How Long Does It Take to Pay Off Student Loan Debt? (2024)

For the most part, how long it takes to pay off student loan debt depends on the type of loans you have and the repayment plan you choose. Other factors like the loan amount and interest rate can also play a role in your timeline for getting out of debt. While federal student loans feature repayment plans that last from 10 to 30 years, repayment options for private student loans vary widely. Read on to learn how long it typically takes to get rid of student debt, your repayment plan options, and how to get out of student debt faster.

Key Takeaways

  • How long it takes to pay off student debt depends on the repayment plan you choose as well as the interest rate, size of the loan, and your budget.
  • On average, people with student loans have spent just over 21 years paying back their loans.
  • Federal student loans offer repayment plans that last from 10 to 30 years. Private student loan repayment terms vary.

Average Time to Pay Off Student Loans

Federal student loan terms can range from 10 to 30 years, but they default to a standard 10-year repayment plan if you don’t choose another option. The standard 10-year repayment plan can result in higher monthly payments on student loans, so many borrowers choose repayment options with longer terms. The average borrower with student loans spent 21.1 years paying them back, according to a study from One Wisconsin Institute.

When you choose a longer student loan repayment period, you will owe more in total interest over the long term.

Factors Affecting the Time to Pay Off Student Debt

Many factors can play a role in how long it takes to get out of student loan debt, including the length of your repayment plan, your loan amount, interest rates, and your income. Let’s look in more detail at how these factors affect how long it takes for you to pay off your student loan.

Repayment Plan

A major determinant of how long it takes to pay off student loans is the type of payment plan you choose. For federal student loans, repayment options start at 10 years and can be as long as 30 years. For private student loans, repayment terms vary depending on the lender’s policies and offerings.

Loan Amounts

How much student loan debt you have can also impact how long it takes you to get out of debt, depending on how much you can afford. After all, if you carry higher loan amounts with higher monthly payments, you will have less spending money. If you are on a tight budget, you may not be able to make extra payments to pay off your loan sooner.

Interest Rates

Interest rates also increase the total cost of your loan and the amount of your monthly payments. So a loan with a higher interest rate can take you longer to pay off, depending on your income and budget.

In recent years, interest rates have been on the rise for student loans. For federal student loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2023, and before July 1, 2024, the rates were:

  • Direct Subsidized Loans and Direct Unsubsidized Loans: 5.50%
  • Direct Unsubsidized Loans: 7.05%
  • Direct PLUS Loans: 8.05%

Income

If you have a high income, you are more likely to have more spending money in your budget that can allow you to make extra payments toward your loan. Paying more toward your principal than the minimum amount will reduce both the amount of total interest you owe and the total time it takes to repay a loan.

Student loans, whether they are federal or private, do not have prepayment penalties. You can make extra payments or pay off your loan in full at any time without charge.

Federal Student Loan Repayment Options

Standard 10-Year Repayment

The standard 10-year repayment plan for federal student loans has a fixed interest rate and a fixed monthly payment. This repayment option for federal student loans is the default option unless you choose a different plan.

Graduated Repayment Plan

A graduated repayment plan typically lasts for 10 years (or up to 30 years for consolidation loans), and it starts monthly payments off lower at first. From there, monthly payments increase incrementally, usually every two years.

Extended Repayment Plan

The extended repayment plan lasts for 25 years and can have fixed payments or graduated payments that increase over time. You must have more than $30,000 in outstanding direct loans or Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) loans to qualify.

Income-Driven Repayment Plans

You can also choose among several types of income-driven repayment (IDR) plans if you have federal student loans. These plans have you pay a percentage of your discretionary income for a set period of time, after which any remaining loan balances are forgiven.

IDR plans base monthly payments on factors like income and family size, so payments can be more affordable. The chart below shows how monthly payments work with each type of income-driven repayment option.

Monthly Payment FormulaRepayment Term
Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan—formerly the REPAYE Plan5% and 10% of discretionary income for undergraduate and graduate loans, respectively20 to 25 years (or 10 years for eligible individuals who borrowed $12,000 or less)
Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Repayment Plan10% of discretionary income20 years
Income-Based Repayment (IBR) Plan10% of discretionary income (for individuals who first borrowed after July 1, 2014); 15% of discretionary income (for individuals who first borrowed before July 1, 2014)20 years
Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) Plan20% of discretionary income25 years

Private Student Loan Repayment Options

Private student loan lenders set interest rates and repayment plans independently. This means your repayment term with a private student loan company depends on what they offer and which option you select.

That said, it's common to find private student loans with repayment terms of up to 15 years or more. Because many borrowers refinance their loans with a private lender to get out of debt as soon as possible, however, you can also find private student loans with terms as short as five years.

Strategies to Accelerate Student Debt Repayment

If you want to pay off student debt faster, you can consider using one or more of several strategies:

  • Be choosy with your repayment plan: The first step to getting out of student debt faster is selecting a repayment plan that fits your budget and goals. You may want to choose a shorter repayment plan if you can afford the larger monthly payments.
  • Pay more than the minimum: Paying more than the minimum payments will reduce the total amount of interest you owe and shorten the time it takes to repay a loan. However, depending on the savings you can achieve, you may want to avoid paying more than the minimum on IDR plans since these plans forgive remaining loan balances after 20 to 25 years.
  • Refinance your student loans: Refinancing your student loans with a new loan with a shorter repayment term and a monthly payment can save you money. Just remember that refinancing federal student loans with a private lender means losing out on federal protections like deferment and forbearance as well as future access to IDR plans and any student loan forgiveness offered on a federal level.

Student Debt Repayment Example

You may be inclined to pay down student debt as soon as possible, but there are situations when putting your money to other uses may be a better financial move.

For example, you may want to put your money toward saving for a down payment on a house to begin building a real estate asset. Alternatively, you may invest it to try to achieve greater returns than the interest you’re paying on your student loan.

Introduced in 2023, the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan lowers borrower monthly payments to 5% of discretionary income for undergraduate school loans from the 10% required for other income-driven plans. Additionally, individuals with incomes of up to 225% of the federal poverty limit based on family size can qualify for a $0 monthly payment on their student loans.

Consider this example of how repayment through the SAVE program could work, and how payments would compare to a standard 10-year repayment plan:

Imagine you have $25,000 in undergraduate student loans, an interest rate of 5%, and an annual income of $38,000. With the SAVE plan, the monthly payment would be $43 for 20 years, after which the remaining loan balances would be forgiven.

Provided your income and monthly payment didn't change, you would pay $10,320 in total toward your loan over 20 years (240 months). At that point, the remaining loan balances would be forgiven, although you may owe income taxes on forgiven amounts.

In contrast, paying off the same loan with the same interest rate on the standard 10-year repayment plan would result in a $256.16 monthly payment over that timeline. You would pay a total of $31,820 toward your student loans over 120 months, which includes interest.

How Does the Loan Amount Affect the Time It Takes to Pay off Student Debt?

The amount of student debt can impact your monthly payment on various repayment plans. Many borrowers with high loan amounts opt for repayment plans with longer terms to secure a lower monthly payment on their student loans.

What Are the Different Federal Student Loan Repayment Options?

Federal student loans come with several repayment options, including the standard 10-year repayment, extended repayment, graduated repayment, and income-driven repayment plans.

What Strategies Can You Use to Accelerate Student Debt Repayment?

Borrowers who want to get out of student loan debt faster have several strategies at their disposal. They can choose a shorter repayment plan for their loans to begin with, pay more than the minimum each month, or refinance their student loans to switch up their repayment term. Use a student loan repayment calculator to estimate your savings with different strategies.

The Bottom Line

How long it takes to pay off student loan debt will vary based on how much debt you owe, your interest rate, and the repayment plan. This means you have a lot of control over how long it takes to get out of debt, although you will be limited by your income and budget. Some borrowers will be better off paying down student loans as fast as possible, whereas others will benefit more from an IDR plan with a more affordable monthly payment. Consider all your options for paying down debt so you can pay off student loans on a timeline that works for you.

Article Sources

Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts. We also reference original research from other reputable publishers where appropriate. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in oureditorial policy.

  1. Federal Student Aid. “Repayment Plans.”

  2. Federal Student Aid. "Standard Repayment Plan."

  3. One Wisconsin Now. "Twenty to Life: Higher Education Turning Into Multi-Decade Debt Sentence."

  4. Federal Student Loans. “Interest Rates and Fees for Federal Student Loans.”

  5. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “Can I Pay My Student Loan in Full at Any Time?

  6. Federal Student Loans. “Income-Driven Repayment Plans.”

  7. U.S. Department of Education. "The Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan Offers Lower Monthly Loan Payments."

  8. U.S. Department of Education. "Federal Student Loan Repayment Plans."

How Long Does It Take to Pay Off Student Loan Debt? (2024)

FAQs

How Long Does It Take to Pay Off Student Loan Debt? ›

Data Summary. Student loans can take 5-20 years or longer to repay. It would take the average bachelor's degree graduate about 10 years to pay off their student loan debt if they made debt payments of $300 a month. 18 million federal student loan borrowers are on a 10-year repayment plan.

How long does it take to pay off student loans on average? ›

On average, people with student loans have spent just over 21 years paying back their loans. Federal student loans offer repayment plans that last from 10 to 30 years. Private student loan repayment terms vary.

How long does it take to pay off a $40,000 student loan? ›

Examples of How Long It Will Take to Pay Off $40,000 in Student Loans
DebtMonthly PaymentPayoff Time
$40,000$42410 years
$40,000$4619 years
$40,000$5657 years
$40,000$7555 years

How long does it take to pay off $30k in student loans? ›

Plan out your repayment

Let's assume you owe $30,000, and your blended average interest rate is 6%. If you pay $333 a month, you'll be done in 10 years. But you can do better than that. According to our student loan calculator, you'd need to pay $913 per month to put those loans out of your life in three years.

How long does it take to pay off a student loan? ›

Student loans are forgiven after 25-30 years after you graduate, or when you turn 65, depending on when and where you took out your loan.

How much is the monthly payment on a $70,000 student loan? ›

Paying off this amount in student loans can feel overwhelming. For example, if you had $70,000 in federal student loans and made payments under the standard 10-year repayment plan with a 6.22% interest rate, you'd end up with a monthly payment of $785 and a total repayment cost of $94,188.

Are student loans forgiven after 20 years? ›

All borrowers on SAVE receive forgiveness after 20 or 25 years, depending on whether they have loans for graduate school. The benefit is based upon the original principal balance of all Federal loans borrowed to attend school, not what a borrower currently owes or the amount of an individual loan.

Is $20,000 in student loans a lot? ›

The average borrower takes 20 years to repay their student loan debt and accrues $26,000 in interest over 20 years at the rounded average interest rate of 6%. If those monthly payments look low compared to what most borrowers pay, it's because most borrowers carry a lot more than $20,000 in student loan debt.

Are student loans worth it? ›

Student loans are considered good debt due to their potential for long-term benefits, including increased earning potential. Other factors of good debt include lower interest rates, flexible repayment options, and potential tax deductions.

What is the average age people pay off student loans? ›

A 2019 study from New York Life found that the average age when people finally pay off their student loans for good is 45.

How bad is student loan debt? ›

Key Takeaways. Carrying student debt can affect your ability to buy a home if your debt-to-income ratio is too high. If you have too much student loan debt, you won't be able to save as much for retirement. Student loan debt can lower your credit score, especially if you fail to make on-time payments.

How hard are student loans to pay off? ›

The average student borrower takes 20 years to fully repay their student loans, but there are many options to shorten this timeline and get out of debt quicker. Making additional payments, setting up automatic payments and refinancing are all effective strategies for paying off student loans faster.

How much does the average American owe in student loans? ›

The average student loan debt for bachelor's degree recipients was $29,400 for the 2021-22 school year, according to the College Board. Among all borrowers, the average balance is $38,290, according to mid-2023 data from Experian, one of the three national credit bureaus.

How long does it take for a student loan to be paid off? ›

The standard student loan payoff time for federal student loans is 10 years. However, repayment time depends on the loan amount and how much you can pay a month. A bachelor's degree-holder with the average amount of federal loan debt would need to pay just over $300 a month to pay off their loan within 10 years.

What is a reasonable student loan payment? ›

Average Student Loan Payments

As of May 30, 2023, the average monthly payment for federal student loans was estimated to be about $500 per month when adjusted for inflation. However, the final number depends on the type of loan, loan amount, interest rates, and repayment plan.

How long will it take to pay off 100 000 in student loans? ›

How long does paying off $100K in student loans take? Although the standard repayment plan is typically 10 years, some loans and repayment plans have longer terms, so you could be repaying for 20 or even 30 years.

What is a reasonable time to pay off student loans? ›

Student Loan Debt Amount for Consolidation Loan Repayment Period Calculation
Student Loan Debt AmountStandard Plan Repayment Period
$7,500–9,99912 years
$10,000–19,99915 years
$20,000–39,99920 years
$40,000–59,99925 years
2 more rows

Does it take 10 years to pay off student loans? ›

Payments are a fixed amount that ensures your loans are paid off within 10 years (within 10 to 30 years for Consolidation Loans). These loan types are eligible: Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans.

How long will it take to pay off 80 000 in student loans? ›

How long it will take to pay off $80,000 in student loan debt depends on your repayment plan and whether you make on-time payments. The standard repayment term for both private and federal loans is 10 years.

What is the average student loan debt? ›

The average federal student loan debt is $37,338 per borrower. Private student loan debt averages $54,921 per borrower. The average student borrows over $30,000 to pursue a bachelor's degree. A total of 45.3 million borrowers have student loan debt; 92% of them have federal loan debt.

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