As of the second quarter of 2024, borrowers across the US owe more than $1.7 trillion in student loans as of the second quarter of 2024, according to the Federal Reserve. Chip Lupo, WalletHub writer and analyst, joins Wealth! to break down what the average student loan payments look like throughout the 50 states.

Lupo notes that New Hampshire has the highest average monthly student loan payment, coming in at $229. On the other hand, Arkansas and Mississippi are tied for the lowest, with the average monthly payment being $142. He explains that these amounts vary because some states where residents are traditionally better at paying down their student loan debts.

For those looking to pay off their student loans, he recommends creating analyzing your spending and identifying any areas where you can cut out unnecessary expenses. It's also important to make a budget and review it regularly to ensure you're on track to meet your goals. He also identifies loan forgiveness programs — whether through private employers or the government — as relief options available to borrowers.

He notes that the states with the highest average monthly student loan payments are all located in the Northeast, where the cost of living is "substantially higher" than other areas of the US. "There are a lot of really good, really expensive, mostly private schools. And the economic opportunities, the cost of living is higher. And then there's opportunities for additional education, professional schools, graduate schools. So the odds of increasing that debt are even higher," he tells Yahoo Finance.

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This post was written by Melanie Riehl