A Wall Street Journal analysis of Education Department data found that not only do alumni at HBCUs take on 32% more debt than graduates at other public or nonprofit four-year schools, the majority of graduates haven't paid any debt in the first few years out of school.
While HBCUs make up just 5% of four-year American colleges, they make up "50% of the 100 schools with the lowest three-year student-loan repayment rates," the Journal found. The discrepancy could be because black families already have less wealth compared to other racial groups.
HBCUs are typically more affordable than other institutions, according to Student Loan Hero. Spelman College, the most expensive HBCU as of January 2019, costs $28,181 in tuition, several thousand dollars less than the national average of $32,410 for private four-year colleges.