Regret by Age: Who Walks Away Sorriest
The same loan lands very differently at 22 and at 62. The gap is wider than we expected.
- 6 — age groups compared
- 25-34 — highest regret age group
- 45.6 — its regret share, %
- 18-24 — lowest regret age group
- 3.6 — gap between oldest and youngest, points
The numbers
All age bands, averaged across states with at least 20 respondents in the group.
| Age group | Respondents | Would NOT do it again, % | Would do it again, % | Fell into rollovers, % | Median fees paid, $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 1649 | 29.4 | 22.9 | 33.3 | 50 |
| 25-34 | 3635 | 45.6 | 30.4 | 45.1 | 66 |
| 35-44 | 2901 | 37.9 | 29.1 | 40.8 | 63 |
| 45-54 | 2194 | 35.5 | 28.3 | 35.1 | 52 |
| 55-64 | 1196 | 32.7 | 25.3 | 34.5 | 51 |
| 65+ | 472 | 33.0 | 29.0 | 40.6 | 56 |
How we counted
- Age groups are self-reported bands.
- Only state-level groups with at least 20 respondents feed the averages.
Data updated 2026-07-31. Full dataset: data.csv.
Use this research
Free to cite, quote and chart — with attribution. Journalists and researchers are welcome to reuse the table and the dataset.
Citation: Sbloan, “Regret by Age: Who Walks Away Sorriest”, 2026. Available at https://sbloan.net/research/regret-by-age/