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Minnesota Ranked 5th In Nation For Student Loan Debt

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minnesota has made another list, but it is not a good one to be on if you are heading to college.

A new study from the Institute for College Access and Success says Minnesota ranks fifth on the list of the states with the highest student debt.

The new data shows the average Minnesota student graduated in 2014 with an average debt of $31,579. That is up significantly from 2004, when the average debt was $18,921.

"The big explosion was during the recession, where families' incomes were very suppressed," Minnesota Office of Higher Education commissioner Larry Pogemiller said. "People were going back to school and they took on more and more debt to complete school."

Pogemiller says Minnesota tends to be higher than the national student debt average because of high-tuition state schools and an above-average family income.

"On the other hand, some people are just put in that box because they don't have any other income to help pay while they're in school," Pogemiller said.

The national average for student debt in 2014 was $28,950.The state with the highest debt was Delaware. Utah graduates had the lowest.

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