These states have the highest student loan debt among millennials

A new study is shedding light on the cost of student loan debt in the United States.

Company GOBankingRates used the Education Data Initiative’s Student Debt by Generation 2023 to find each state’s total millennials with student debt and the total outstanding debt held by the generation. 

From there, GOBankingRates used the data, collected earlier this month, to determine the average millennial student debt in every state.

The company found the highest average student loan debt among millennials was on the East Coast, with nine of the top 10 most expensive student debts found in the region. Illinois was the only outlier. 

"It's no surprise that states such as New York, Massachusetts and Illinois have some of the highest student debt amounts," Andrew Murray, the lead data content researcher at GOBankingRates, told FOX Television Stations. "Cities such as Chicago, Boston and New York are popular destinations for college graduates, who take their student debt with them when they move." 

DC, Maryland millennials have highest average student debt

Millennials who live in Washington D.C. or Maryland may have to pinch their pennies in order to make ends meet and repay their student loans. 

In Maryland, the average school debt per person was $37,337 – the highest debt of any U.S. state. The total outstanding debt for the entire state was around $10.6 billion.

RELATED: Student loan forgiveness: What to know about Biden’s latest cancellation proposal

And, in D.C., the student debt was even higher – $53,106.21.

"If Washington, D.C. were a state, it would be the clear outlier in terms of student debt," Murray continued. "DC's average millennial student debt of more than $53,000 is a whopping $15,000 higher than second-place Maryland and nearly double that of Wyoming, which has the lowest average millennial student debt in the nation. This is likely due to the fact that many high-level government jobs require post-graduate degrees." 

In contrast, the data found that Wyoming had the lowest average debt for millennials at $25,683. The total outstanding debt for millennials in the entire state was about $470 million.

Murray noted that California and Texas did not rank as high largely due to the size of those states, as there are large stretches of rural and less densely populated areas with fewer post-grad students.

States with most student loan debt costs

Maryland: $37,337

New York: $37,173

Illinois: $35,976 

Virginia: $35,846

Georgia : $35,246

Massachusetts: $34,821

New Jersey: $34,801

South Carolina: $34,672

Florida: $34,561

North Carolina: $34,440

You can see the full list here.

Earlier this month, Biden shared a proposal during a visit to Wisconsin that would cancel at least some debt for more than 30 million borrowers in the United States. 

The proposal has been in the works for months after the Supreme Court rejected the president’s first try at mass cancellation, according to the Associated Press. 

RELATED: New student loan forgiveness: $1.2B in debt canceled for these 153,000 borrowers

Biden’s first attempt at widespread student loan cancellation would have erased $10,000 for borrowers with yearly incomes of up to $125,000, plus an additional $10,000 if they received federal Pell grants for low-income students. 

It was estimated to cost $400 billion and cancel at least some student debt for more than 40 million people.

The Supreme Court rejected that plan last year, saying Biden overstepped his authority.

Despite this, a recent survey shows that students throughout the country agree that student loan forgiveness is a must. An Axios survey found that students on both sides of the political spectrum think the government should be doing more to help them pay off their debts.

Of the 4,168 students surveyed, 89% of the Democratic students and 81% of Republicans said the government should offer more relief options.

This story was reported from Los Angeles.