Education-related debt
The youngest doctorate recipients had considerably less graduate education debt than did other recipients. In 2016, over three-quarters (77%) of persons who received a doctorate award at age 30 or younger reported no graduate debt at all, compared to 55% of those age 31 to 40 and 50% of those age 41 or older. These differences among age groups were also strongly reflected in the highest graduate education debt category ($30,001 or greater), where those age 41 or older at the time of graduation had more than triple the share of the youngest doctorate group (34% versus 9%) and where the those age 31 to 40 had more than double the share of the youngest group (24% versus 9%).
Graduate education-related debt of U.S. doctorate recipients, by age at doctorate award: 2016
| Level of graduate school debt | 30 or younger | 31–40 | 41 or older | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Percent | Number | Percent | Number | Percent | |
| No debt | 16,741 | 76.7 | 11,605 | 55.4 | 3,162 | 50.3 |
| $10,000 or less | 1,630 | 7.5 | 1,994 | 9.5 | 405 | 6.4 |
| $10,001–$30,000 | 1,436 | 6.6 | 2,291 | 10.9 | 598 | 9.5 |
| $30,001 or greater | 2,022 | 9.3 | 5,064 | 24.2 | 2,122 | 33.8 |
- NOTE: Percentages are based on the number of doctorate recipients responding to the primary source of financial support.
- SOURCE: Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities 2016. Related detailed data: tables 38, 39, 40, 41.
