Watch America’s student-loan debt grow $2,726 every second

Marketwatch reports:

It’s not uncommon to hear that the growth in student loan debt is like a time bomb threatening to blow up the U.S. economy. Now, you can watch it tick.

The outstanding balance of the nation’s student loans is growing by an estimated $2,726.27 every second according to the clock above developed for MarketWatch by StartClass, an education data site. As policymakers and pundits debate ways to tackle Americans’ $1.2 trillion in student loan debt, this student-loan debt clock provides a window into the growing risks to the economy as well as to student loan borrowers and their families.

The good news is that the debt is growing at a slightly slower rate than when StartClass first made the calculation for us several months ago. When the clock only included data up until the first quarter of 2015, student debt was rising by $3,055 every second. Now with second quarter 2015 data factored in, the debt is growing by about $328 less per second.


Still, Skyrocketing college costs, cuts to public funding for higher education, stagnant incomes and the growth in the college-going population are largely to blame for the uptick in outstanding student loans over the past decade. Now, about 40 million Americans are carrying some student loans and about 70% of students graduate college with debt.

This is what progressives call "investing".