Utah has the least amount of student debt, new report says

FILE- In this May 17, 2018, file photo, new graduates line up before the start of the Bergen Community College commencement at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Obtaining a college degree has increasingly coincided with ever-higher student debt loads. Since 2004, total student debt has climbed more than 540 percent to $1.4 trillion, according to the New York Federal Reserve. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is the state with the least amount of student debt, according to a new WalletHub report.

The report found that Utah ranked 50th for both average student debt and proportion of students with debt. The Beehive State also ranked 44th for student debt as a percentage of income and 39th for unemployment rate among those ages 25 to 34.

Utah ranked 45th for percent of student loans past due and percent of student loan borrowers who were over 50 years old.

Finally, the Beehive State ranked 15th in the nation for paid internships and 47th in grant growth.

Source: WalletHubThe top five states with the least amount of student debt are Utah, Hawaii, Wyoming, California and Washington.

South Dakota ranked as the state with the most student debt, followed by West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Ohio.

WalletHub determined its ranking by comparing all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 11 metrics. The data ranged across average student debt to the unemployment rate for millennials, among other metrics.

Utah had the lowest average student debt at $19,975, which is about 1.8 times lower than New Hampshire, which had the highest at $36,367.

A 2016 report from the Project on Student Debt announced Utah had the lowest average student debt in the country at $18,873. Only 41 percent of college students take out student loans, which is also the lowest in the country.