The Student Loan Borrowing Undermining California’s Affordability Efforts

Introduction California’s student debt picture is a story of haves and have-nots: those who have student loan debt face significant financial challenges that their college-educated peers without student debt avoid altogether. Having enabled the development of a relatively well-educated workforce, student debt now limits how much California borrowers can move up in the world using their education. Policymakers at the state and federal level are rightfully reckoning with the sustainability of this system, particularly regarding inequitable outcomes in loan repayment linked to factors such as race and ethnicity. To advance equity for student borrowers and improve their lives while in repayment, California must assess the drivers of student debt and the distinct and unequal ways it affects borrowers’ lives.