Half of Americans had no student loan debt when Biden tried to cancel it
Core finding
Just over half of Americans (51%) say they have never had student loan debt, according to a January 2024 Verasight survey that asked about the Biden administration's 2022 attempt to cancel federal student loans.
A smaller share (17%) says their loans were already paid off at the time, and 11% say they had no debt then but do now. On the debtor side, 11% of Americans say they had loans at the time and applied for cancellation, 10% say they had loans and chose not to apply, and 7% say they wanted to apply but did not.
Topline distribution
Half of Americans had no student loan debt when Biden tried to cancel it.
In 2022, the Biden administration attempted to cancel up to twenty thousand dollars of federal student loan debt per debtor. A lawsuit from several Republican state attorneys general has since prevented this cancellation from taking place. Did you have any student loan debt during this time, and did you apply to have it canceled? Please select all options that apply to you.
n = 1,000 · Jan 18–24, 2024 · MoE ±3.5%
Methodology
Full methodology →| Mode | Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting |
|---|---|
| Population | United States adults |
| Field dates | Jan 18–24, 2024 |
| Base (unweighted) | 1,000 |
| Margin of error | ±3.5% |
| Module | Verasight Interdisciplinary Omnibus Survey #2024-006 |
| Sponsor | Verasight |
| Weight variable | weight |
| Weighting targets | age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, metropolitan status |
Cite this question
Verasight Interdisciplinary Omnibus Survey #2024-006, fielded January 18-24, 2024, N=1,000 United States adults, +/- 3.5%.