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Federal judicial district · FY2024 · AOUSC

District of Massachusetts

According to AOUSC Judicial Caseload Statistics, every Chapter 7, 11, 12, and 13 bankruptcy petition recorded in the District of Massachusetts is covered here.

4,534
Total filings FY2024
Mid-volume district
2,806
Chapter 7
Near national share
1,632
Chapter 13
Near national share
301
Business
Above national share

Data updated September 2026

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The bottom line

The District of Massachusetts recorded 4,534 bankruptcy filings in FY2024, 62% of them Chapter 7 liquidations - up 22.7% from FY2023.

62%
Chapter 7 (liquidation)
36%
Chapter 13 (repayment)
6.6%
business filings
+22.7%
vs FY2023

Fiscal year runs Oct–Sep; all cases here are federal, not state, filings. Not legal advice.

Business-heavy case split, FY2024

AOUSC case-type split of the same 4,534 filings, orthogonal to the chapter mix farther down.

District of Massachusetts: filing volume vs. every federal judicial district

FY2024 total bankruptcy filings, AOUSC Judicial Caseload Statistics

4,534 49th percentile higher than 49% 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. Massachusetts 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 4,534
Total bankruptcy filings in the District of Massachusetts by fiscal year. Source: AOUSC Judicial Caseload Statistics.
Year Total Ch. 7 Ch. 11 Ch. 12 Ch. 13
FY2024 4,534 2,806 94 2 1,632
FY2023 3,695 2,375 72 1 1,242
FY2022 3,429 2,239 63 1 1,126
FY2021 3,489 2,614 88 1 786
FY2020 5,357 3,760 61 5 1,530
FY2019 7,883 4,960 99 9 2,815
FY2018 8,556 5,255 103 9 3,189
FY2017 8,458 5,565 105 11 2,776
FY2016 8,873 6,019 125 11 2,718
FY2015 9,280 6,930 109 12 2,229

Upper-band YoY trend & chapter mix

62%

Chapter 7 share

4,233

Consumer filings

  • Chapter 7 2,806 (62%)
  • Chapter 13 1,632 (36%)
  • Chapter 11 94 (2%)
  • Chapter 12 2 (0%)

How the 4,534 FY2024 filings split across the four bankruptcy chapters.

District of Massachusetts filings rose 22.7% year-over-year, from FY2023 to FY2024.

Unemployment & filings, side by side

With Massachusetts unemployment essentially unchanged (2.9% to 2.9%), the District of Massachusetts's 53.1% 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.

Upper-band YoY rebound

District of Massachusetts's upper-band YoY move

FY2024 filings rose 22.7% vs FY2023 — a sharp year-over-year move for District of Massachusetts.

The District of Massachusetts's decade trend, FY2015-FY2024: filings fell 51.1%, 9.8 points below the national decline of 41.3%.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the FY2024 bankruptcy filing count for the District of Massachusetts?

District of Massachusetts recorded 4,534 bankruptcy filings in FY2024, placing it 45th among the nation's 89 federal districts.

What share of filings in this district are business cases?

Of the District of Massachusetts's FY2024 filings, 301 were business cases and 4,233 were non-business (consumer) cases.

Nationwide districts with similar filing profiles

Two AOUSC peer sets for the District of Massachusetts in FY2024, both outside Massachusetts so the neighborhoods are not state containment . 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 (4,534 here).

Eastern Pennsylvania 4,557 Western Pennsylvania 4,466 South Carolina 4,638 Southern New York 4,654

Similar Chapter 13 share

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

Northern California 37% Ch.13 Hawaii 36% Ch.13 Eastern Kentucky 38% Ch.13 Utah 38% Ch.13

What to do with this

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

  • This district ranks #45 of 89 nationally by FY2024 filing volume - see how every federal district stacks up. National rankings
  • 62% 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
  • District of Massachusetts is one federal district in Massachusetts - see the full state rollup across every district. Massachusetts 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. District of Massachusetts FY2024 profile (#45 of 89 volume · #44 of 89 Ch.13 share · upper-band yoy rebound) retrieved and formatted by PlainBankruptcy.