Young adults with student loans may carry more debt than those who didn't borrow for college, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center's Social and Demographic Trends.

The study, released Wednesday, May 14, discovered that four in 10 U.S. households headed by an adult younger than 40, currently have some student debt. In addition, those with student debt lag behind in wealth accumulation. "Young adults with student loans are behind in building their nest eggs," Richard Fry, senior economist for Pew Research told the Boston Herald.  

Researchers revealed that college educated adults without student debt have seven times the median net worth (64,700) of adults without college debt ($8,700), creating a wealth gap among millennials. The gap even extends to young adults without a college degree. According to the study, those without student debt who are not college educated have almost nine times as much wealth as student debtors with a college education (10,900 vs 1,200). 

However, outstanding student loans is just one side of the story. Student debtors tend to owe relatively large amounts of other debt such as vehicle, mortgage and credit card loans and carry an overall debt load ($137,010), twice the amount of those without student debt ($73,250). Despite the gloomy statistics, the study does point out that having a bachelor's degree pays off in other ways. For example, the typical household income of college educated student debtors is $57, 941, nearly twice the amount of those who don't have a college degree ($32,528).  

College debt crisis 

Since college education is becoming more expensive and interest rates continue to increase for student loans, the national amount of student debt has reached more than $1 trillion dollars, surpassing auto loan and credit card debt. The average amount of college debt per student is $29,000.  Those particularly in the middle and lower middle class are being hit hard and it doesn't help that nationwide budget cuts include educational funding.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, states spent $2,353 or 28 percent less per student on higher education in 2013. As a result, college and universities generally raise tuition to cover the gap. 

"While a higher education remains the clearest path into the middle class, more of our graduates and middle class families are burdened by student loans and are struggling to repay a higher amount of debt than ever before," U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand told Silive.com