Reserve publishes bank figures, they sit beside the credit-file series rather than inside them: banks count loans 30 or more days late on their own books and lend mostly to prime borrowers.