States ›Alabama › Northern District of Alabama

Federal judicial district · FY2024 · AOUSC

Northern District of Alabama

According to AOUSC Judicial Caseload Statistics, federal bankruptcy filing counts for the Northern District of Alabama cover Chapters 7, 11, 12, and 13.

9,708
Total filings FY2024
High-volume district
3,878
Chapter 7
Below national share
5,792
Chapter 13
Above national share
138
Business
Below national share

Data updated September 2026

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The bottom line

FY2024 closed with 9,708 filings in the Northern District of Alabama, 40% Chapter 7, up 10.6% on FY2023.

40%
Chapter 7 (liquidation)
60%
Chapter 13 (repayment)
1.4%
business filings
+10.6%
vs FY2023

Counted by federal fiscal year (Oct–Sep); every case here is filed in federal, not state, court. Not legal advice.

Consumer-dominated case split, FY2024

AOUSC case-type split of the same 9,708 filings, orthogonal to the chapter mix farther down.

Northern District of Alabama: filing volume vs. every federal judicial district

FY2024 total bankruptcy filings, AOUSC Judicial Caseload Statistics

9,708 Top 18% higher than 82% of 89 federal judicial districts

0–1,500: 17 federal judicial districts (19%). Below this entry. 1,500–3,000: 14 federal judicial districts (16%). Below this entry. 3,000–4,500: 13 federal judicial districts (15%). Below this entry. 4,500–6,000: 14 federal judicial districts (16%). Below this entry. 6,000–7,500: 10 federal judicial districts (11%). Below this entry. 7,500–9,000: 4 federal judicial districts (4%). Below this entry. 9,000–10,500: 5 federal judicial districts (6%). This entry sits in this band. 10,500–12,000: 4 federal judicial districts (4%). Above this entry. 12,000–13,500: 2 federal judicial districts (2%). Above this entry. 13,500–15,000: 1 federal judicial districts (1%). Above this entry. 15,000–16,500: 5 federal judicial districts (6%). Above this entry. Northern Alabama 0 16,500 every federal judicial district, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more federal judicial districts. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source AOUSC Judicial Caseload Statistics · FY2024

Heavy-volume filing history (#16 of 89)

6,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,000 FY15FY16FY17FY18FY19FY20FY21FY22FY23FY24 9,708
Total bankruptcy filings in the Northern District of Alabama by fiscal year. Source: AOUSC Judicial Caseload Statistics.
Year Total Ch. 7 Ch. 11 Ch. 12 Ch. 13
FY2024 9,708 3,878 35 3 5,792
FY2023 8,779 3,253 30 0 5,496
FY2022 8,149 3,252 20 4 4,873
FY2021 7,825 4,118 17 6 3,684
FY2020 10,904 5,766 51 2 5,084
FY2019 13,665 6,235 49 2 7,379
FY2018 13,434 6,330 28 3 7,073
FY2017 14,082 6,645 34 7 7,396
FY2016 13,618 6,600 26 1 6,991
FY2015 12,986 6,379 61 1 6,545

Upper-band YoY trend & chapter mix

40%

Chapter 7 share

9,570

Consumer filings

  • Chapter 7 3,878 (40%)
  • Chapter 13 5,792 (60%)
  • Chapter 11 35 (0%)
  • Chapter 12 3 (0%)

How the 9,708 FY2024 filings split across the four bankruptcy chapters.

From FY2023 to FY2024, the Northern District of Alabama's filing volume went up 10.6%.

Unemployment & filings, side by side

With Alabama unemployment essentially unchanged (3.2% to 3.2%), the Northern District of Alabama's 35.8% filing decline over FY2019-FY2023 points to a driver other than the labor market.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics state unemployment rate, annual average; AOUSC filing counts by fiscal year. A comparison, not a claim of cause.

Heavy-third district caseload

Northern District of Alabama in the heavy-volume third

9,708 FY2024 filings put Northern District of Alabama in the heaviest third of federal districts.

Between FY2015 and FY2024, the Northern District of Alabama's filing count fell 25.2%, 16.1 points above the national decline of 41.3%.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the FY2024 bankruptcy filing count for the Northern District of Alabama?

The Northern District of Alabama had 9,708 bankruptcy filings in FY2024, the #16 busiest of the 89 federal districts by filing volume.

What share of filings in this district are business cases?

Of the Northern District of Alabama's FY2024 filings, 138 were business cases and 9,570 were non-business (consumer) cases.

Nationwide peers of a heavy-volume district

Two AOUSC peer sets for this heavy-volume Northern District of Alabama book in FY2024, both outside Alabama (same-state courts stay in Other districts below). Volume peers are nearest other-state districts by total filings; Chapter 13 peers are nearest by Ch.13 share of Chapter 7 plus 13 filings.

Similar filing volume

Nearest other-state districts by FY2024 total filings (9,708 here).

Southern Indiana 9,643 Eastern California 10,168 Northern Texas 10,294 Eastern New York 10,432

Similar Chapter 13 share

Nearest other-state districts by Chapter 13 share of Chapter 7 plus 13 filings.

Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas 60% Ch.13 Western North Carolina 57% Ch.13 Western Kentucky 56% Ch.13 Middle North Carolina 55% Ch.13

What to do with this

Northern District of Alabama's own numbers, then where to compare them.

  • This district ranks #16 of 89 nationally by FY2024 filing volume - see how every federal district stacks up. National rankings
  • 40% of FY2024 filings here were Chapter 7 liquidations, not Chapter 13 repayment plans - the guide breaks down what separates the two. Chapter 7 vs Chapter 13
  • Northern District of Alabama is one federal district in Alabama - see the full state rollup across every district. Alabama overview

Figures are Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AOUSC) Judicial Caseload Statistics FY2024 filings - see the methodology page for how districts and chapters are defined.

Data sourced from Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AOUSC) Judicial Caseload Statistics. See our methodology for details. Northern District of Alabama FY2024 profile (#16 of 89 volume · #12 of 89 Ch.13 share · heavy-third district caseload) retrieved and formatted by PlainBankruptcy.