The most overleveraged student borrowers in Ohio are in Portsmouth, Fremont and Youngstown. All three are in the study’s 99th percentile of cities characterized by high median college debt and lower median earnings. Locally, Dayton is not far behind in the 95th percentile and Xenia is in the 91st.
At the other end of the spectrum of those still carrying college debt are residents in cities like Beavercreek and Springboro. The affluent Columbus suburb of Powell is the only Ohio city in the lowest percentile. While these borrowers may owe as much or more as those in the higher percentiles, they have much higher median incomes, which make payments more manageable.
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Selected Ohio cities from overleveraged by student loan debt to less burdened
| Percentile | City | Debt* | Earnings** | Ratio*** |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 99 | Portsmouth | $19,415 | $27,270 | 71% |
| 99 | Youngstown | $21,459 | $31,220 | 69% |
| 96 | Akron | $23,290 | $40,894 | 57% |
| 96 | Lima | $20,640 | $36,305 | 57% |
| 95 | Dayton | $19,930 | $36,357 | 55% |
| 94 | Toledo | $21,958 | $41,391 | 53% |
| 91 | Xenia | $20,000 | $39,851 | 50% |
| 90 | Chillicothe | $19,927 | $40,625 | 49% |
| 89 | Canton | $19,354 | $40,037 | 48% |
| 88 | Cleveland | $19,806 | $41,155 | 48% |
| 88 | Cincinnati | $20,963 | $43,691 | 48% |
| 87 | Columbus | $21,316 | $45,000 | 47% |
| 83 | Springfield | $15,847 | $34,538 | 46% |
| 77 | Centerville | $21,890 | $50,031 | 44% |
| 74 | Middletown | $17,088 | $39,723 | 43% |
| 67 | Kettering | $18,683 | $45,780 | 41% |
| 63 | Troy | $20,000 | $50,740 | 39% |
| 61 | Franklin | $18,435 | $47,111 | 39% |
| 61 | Hamilton | $17,242 | $44,091 | 39% |
| 60 | Sidney | $16,402 | $42,069 | 39% |
| 44 | Lebanon | $17,495 | $49,830 | 35% |
| 42 | Fairborn | $18,368 | $52,969 | 35% |
| 36 | Beavercreek | $19,035 | $56,762 | 34% |
| 30 | Springboro | $22,238 | $69,214 | 32% |
| 19 | Marysville | $18,637 | $62,605 | 30% |
| 1 | Powell | $17,930 | $82,439 | 22% |
**Median student loan debt
**Median earnings of bachelor’s degree holders
***Ratio of student debt to median earnings of bachelor’s degree holders
After home mortgages, student loans make up the largest chunk of household debt, according to a February report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
College graduates — even up to age 35— are spending nearly a fifth of their salaries just on student-loan payments, and many millenials will be paying for college into their 40s, a Citizens Bank study found.
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