Home Buying

Student loan debt can delay homeownership in Mass. for decades

The report ranked Massachusetts third in the nation for student loan debt, behind California and Hawaii.

In New Hampshire, student loan debt can delay homeownership by nearly 36 years. Adobe Stock

December 10, 2024

1 minute to read

With the state’s high student loan debt and home prices, it would take nearly 48 years to save for the down payment on a home in Massachusetts, according to a Dec. 4 study by Zoocasa, an online real estate marketplace.

That finding is based on a starting salary of $64,291 for someone with a bachelor’s degree, the region’s median price for a home, and a 20 percent down payment. There are loan programs out there that require less or even no down payment. The monthly student loan payments are based on a standard 10-year repayment plan and a 6.87 percent interest rate.

According to the Education Data Initiative:

The average total student loan debt-to-income ratio for a new graduate is 61 percent.
After adjusting for inflation, the Class of 2020 graduated with the highest amount of debt, with an average balance of $44,020 in May 2024 dollars.
Before adjusting for inflation, the average student loan debt at graduation has increased 108 percent since 2007; after adjusting for inflation, the average debt increased 39 percent.

The Zoocasa report ranked Massachusetts third in the nation for student loan debt, behind California, where it would take 68.5 years to come up with a down payment, and Hawaii, where it would take just under 80 years. Without student loan debt and very little money to set aside each month, it would take 44.2 years to save enough for a down payment in Massachusetts, a testament to the high cost of housing here and the competition amid a shortage of listings. In a high-savings scenario, it would take 16.1 years, according to the report.

Here’s how all of the states fared:

State	With Student Loan Debt	Without Student Loan Debt (Low-Savings Scenario)	Without Student Loan Debt (Moderate-Savings Scenario)	Without Student Loan Debt (High-Savings Scenario)
Alabama	16.9	15.6	8.0	5.4
Alaska	33.4	30.9	16.4	11.2
Arizona	33.6	31.0	16.6	11.3
Arkansas	15.1	14.0	7.7	5.3
California	68.5	62.8	32.5	21.9
Colorado	44.8	41.2	21.5	14.6
Connecticut	31.5	29.0	15.3	10.4
Delaware	30.9	28.4	14.6	9.8
Florida	32.1	29.3	15.0	10.0
Georgia	28.8	26.2	12.9	8.6
Hawaii	79.9	73.3	37.6	25.3
Idaho	33.8	31.4	17.3	12.0
Illinois	22.0	20.1	10.3	6.9
Indiana	19.6	18.2	10.1	6.9
Iowa	17.8	16.6	9.5	6.6
Kansas	24.3	22.6	12.4	8.6
Kentucky	20.2	18.7	10.3	7.1
Louisiana	18.3	16.9	9.1	6.2
Maine	30.5	28.3	15.4	10.6
Maryland	33.2	30.0	14.5	9.6
Massachusetts	47.9	44.2	23.6	16.1
Michigan	23.5	21.6	11.3	7.7
Minnesota	26.7	24.7	13.5	9.2
Mississippi	13.1	12.1	6.3	4.3
Missouri	20.5	18.9	10.1	6.9
Montana	41.5	38.5	21.0	14.5
Nebraska	19.2	17.8	9.9	6.9
Nevada	33.8	31.2	16.9	11.6
New Hampshire	35.9	33.2	17.9	12.3
New Jersey	39.6	36.4	19.1	12.9
New Mexico	27.2	25.2	13.7	9.4
New York	32.0	29.3	15.1	10.1
North Carolina	28.3	25.9	13.3	8.9
North Dakota	19.1	17.8	10.3	7.3
Ohio	22.2	20.5	11.0	7.6
Oklahoma	15.2	14.2	7.9	5.5
Oregon	27.6	25.3	13.2	8.9
Pennsylvania	22.6	20.9	11.0	7.5
Rhode Island	36.9	34.3	18.9	13.0
South Carolina	26.2	24.0	12.3	8.3
South Dakota	22.2	20.7	11.8	8.2
Tennessee	28.0	25.8	13.5	9.2
Texas	25.9	24.0	13.2	9.1
Utah	38.9	36.1	19.8	13.7
Vermont	32.0	29.3	15.2	10.2
Virginia	32.4	29.6	14.9	10.0
Washington	47.1	43.3	22.8	15.5
West Virginia	11.8	11.0	6.1	4.2
Wisconsin	23.6	21.9	12.2	8.4
Wyoming	25.3	23.6	13.4	9.4