Agreed, comparing a median to a total is misleading. Even if it were an average-to-average comparison, it would not tell the entire story. There are more factors that determine one's debt situation in addition to money owned and money made. A much more telling graph would be monthly student loan payment -- at the prevailing interest rate and terms -- to disposable income. I imagine it would still be showing a worrying trend but, likely, not as bad as the original graph.