Research finds a weak causal relationship between student loan debt and homeownership. Still, less access to generational wealth among young Black adults is a root cause of higher student debt burden and a substantial barrier to accessing homeownership. The inability to repay debt, or to build wealth through homeownership, in turn, contributes to…

Racial inequities in higher education and the labor market have led to disparate outcomes in student loan borrowing and repayment by race, with Black borrowers holding more student debt and being more likely to default on it compared with white borrowers. Student loan default, which helps perpetuate the racial wealth gap by disproportionately…