About 729,700 borrowers in Minnesota are eligible for student debt relief under President Joe Biden's loan forgiveness plan, according to estimates from the Department of Education.
That plan includes erasing up to $10,000 in federal student loan debt for borrowers making $125,000 or less per year or households earning less than $250,000. Those who received a federal Pell Grant (reserved for undergraduate students with the most acute financial needs) are eligible to have an additional $10,000 discharged.
The Biden Administration estimates that 40 million Americans are eligible for debt relief under the plan, and nearly 20 million borrowers could see their entire remaining balance canceled.
More than half of the eligible Minnesota borrowers — or about 416,300 people — received Pell Grants, meaning they could qualify for up to $20,000 in debt relief.
A few hundred thousand students attend college each year in Minnesota. Some 63% of people graduating from Minnesota schools with a bachelor's degree in 2021 had loans, with a median debt of just under $24,000, according to the state's office of higher education. For those getting associate degrees from Minnesota schools, 52% graduated with loans, carrying a median debt of just over $15,000.
The Department of Education estimates that over 685,000 borrowers in Wisconsin may also see student debt relief, including nearly 413,000 Pell Grant recipients.
