43 million Americans owe $1.7 trillion in student loans. Interactive calculator shows your debt burden compared to lifetime earnings. Geographic analysis reveals who's trapped and why.
← Back to All ProjectsA generation ago, you could work your way through college. Today, even with a degree, many graduates will spend decades paying off loans—delaying homeownership, starting families, and saving for retirement. The promise was: get a degree, get a job, get ahead. The reality: get debt, get trapped.
Enter your degree, school type, and field of study to see:
Student Loan Data: Federal Student Aid Data Center (loan volume by state, school, borrower demographics)
Earnings Data: Bureau of Labor Statistics (median earnings by education level and field)
School Costs: IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System - tuition trends)
Default Rates: Department of Education Cohort Default Rates
Demographics: Census Bureau American Community Survey (educational attainment + debt)
• How long will it take you to pay off your student loans based on your degree and field?
• Which states have the worst debt-to-income ratios?
• Is your degree worth it? return on investment analysis by school type and major
• How does your debt compare to previous generations (adjusted for inflation)?
• What percentage of your lifetime earnings will go to loan payments?
• If you default, what happens? (State-by-state consequences)
• What would loan forgiveness mean for your financial future?
Data Acquired: Federal Student Aid aggregate data
⏳ Data Collection: BLS earnings data by occupation
📋 Planned: Interactive calculator with real-time calculations
📋 Planned: State-by-state comparison choropleth
📋 Planned: Timeline visualization (1980-2025 cost trends)
📋 Planned: return on investment comparison tool (school types, majors)