Oklahoma among states that would benefit most from $10K in student loan forgiveness, data shows
Oklahoma is one of the top states that would be helped most by $10,000-worth of student loan debt forgiveness.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - While widespread student loan forgiveness hasn’t yet become a reality, the White House has indicated that it is nearing a decision on broad student loan debt forgiveness, zeroing in on canceling $10,000 per borrower.
If the Biden administration were to move forward under this plan, an estimated $321 billion in federal student loans would be forgiven.
The Federal Reserve’s analysis found forgiving $10,000 per borrower would result in roughly 11.8 million borrowers – slightly more than 31% – having their entire balance eliminated.
Oklahoma is one of the top states that would be helped most by this proposal.
According to data from the U.S. Department of Education, Oklahoma has roughly 171,000 borrowers with $10,000 or less in student loan debt - that's about 38.8% of all federal student loan borrowers in the Sooner State.
Here are the 10 states the plan would help most (percentage of total borrowers that have $10k or less in student debt):
- Wyoming - 40.3%
- Nevada - 39.9%
- Oklahoma - 38.8%
- Utah - 38.5%
- New Mexico - 37.9%
- Louisiana - 37.8%
- Alaska - 37.8%
- North Dakota - 37.7%
- Arkansas - 37.2%
- Arizona - 37.0%
How much student loan forgiveness you receive could be dependent on how much you make. Sources tell The Washington Post that relief could be limited to those who make less than $125,000 or $150,000 per individual tax filers or $250,000 or $300,000 for couples who file together. Forgiveness could also be restricted to loans used for undergraduate education, excluding programs in medicine and law, for example, that require additional schooling.
The Education Department has also confirmed it is “working on new regulations that will permanently improve a variety of the existing student loan relief programs, significantly reduce monthly payments, and provide greater protections for students and taxpayers against unaffordable debts.”