Earnest Student Loan Refinance Review 2026

◆ ClearValue platform data

The bigger student-debt market a refinance decision sits inside

Nationally, student loan credit outstanding reached $1.86 trillion student loans in the second quarter of 2026 (non-seasonally adjusted), up 3.08% from a year earlier, per the Federal Reserve's G.19 Consumer Credit release — a different measurement series than the New York Fed's household-debt panel, and one that has shown steadier growth. For a refinance lender like Earnest, that's the pool of debt a refi product is competing to capture: a federal loan a borrower refinances into a private Earnest loan permanently leaves the federal system and its income-driven and forgiveness options behind.

Delinquency is moving the other direction: the share of student debt transitioning into serious delinquency fell to 7.83% in Q2 2026, down sharply from 12.88% a year earlier, according to the New York Fed's Household Debt and Credit Report — a sign the return of standard federal repayment and income-driven plans has been catching borrowers up after the 2024 restart. Auto debt, the other half of the Fed's "nonrevolving" credit category, grew far more slowly over the same period — just 0.69% auto loans year-over-year in the same G.19 release — a reminder that student debt is currently the faster-growing side of that category, part of the macro backdrop behind continued refinance demand.

Primary sources: Federal Reserve — Consumer Credit (G.19), Q2 2026 · Federal Reserve Bank of New York — Household Debt and Credit Report, Q2 2026

National aggregates from the Federal Reserve's G.19 release and the New York Fed's Household Debt and Credit Report, not an Earnest-specific quote — your own refinance rate depends on your credit profile and income. Verify current terms at earnest.com.