In Arkansas, Delaware, Iowa, Kentucky, North Dakota, South Carolina and Tennessee, the average loan debt for students graduating from public universities is even higher than for graduates of private, nonprofit colleges. Also, high cost of living and high tuition do not necessarily predict higher student loan debt for a state’s college graduates.

The report, "Student Debt and the Class of 2005: Average Debt by State, Sector, and School," released by Project on Student Debt, includes an interactive state-by-state map.

The study reveals that average statewide debt for all four-year college and university graduates ranged from a high of $22,793 in New Hampshire to a low of $11,709 in Utah. The 10 states with the highest average student debt for the class of 2005 were: New Hampshire, Iowa, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Maine, South Dakota, Washington and Indiana.

"There are many reasons for the variations from state to state, including the availability of state grant aid, how loans are treated in financial aid packages, and the income profile of the student population," said Robert Shireman, Project on Student Debt executive director. "But overall, the level of debt for college graduates is much too high."

Public universities. The new study finds that average debt for seniors graduating from public universities ranged from $23,198 in Iowa to $11,067 in Utah. The 10 states with the highest average student debt for graduates of public four-year institutions were: Iowa, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Maine, Oregon, Vermont and Ohio.

Private colleges. At private colleges, averages ranged from a high of $32,504 in Arizona to a low of $13,309 in Utah. The 10 states with the highest average student debt for graduates of private, nonprofit four-year institutions in 2005 were: Arizona, Alaska, New Hampshire, Idaho, Montana, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Washington, Maine and Rhode Island.

The new study is based on data reported by more than 1,400 four-year public and private nonprofit colleges and universities around the country to Thomson Peterson’s Undergraduate Financial Aid and Undergraduate Databases.

Along with the full report, an interactive map at www.projectonstudentdebt.org provides the statewide debt averages and data for individual campuses, including the average debt of graduating seniors, percentage of students with debt, tuition and fees, and percentage of students receiving Pell grants (primarily those with family incomes below $40,000).