Student loan debt has mushroomed dramatically over the last two decades. The total amount of outstanding student debt just passed $1.5 trillion earlier this year, putting it second only to mortgages as the type of loan on which Americans owe the most.

The amount of average student debt per person has also exploded, with a substantial number of borrowers owing mortgage-like sums above $100,000, according to a recent student debt study from MagnifyMoney parent company LendingTree.

But, as the study also noted, this student loan burden isn’t spread evenly across the country.

“Student loan debt varies pretty widely between metros,” said LendingTree senior research analyst Kali McFadden. “With student loan balances shooting up, we wanted to know how these types of debt stacked up against mortgages for people who carry both.”

To find out, we compared student debt to mortgage debt, using borrower data from the 50 biggest metros. Specifically, we wanted to identify cities where borrowers’ student loans are more likely to rival — or even surpass — their mortgages.

Key Takeaways:

• Across all 50 metro areas surveyed, 5.7% of borrowers have a larger balance on their student loans than on their mortgage. The average student loan balance across these cities was $18,435.
• In just 6 of the 50 metros we reviewed, more than 10% of borrowers carry a larger debt load on their student loans than on their mortgage. The Rust Belt and the South regions dominate the top of this list.
• A whopping 12.6% of borrowers in Pittsburgh owe more for their educations than they do for their homes. Rounding up the top three are Buffalo, N.Y. (12.2% owe more on student loans) and Cleveland (11.7%).
• The West Coast occupies the other end of the spectrum. In both Seattle and Sacramento, California, just 1.4% of borrowers owe more in student loans than on their mortgages. Los Angeles and San Diego are tied for third place, at 1.6%.

The 11 Cities Where Student Loan Debt Exceeds Mortgage Debt

The cities with the highest student loan debt compared to mortgage debt (looking only at borrowers that hold both types of loans) aren’t necessarily just the ones with the cheapest real estate, and therefore the lowest mortgages.

“Clearly, property values pay a part in the ratio of student loan to mortgage debt … [however] we do see that higher student loan balances are a factor where more people owe more for their educations than they do for their houses,” said McFadden.

Of course, the blend of these two influences — heavy school debt and low home prices — is different for each city. However, when student debt balances are high compared to mortgage debt, it does suggest a tough environment for student loan borrowers.

Here’s a look at these top-ranking metro areas.

1. Pittsburgh, Pa.

People who owe more on student debt than mortgage debt: 12.6%

Pittsburgh tops our list, and for good reason — 1 in 8 borrowers owes more on their student loans than on their mortgage. Specifically, the median ratio of student debt to mortgage debt is 22.3%.

Here, the culprit could be the low median home price of $125,000, as reported by Kiplinger — tied for the lowest of the 50 metro areas we compared. This likely results in lower mortgage balances for Pittsburgh relative to the median student loan balance of $18,927.

2. Buffalo, N.Y.

People who owe more on student debt than mortgage debt: 12.2%

Buffalo joins Pittsburgh at the bottom of the median home-price rankings of the metro areas covered in this study, at $125,000. These borrowers are likely to owe less on their home and also have below-average student debt, at a median balance at $17,256.

It’s no surprise, then, to see that a typical Buffalo borrower’s student loan balance is equal to 21.9% of their mortgage debt.

3. Cleveland

People who owe more on student debt than mortgage debt: 11.7%

Cleveland borrowers have a median student loan balance of $18,743, compared to an average home price of $135,000, according to Kiplinger. With above-average student loan balances and lower home prices, a typical Cleveland borrower’s student loan balance is nearly a quarter (23.2%) of their mortgage debt.

4. Memphis, Tenn.

People who owe more on student debt than mortgage debt: 11.0%

Borrowers in Memphis have the highest student loan balances relative to mortgage debt in any city we studied. In fact, the median $18,866 student loan balance is equal to 24.2% the median mortgage debt. Memphis is also among the cities with lower median home prices, at $137,000.

5. Birmingham, Ala. (tie)

People who owe more on student debt than mortgage debt: 10.2%

One of the main factors putting Birmingham at the top of this list is the high average student loan balance. A typical borrower in this metro owes $20,679, the fifth-highest median student loan balance among any of the cities we surveyed.

This amount is equal to 21.8% of the median mortgage debt balance in Birmingham, where the median home price is $131,000.

5. Detroit (tie)

People who owe more on student debt than mortgage debt: 10.2%

Detroit and Birmingham have the same percentage of borrowers who owe more on student loans than they do on their mortgages. However, borrowers in Detroit have a lower ratio of student debt to mortgage debt, at 19.9%.

This reflects both the lower student loan balances in this city, with the median at $18,552, as well as higher home prices (the median is $145,000, per Kiplinger).

7. Atlanta (tie)

People who owe more on student debt than mortgage debt: 9.5%

Atlanta tied with Oklahoma City for the No. 7 spot, due largely to borrowers with some of the highest student loan balances.

The city’s median student loan balance of $22,232 is second only to Washington, D.C. This high level of student debt is due largely to loftier levels of educational attainment among Atlanta residents.

These large student debt loads are high even when compared to Atlanta’s median home price of $190,000. For a typical borrower here, their student debt is about one-fifth (19.6%) of the balance on their mortgage.

7. Oklahoma City (tie)

People who owe more on student debt than mortgage debt: 9.5%

Oklahoma City residents have below-average student debt, with the median balance at $17,278. Overall, this median student debt is equal to 18.4% of the local median mortgage debt.

9. St. Louis

People who owe more on student debt than mortgage debt: 8.9%

The local median student loan balance in St. Louis is a relatively large $19,229, while the local median home price is $155,000, according to Kiplinger. Overall, a typical St. Louis borrower’s student debt is equal to 18.5% of their mortgage debt.

10. New Orleans (tie)

People who owe more on student debt than mortgage debt: 8.3%

The median student debt among New Orleans borrowers is $18,592, about on par with the average across all cities. This debt is equal to 19.0% of the median balance on borrowers’ mortgages.

10. San Antonio (tie)

People who owe more on student debt than mortgage debt: 8.3%

Borrowers in San Antonio have some of the smallest student loan balances overall among these cities in these rankings, with the median at $17,089. However, that balance is still 17.1% of the median mortgage debt for local borrowers who have both.

Cities Where Student Debt Is Lowest, Compared to Mortgage Debt

A look at the cities where student loan balances are smallest, compared to mortgage debt, also reveals some insights.

Not surprisingly, the list includes cities with some of the highest home prices in the nation. San Francisco, for example, has a median home price of $750,000. Los Angeles homes come in at $605,000, while San Diego’s median home prices is $530,000, and Seattle’s is $417,000, reports Kiplinger.

These significantly higher home prices mean that many local borrowers are taking out mortgages with much higher balances that overshadow their student debt.

But while higher home prices result in more mortgage debt, the high cost of living doesn’t necessarily affect how much local residents borrow in student loans.

In fact, borrowers in these 10 cities also tended to have lower median student loan balances overall. Providence, R.I., for example, had the lowest median student loan balance of the group, at $15,025, and Seattle and San Diego had median student loan balances of $16,003 and $15,984, respectively.

Dealing with high student loan balances

Mortgage debt is still larger than student debt for most Americans, both at the national and individual level. However, the results of this study show that in some places, a relatively large proportion of people face student debt that outweighs even their mortgage, which can be a significant financial burden.

No matter how your own mortgage debt compares to your student loans, you can benefit from taking steps to more effectively manage your school debt. It could be wise to pay off student loans faster, if you can afford to do so. You can also explore options such as student loan refinancing or pursuing student loan forgiveness.

On the other hand, it’s encouraging to see that many borrowers are buying homes while repaying student debt — even when they have enough student loans to eclipse their housing debt. While rising student loans are slowing the financial progress of many, it’s not stopping them in their tracks.

Methodology

We looked a sample of over 90,000 anonymized users who logged into My LendingTree (LendingTree is our parent company) in July 2018 and who had both active student loan balances of any size and mortgage balances greater or equal to $10,000 to calculate the ratio of student to mortgage balances. Median student loan balances were calculated using a sample of users who logged into My LendingTree during Q1 2018, and were originally reported here. These results were then aggregated with the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas by population. My LendingTree has more than 9 million users. Credit report information is provided by TransUnion.

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