September 2026 Market Pulse: Expert Q&A on Student Loan Delinquencies and C ...

Highlights:

• Non-deferred monthly student loan payments rise to $310, with varying payment trajectories across generations like Gen Z and Baby Boomers.

• Real wages have contracted slightly as nominal wage growth trails inflation, increasing financial burdens and impacting household financial stability.

• Student loan delinquencies showed recent improvement following all-time highs, though overall payment levels remain elevated compared to pre-pandemic baselines.

Before and during each Market Pulse webinar, our audience submits their pressing questions to our expert panelists.

Our September Market Pulse webinar panel included Equifax Senior Advisors, Jesse Hardin and Maria Urtubey. Below are their answers to questions around student loans delinquencies, shifting consumer credit trends, and more.

Q: What are your thoughts on the current student loan market situation in the US? Are you concerned at all about the increased delinquency rates among student loan borrowers as compared to pre-pandemic levels?

Maria Urtubey: It is concerning since 15-17% of the consumer population holds a student loan. Recent months show improvements after both the dollar amount and the number of loans 90+ days past due hit an all-time high in May of last year. The garnishments pause has been extended, so we also expect further improvement in the bad rates after they go into effect.

Q: In regards to inflation adjusted credit card debt, how much have inflation adjusted incomes changed over that same time period? Is it keeping up?

Jesse Hardin: Over the past 15 years, real income growth has maintained a modestly positive trajectory, generally averaging between 1% and 1.5% annually. Currently, we are seeing the lingering effects of recent price volatility, with real wages showing a slight 0.25% contraction as of July 2026. This means inflation-adjusted incomes are actually shrinking because nominal wage growth is trailing inflation. Taking it down another layer, this has been a key focus in our Market Pulse Index research. Looking at the "Pivoting Middle" and "Thriver" populations, given averages don't show the true impact to all populations. If average real wages aren't pacing inflation, US households are feeling real pain from the burdens of higher prices including recent fuel price increases.

Q: How about monthly payments on Student loans? Has that grown?

Maria: The average monthly payments on non-deferred student loans increased from $288 in Jan 2020, to $310 today. The increase of 7.6% over the 76 months period is relatively low when compared to the 29.3% cumulative inflation rate, while the increase of 6.9% over the last 16 months outpaces the cumulative inflation of 4.7%.

If we look at this information by generation, Baby Boomers held the highest expected payment among all generations in February 2025 at $373, while Gen Z held the lowest at $209. While Baby Boomers remain the group with the highest payment now at $380 - and Gen Z continues to hold the lowest at $242 - Baby Boomers' increase has been only 1.9%, compared to a 15.8% increase for Gen Z.

Also noteworthy, while Baby Boomers with a non-deferred student loan hold the highest payment amount, as a group, they hold less than 6% of accounts and just over 10% of the overall balance; Gen Z holds over 21% of accounts and 15% of the non-deferred balance. It is Millennials that hold the highest share in both categories as a group: almost 54% of non-deferred SL accounts and over 47% of the corresponding balance.

Source:

1. Equifax, Equifax Data and Analytics Research