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Utah is ranked as the best state for student debt, according to personal finance social network WalletHub.
The online aggregator of financial information placed the Beehive State at the top of the 50 states for its relatively low rates of student debt.
The Project on Student Debt reports the average Utah college student has just over $21,500 in school-related debts. About 50 percent of students in Utah have loan debts, compared to 71 percent nationally. U.S. students average $29,400 in student loans.
The worst state for student debt is Rhode Island, where 69 percent of college students have loans averaging just over $31,100.
Utah routinely ranks high for low student debt, but education leaders say those rankings are misleading. The state also has lower graduation rates as students leave school to work rather than take on more student loans.
And tuition at the state's two flagship institutions, the University of Utah and Brigham Young University, is relatively low compared to other colleges around the country.
Utah also ranked third in the nation for its unemployment rate for those 25 to 34 years old, in WalletHub's 2014 "Best and Worst States for Student Debt," and fourth for its low percentage of student loan borrowers over 50.
From 2008 to 2012, the Project on Student Debt reports, student loans at graduation increased an average of 6 percent each year.