As they accept their hard-earned college diplomas this spring, Pennsylvania college graduates can know they are in the top five of the nation’s college grads in one dubious category: the amount of college debt they are carrying.

According to the Washington Post, Pennsylvania’s newly minted grads trail only Delaware’s and New Hampshire’s college graduates in the total amount of college loan balance they are taking into the workforce.

Here’s are the top five states ranked by the average college debt graduates carry on graduation day:

• Delaware . . . . . . . $33,649
• New Hampshire . . $32,698
• Pennsylvania. . . . $31,675
• Minnesota . . . . . . $31,497
• Rhode Island . . . . $31,156

Across the United States the average college debt balance in 2013 was $20,926.

The high debt load carried by college grads not only make it harder for young people to manage their bills and maintain reputable credit scores, but according to a new Federal Reserve Bank of New York report quoted in the Washington Post yesterday, the high level of debt carried by 27 to 30 year-olds may be dampening the cohorts home buying ability as well:

“The Fed’s data shows that after home ownership rates fell for all groups during the financial crisis, 2012 was the first year in which young people with student debt had lower home ownership rates than people without student debt. In the nine years prior, going back to 2003, student loan borrowers enjoyed higher home ownership rates, a trait researchers attributed to the idea that people with student loan debt likely have higher levels of education and presumably higher earning potential.

“But these days, student debt is looking more like a burden than a sign of privilege. For a generation of young workers facing a tougher job market and lower earnings potential than previous generations, student loan debt is one more financial burden. “

The entire Washington Post story on college debt and home buying here.

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