A new study from the credit reporting agency Experian finds that student loan debt in Maine has nearly doubled since 2008.
According to the study, Mainers owed $6 billion in student loan debt in the third quarter of 2018, almost twice what they owed 10 years ago.
The numbers in Maine aren't entirely unusual. Several states saw student loan debt rise sharply rise as well. But recent Maine graduates continue to carry some of the highest levels of student debt in the country. The average borrower from the class of 2017 owed more than $31,000.
Several Maine lawmakers have put together proposals to reduce that debt in recent years, including a billthis legislative session that would authorize a bond for student debt forgiveness.
