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Federal judicial district · FY2024 · AOUSC

Southern District of California

According to AOUSC Judicial Caseload Statistics, the Southern District of California recorded every Chapter 7, 11, 12, and 13 petition filed in the district.

4,938
Total filings FY2024
Mid-volume district
4,255
Chapter 7
Above national share
637
Chapter 13
Below national share
256
Business
Near national share

Data updated September 2026

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The bottom line

The Southern District of California recorded 4,938 bankruptcy filings in FY2024, 86% of them Chapter 7 liquidations - up 27.9% from FY2023.

86%
Chapter 7 (liquidation)
13%
Chapter 13 (repayment)
5.2%
business filings
+27.9%
vs FY2023

Filed in federal, not state, court; counted by fiscal year (Oct–Sep). Not legal advice.

Consumer vs business filings, FY2024

AOUSC case-type split of the same 4,938 filings, orthogonal to the chapter mix farther down.

Southern District of California: filing volume vs. every federal judicial district

FY2024 total bankruptcy filings, AOUSC Judicial Caseload Statistics

4,938 Top 45% higher than 55% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 6,000–7,500: 10 federal judicial districts (11%). Above this entry. 7,500–9,000: 4 federal judicial districts (4%). Above this entry. 9,000–10,500: 5 federal judicial districts (6%). Above this entry. 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. Southern California 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

Filing history, FY series

2,0004,0006,0008,00010,000 FY15FY16FY17FY18FY19FY20FY21FY22FY23FY24 4,938
Total bankruptcy filings in the Southern District of California by fiscal year. Source: AOUSC Judicial Caseload Statistics.
Year Total Ch. 7 Ch. 11 Ch. 12 Ch. 13
FY2024 4,938 4,255 46 0 637
FY2023 3,860 3,311 19 0 530
FY2022 3,628 3,126 26 0 476
FY2021 5,338 4,870 25 3 440
FY2020 7,002 6,086 26 0 890
FY2019 7,995 6,484 48 1 1,462
FY2018 7,990 6,456 32 0 1,502
FY2017 8,201 6,519 43 2 1,637
FY2016 8,263 6,404 38 1 1,820
FY2015 8,889 6,982 30 1 1,876

Upper-band YoY trend & chapter mix

86%

Chapter 7 share

4,682

Consumer filings

  • Chapter 7 4,255 (86%)
  • Chapter 13 637 (13%)
  • Chapter 11 46 (1%)

How the 4,938 FY2024 filings split across the four bankruptcy chapters.

Southern District of California filings rose 27.9% year-over-year, from FY2023 to FY2024.

Unemployment & filings, side by side

California's unemployment rate barely moved (5.1% in 2019 to 5.1% in 2023), while filings in the Southern District of California fell 51.7% over the comparable span, FY2019-FY2023 — a mover unemployment alone does not explain.

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.

Upper-band YoY rebound

Southern District of California's Chapter 7-heavy mix

FY2024 filings rose 27.9% vs FY2023 — a sharp year-over-year move for Southern District of California.

Over FY2015–FY2024, filings in the Southern District of California fell 44.4%, 3.1 points below the national decline of 41.3% over the same span.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many bankruptcy cases were filed in the Southern District of California in FY2024?

Southern District of California recorded 4,938 bankruptcy filings in FY2024, placing it 40th among the nation's 89 federal districts.

What share of filings in this district are business cases?

Of the Southern District of California's FY2024 filings, 256 were business cases and 4,682 were non-business (consumer) cases.

Nationwide districts with similar filing profiles

Two AOUSC peer sets for the Southern District of California in FY2024, both outside California so the neighborhoods are not state containment (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 (4,938 here).

Eastern Texas 5,003 Middle Tennessee 5,004 Southern Mississippi 4,820 Eastern Kentucky 5,160

Similar Chapter 13 share

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

Wyoming 13% Ch.13 New Mexico 14% Ch.13 Idaho 12% Ch.13 Montana 14% Ch.13

What to do with this

Southern District of California's own numbers, then where to compare them.

  • This district ranks #40 of 89 nationally by FY2024 filing volume - see how every federal district stacks up. National rankings
  • 86% 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
  • Southern District of California is one federal district in California - see the full state rollup across every district. California 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. Southern District of California FY2024 profile (#40 of 89 volume · #84 of 89 Ch.13 share · upper-band yoy rebound) retrieved and formatted by PlainBankruptcy.