Millions of student loan borrowers aren't repaying their loans — and defaults are up

Roughly a million borrowers defaulted on their federal student loans late last year, with millions delinquent on their payments and sliding toward the same fate. That's according to federal data and the latest Household Debt and Credit Report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which dropped on Tuesday. The report includes student loan data as of the end of 2025.

Student loan delinquencies have continued to worsen, said New York Fed researchers on a call with reporters, and they expect the number of borrowers in default to continue to grow.

The report offers further confirmation of a crisis in the U.S. student loan portfolio, in which too many borrowers are not repaying their student loans. Nearly 10% of student loan balances are more than 90 days past due, according to the report.