U.S. student loan debt close to $1.5 trillion (Bloomberg Government)

U.S. student loan debt outstanding reached a record $1.465 trillion last month, more than double the $675 billion outstanding in June 2009 when the recession ended. Many student loan borrowers face significant debt burdens. Over 2.7 million borrowers owe in excess of $100,000, of which, about 700,000 owe $200,000 or more, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education. One year earlier, 2.5 million owed in excess of $100,000.

It is worth noting, however, that nearly as many borrowers owe between $10,000-20,000 (with an average debt of $14,439) as those who owe more than $40,000. And those debt loads are dwarfed by those students who owe less than $10,000.