Student loans climb: top 10 states with the highest college debt

Going to college or university isn't cheap, and with an average debt of $29,400, many graduates will be paying for their student loans long after graduation day. These states are home to the highest average student debts among loan-carrying, graduating seniors in 2012, according to The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS). Can you guess which state had the highest? 

2. New Hampshire

Jim Cole/AP/File
Scott Richards of Saint Anselm College looks over possible jobs during a career fair for college students in Manchester, N.H., on April 4, 2012. The college's seniors had an average debt of $42,631 that year.

Average debt: $32,698

Students with debt: 74 percent

In New Hampshire, nearly three-quarters of college graduates included in the study carried a debt load when they finished school – $32,698 per student in 2012.

Seniors at Saint Anselm College were saddled with a per-student debt of $42,631, which wasthe highest level of debt reported in the state that year.

The heaviest average loan among the state’s public institutions belonged the University of New Hampshire's main campus, averaging $35,168 per student.

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