Florida Cities With Highest Student Loan Delinquency

TAMPA, Florida  – The U.S. Department of Education announced that its Office of Federal Student Aid will resume collections on defaulted federal student loans starting May 5, 2025, following a pause in place since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of April 2025, approximately 42.7 million borrowers owe over $1.6 trillion in federal student debt.  Approximately 2.7 million of those student loan borrowers live in Florida.

More than 5 million borrowers are currently in default nationwide, having not made payments for over 360 days, while 4 million are in late-stage delinquency (91–180 days). About 38% of borrowers are current on their loans, with others in delinquency, forbearance, deferment, or grace periods.

As student loan collections resume, delinquency is a growing concern, leading to late fees, credit score damage, and even wage garnishment.

Administrative wage garnishment is planned to begin later in the summer, with borrowers receiving prior notice as required by the Higher Education Act.

In Florida, several cities rank among the 100 U.S. cities with the highest student loan delinquency rates, based on WalletHub’s proprietary user data from Q3 2024.

Florida Cities: Student Loan Delinquency Rankings

Florida has six cities in WalletHub’s ranking of the 100 U.S. cities with the highest student loan delinquency rates in Q3 2024. Below is a breakdown of their rankings and delinquency rates:

Nationally, New Orleans, LA, tops the list with a 3.04% delinquency rate, while Santa Ana, CA, ranks last at 0.20%.