MO' MONEY DEBT, MO' PROBLEMS: The student debt problem in the U.S. is no small issue--in fact, more than 42 million Americans owe a total of $1.1 trillion. However, as a new collection of digital interactive maps from the Washington Center for Equitable Growth (based on data from Experian) shows, it's wise to question assumptions about who owes money and how socioeconomic backgrounds affect these national numbers. Specifically, the maps demonstrate that while students from affluent zip codes have higher average loan balances (as shown in the leftmost map of Chicago below), lower-income zip codes are frequently plagued by higher delinquency rates (shown in the middle), particularly in urban areas.
