The inordinate expense of living in New York City is not exactly news to anyone. 

Everyone knows real estate is absurdly expensive, transportation is generally perceived as overpriced and inefficient, making it actually cost more-- and let's not forget the price of a pack of cigarettes. 

But have you ever wondered which neighborhoods in the City have the highest student loan balances, or which neighborhoods default the most on those loans? 

It turns out that the City's most affluent neighborhoods also have the highest student loan balances, but they also have the lowest rate of defaulting on those loans. 

Unfortunately, the flip side is also true. 

While New York's lower-income neighborhoods have lower student loan balances on average, they also see the highest rates of loan defaulting. 

The data comes from Mapping Student Debt, which collected such data for the entire country and put it in one easy-to-understand place.  

It's not so difficult to imagine that those living in richer neighborhoods have more student debt as the education that debt has bought generally results in higher paying jobs. 

However, that financial security allows individuals with higher income to regularly make loan payments.

Outer borough residents who generally make less money have less student debt on average, but are less likely to manage affording the regular payments.

Most of the information accrued to create this interactive map is credit reporting data from Experian and income statistics from the American Community Survey. Of course, it goes without saying that there is far too much student debt, generally speaking.

Check out Which NYC Neighborhood Has the Worst Rat Problem. 

[via Mapping Student Debt] [Feature Image Courtesy Reuters]