Although New England has the lowest student loan default rate of any region in the country, low-income, first-generation, and minority students struggle disproportionately to repay their debt, according to a new report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

The report, released Monday, tells two stories about New England: one of the many successful students who graduate from top colleges and earn healthy salaries, and another of a lesser-known group of poor students for whom even a small amount of debt can be disastrous.

More than one in four people from disadvantaged backgrounds or an underrepresented population become severely delinquent on their student loans, the report found. The majority of the region’s borrowers owe less than $25,000. But those with the lowest amount of debt have the highest rate of delinquency.

“When you break it down, you get a more interesting story,’’ said Robert Clifford, the author of the study.

The 25-page report recommends that colleges do more to educate students about the risks of borrowing and suggests that states slow tuition growth at public colleges as much as possible.

The student loan default rate in New England is 7.4 percent, below the national average of 11.7 percent. Most federal loans are considered in default when a payment has been missed for 270 days.

Over the past decade, the number of people with student loans has increased sharply, as has the average amount owed by each borrower. Between 2005 and 2015, the amount of debt held by borrowers in New England rose 3.1 percent, to $27,400, compared to the national average of $27,500.

The report gives several explanations for why the region’s default rate is so low. It could be because New England has a large concentration of borrowers who attended private, four-year colleges, whose students typically come from more affluent families and get good jobs when they graduate. The low rate could also be because of the region’s better job market for people with college degrees, the report said.

But even with its overall low default rate, New England faces the same challenges as the rest of the country when it comes to low-income, minority, and first-generation students.

Those students often come from poorer neighborhoods and may return to those neighborhoods after graduation, consequently facing lower-wage job prospects. Also, such students could have less access to well-connected people and networks that can help them get jobs, the report said.

In addition, families of these students are often less able to help students repay their loans if they struggle to find a job.

The report also found that community college students and those who attend for-profit schools in New England default at rates higher than the regional average, around 10 percent. Many community college students drop out before earning a degree but still must repay their debt.

“They’re basically in the same spot they were before in terms of wage prospects, and their ability to pay that debt is greatly diminished,’’ Clifford said.

Despite this window into overdue debt, there is still much that analysts don’t know about how college financing cripples families.

The loans analyzed in the Federal Reserve report are those issued by the federal government.

There is no way to measure how many students take out private loans or how many parents have taken out loans, said Kevin Fudge, director of consumer advocacy and ombudsman at American Student Assistance, a Boston non-profit that helps educate students about financing college.

Many middle-class families don’t qualify for loans available to low-income students but also can’t pay the hefty tuitions that colleges charge, he said.

“The people in the middle are definitely feeling the pinch, as well, and it’s not captured in reports like this,’’ Fudge said.

Financial education should be available not only to students but to high school guidance counselors who help students apply and decide where to attend, he said.

The Fed report mentions two states that have tried to better-educate their students about borrowing.

Public colleges in Indiana and Nebraska have implemented policies to explain financial aid offers to students in a simpler document that includes the terms of their loans and expected monthly payments after graduation, the report said. It recommended that practice be adopted in New England.

Laura Krantz can be reached at laura.krantz@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @laurakrantz.