 The debt for students in the United States rose from $17,233 in 2005 to $27,253 in 2012.Some blame the economy for the debt increases, but in the same 7-year period credit card debt and auto debt have decreased.According to the American Center for Progress' report on the Student Debt Crisis, within the past three decades the cost of attaining a college degree has drastically increased by more than 1,000 percent.