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A Ranking of the Best and Worst States for Student Debt

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Flickr Creative Commons

The online financial site WalletHub has published a list of the best and worst states for student debt. The site compared the 50 states by combining seven key metrics , including average student debt, the state’s unemployment rate, and the percentage of students with past-due loan balances.

Utah is ranked as the best state in which to live with debt, while Mississippi falls last on the list. The HPPR region fares well: Of High Plains states, Nebraska ranks highest—at number 5—followed by Colorado at number 9, Oklahoma at 11, and Texas and Kansas at 12 and 13, respectively. New Mexico residents have the lowest average student debt, and New Hampshire has the highest. West Virginia has the highest percentages of student loans in default.