If you're struggling under a load of student loans, you already know it's tough making ends meet.
So when you get out of school to begin your career, you need to think about the best places to do that — the states where you'll not only stand the best chances of finding a decent-paying job, but also of having enough money left after paying your other expenses to winnow down that debt.
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It helps too, though, to have opportunities to work and to receive grants while you're still in school, so that you're not so far in the hole when you finally hit graduation day.
WalletHub has looked at all these factors and more, comparing the 50 states and the District of Columbia for two categories: Student-loan indebtedness and grant and work opportunities for students. Within each of these categories they used nine different metrics, weighting them according to how much influence they have on the final result.
In student-loan indebtedness, the metrics were average student debt; proportion of students with debt; student debt as a percentage of income; percentage of student loans in past-due or default status; and percentage of student-loan borrowers aged 50 and older.
In the grant and work opportunities category, the metrics were the unemployment rate for people aged 25–34; the availability of student jobs; the availability of paid internships; and the availability of grants.
Once all the figures were in, WalletHub scored all 51 geographic areas. Where a graduate chooses to remain, it said, is just one of the factors that can contribute to success not just in paying off student loans, but in succeeding after college.
Related: 10 best states for student loan debt
Student-loan borrowers, it said, generally fare better in strong-economy states with low college-debt-to-income ratios.
Below are the 10 worst states for student loan debt:
The Ohio State University is located in a state that ranks low in grant and work opportunities for students. (Photo: Getty)
10. Ohio
Pity poor Ohio. It came in 43rd in the student-loan indebtedness ranking, and only 20th in grant and work opportunities for students.
It also didn't do very well when considering its home ownership ranking for people between the ages of 25–34, coming in at 27th place.
Despite its band members' enthusiastic drumming, Mississippi State University is located in a state with a depressing second-highest ranking for percentage of student-loan balances past due or in default. (AP Photo)
9. Mississippi
Mississippi ranked 40th in student-loan indebtedness and 34th in grant and work opportunities for students.
What's even more depressing is its second-highest ranking for the percentage of student-loan balances past due or in default.
Dartmouth College's home is in New Hampshire, which has the third-highest proportion of students with debt. (Photo: Getty)
8. New Hampshire
Talk about dismal. New Hampshire scored 47th on student-loan indebtedness.
Grant and work opportunities for students? Quite a bit better, actually, at eighth place, and it did well on having the fourth-lowest unemployment rate for people aged 25-34 — but students obviously need more than that, because the state also has the fourth-highest average student loan debt in the country.
Add to that the fact that New Hampshire also has the third-highest proportion of students with debt and the third-highest percentage of student-loan borrowers aged 50 and older, it's not a pretty sight.
The College of Charleston is located in South Carolina, a state that ranked 42nd for grant and work opportunities for students. (Photo: Getty)
7. South Carolina
South Carolina may be a great place for a vacation, but to launch a college career? Maybe not so much, with its ranking of 44th for student-loan indebtedness and 42nd for grant and work opportunities for students.
The state also has the fourth-highest student debt as a percentage of income, when adjusted for inflation.
The University of Vermont's buildings add to the beauty of Burlington's skyline above Lake Champlain. Vermont ranks 48th for student loan indebtedness. (Photo: Getty)
6. Vermont
Vermont is a mixed bag, but the mix isn't a beneficial one. It ranks 48th for student-loan indebtedness, but fourth for grant and work opportunities for students.
It also ranks dead last — 51st — for the highest percentage of student-loan borrowers aged 50 and older, yet has the lowest percentage in the country of student-loan balances past due or in default. Go figure.
Pennsylvania State University is located in a state that has the fifth-highest average student loan debt. (Photo: Getty)
5. Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania ranks 45th for student-loan indebtedness.
And despite its 29th place for grant and work opportunities for students, the state has the fifth-highest average student loan debt and is tied with Minnesota and Wisconsin for the seventh-highest proportion of students with debt.
Maine's grant and work opportunities for students rank 40th in the nation, although the beauty of the University of Maine's campus might make one forget that fact. (Photo: Getty)
4. Maine
Maine ranks 46th for student-loan indebtedness, and 40th for grant and work opportunities for students.
Yet its home ownership ranking for people between the ages of 25–34 is relatively decent, at 16th place.
The University of Oregon Ducks football team has played (and won) at the Rose Bowl, where the school's band marched in the Rose Parade, although the state is not a winner when it comes to student-loan indebtedness. (AP Photo)
3. Oregon
Oregon is in 50th place when it comes to student-loan indebtedness, although it does quite a bit better on grant and work opportunities for students, coming in at 15th place.
But when it comes to student debt as a percentage of income, adjusted for cost of living, poor Oregon places second highest in the country.
West Virginia University is located in a state with the highest percentage of student-loan balances past due or in default. (Photo: Getty)
2. West Virginia
Student-loan indebtedness in West Virginia comes in at 49th in the nation, with grant and work opportunities for students doing even worse at 50th place.
The state also has the highest percentage of student-loan balances past due or in default, and is tied with New Mexico and North Carolina for the fifth-highest unemployment rate for people aged 25–34.
Though known for its excellent universities, such as Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., has the worst ranking for student-loan indebtedness. (Photo: Getty)
1. District of Columbia
The nation's capital ranks dead last when it comes to student-loan indebtedness, although grant and work opportunities for students finished at a respectable sixth place.
But D.C. also has the highest student debt as a percentage of income in the country, when adjusted for inflation. And when it comes to home ownership for people between the ages of 25–34, it comes in at the very bottom.
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