Trump admin will start garnishing the wages of thousands of KS residents this month
If you are behind on your student loan payments, you may notice smaller paychecks beginning this year.
That’s because President Donald Trump’s administration has announced it will begin garnishing the paychecks of student loan borrowers who have defaulted on their loans. A student loan is considered in default when the borrower has not made a payment in at least 270 days.
The administration will send wage garnishment notices to 1,000 defaulted student loan borrowers this week, and the number will continue to increase every month, the U.S. Department of Education confirmed to NPR this week. This is the first time collections on student loans have proceeded made since the pandemic in 2020.
So, what exactly is wage garnishment? And how many Kansans could be affected? Here’s what to know.
What is wage garnishment?
If a student loan is in default, the unpaid debt can be collected by withholding tax refunds, federal payments and even money from your paycheck — called wage garnishment.
The companies that own the debt can make employers withhold up to 15% of the borrower’s paycheck to collect payments without having to take the borrower to court. Notices must be sent out 30 days prior to wage garnishment, and borrowers have a right to file for a hearing if they reject the action, studentaid.gov says.
A borrower can call for a hearing if they believe withholding 15% of their pay could lead to financial hardship, if they object to the debt’s existence, amount or the enforceability, or if the borrower has been employed for less than 12 months. A request for a hearing should be made within 30 days of receiving the garnishment notice in the mail.
The Department of Education instructs borrowers to contact their loan carrier for specific details on requesting a hearing. Those proceedings can be held in person in Atlanta, Chicago or San Francisco, over the phone or through documents submitted in the case. A decision on the hearing would be made within 60 days.
How many Kansans have unpaid student loans?
According to the Education Data Initiative, there are currently about 384,700 Kansas residents who have student loan debt. The state has a total of $12.7 billion in student loan debt, and the average student loan debt per person is at $33,031.
Looking more closely, the Education Data Initiative shows 22% of borrowers owe $20,000 to $40,000, while 1.59% owe more than $200,000. Thirteen percent of Kansas’ population has student loan debt, and 49.8% of borrowers in the state are younger than 35.
According to university planning site CollegeRaptor, Rasmussen University-Kansas in Topeka higher education institution with the highest rate of students defaulting on their loans within two years of graduation. Manhattan Christian College is the college with the lowest rate of students defaulting.
The five Kansas colleges with the highest student loan default rate are, according to CollegeRaptor:
- Rasmussen University-Kansas
- Bethany College (Lindsborg)
- Washburn University (Topeka)
- Kansas Wesleyan University (Salina)
- Central Christian College of Kansas (McPherson)
CORRECTION: This article was updated Jan. 12 to correct a reporting error to the universities with the highest two-year rate of loan default.
This story was originally published January 9, 2026 at 10:30 AM.
