According to the Federal Reserve Board’s Survey of Consumer Finances 2016 SCF Chartbook, between 1989 and 2016, the average balance of an educational installment loan ballooned, increasing by 239%. Over that same period of time, the average value of vehicle loans per family has increased only 24% and the average balance of credit card debt increased by 63%.
To younger readers, it might seem expected that student loan balances would average approximately twice that of vehicle loans, but that wasn’t always the case. Prior to the mid-nineties, the average student loan debt was less than the average vehicle loan.