Congratulations, class of 2015: you’re the most indebted graduating class ever!

Happy graduation! This year's graduating class is the most indebted in history, with $56 billion in student loans to pay back.

That's according to an analysis of an Education Department study by financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz, first reported by Mic's Zeeshan Aleem. Kantrowitz estimates that 71 percent of this year's graduating class took out loans, and that on average, students with loans owe more than $35,000:

(Mic)

Kantrowitz's estimates of the total amount owed are slightly higher than the other main source of information on student debt, the annual reports from the Institute for College Access and Success. But both data sources agree that student debt has risen considerably. In 1996, 58 percent of students borrowed to attend college; adjusted for inflation, they owed less than $20,000 at graduation.

One reason student debt has increased so sharply is that the burden of paying for an education at public colleges and universities, which the majority of college students attend, has shifted from taxpayers to individual students. States paid more than two-thirds of the cost of higher education per student in 1996; now they pay only about half. Those cutbacks have led to tuition increases. And while state spending is now rising again, it's unlikely to change the overall trend. The class of 2015 will only be the most indebted in history until the class of 2016 graduates next year.

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple of big issues with relying on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on:

First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.

Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. And we can’t do that if we have a paywall.

So even though advertising is still our biggest source of revenue, we also seek grants and reader support. (And no matter how our work is funded, we have strict guidelines on editorial independence.)

If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today? Any amount helps.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via