States with the Lowest Bankruptcy Filing Rate
All 50 states and DC ranked by lowest bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents — where financial distress is least concentrated.
What This Ranking Tells Us
States with the lowest bankruptcy filing rates have fewer residents turning to federal bankruptcy courts for debt relief. Low rates can indicate stronger economic fundamentals — higher incomes, lower debt burdens, and more robust social safety nets. However, they may also reflect restrictive state exemptions that make bankruptcy less beneficial, cultural stigma against filing, or limited access to bankruptcy attorneys in rural areas. Northeastern states with higher incomes and Western states with strong economies typically rank lowest.
| # | State | Per 100K |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Dakota | 89.3 |
| 2 | North Dakota | 104.7 |
| 3 | Connecticut | 106.2 |
| 4 | District of Columbia | 109.3 |
| 5 | Massachusetts | 111.7 |
| 6 | Montana | 126.6 |
| 7 | Texas | 129.2 |
| 8 | Rhode Island | 129.7 |
| 9 | New Hampshire | 129.9 |
| 10 | Maine | 134.9 |
| 11 | New York | 135.0 |
| 12 | Pennsylvania | 142.1 |
| 13 | Vermont | 142.2 |
| 14 | Wisconsin | 142.5 |
| 15 | Washington | 146.2 |
| 16 | Minnesota | 146.8 |
| 17 | Idaho | 149.7 |
| 18 | Iowa | 150.3 |
| 19 | Virginia | 154.0 |
| 20 | Colorado | 157.2 |
| 21 | North Carolina | 157.2 |
| 22 | Wyoming | 157.7 |
| 23 | California | 162.3 |
| 24 | Maryland | 165.7 |
| 25 | Alaska | 169.4 |
| 26 | New Jersey | 172.8 |
| 27 | Nebraska | 172.9 |
| 28 | Michigan | 173.6 |
| 29 | Florida | 173.7 |
| 30 | Illinois | 174.0 |
| 31 | South Carolina | 175.3 |
| 32 | New Mexico | 181.7 |
| 33 | Ohio | 181.8 |
| 34 | West Virginia | 182.6 |
| 35 | Delaware | 183.3 |
| 36 | Missouri | 184.3 |
| 37 | Oregon | 184.7 |
| 38 | Arkansas | 190.4 |
| 39 | Kansas | 191.1 |
| 40 | Indiana | 193.0 |
| 41 | Kentucky | 197.1 |
| 42 | Hawaii | 198.0 |
| 43 | Arizona | 199.5 |
| 44 | Utah | 217.1 |
| 45 | Oklahoma | 232.4 |
| 46 | Louisiana | 249.7 |
| 47 | Mississippi | 283.1 |
| 48 | Tennessee | 306.5 |
| 49 | Nevada | 308.1 |
| 50 | Georgia | 315.7 |
| 51 | Alabama | 329.7 |
Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AOUSC), Judicial Caseload Statistics.
What This Ranking Actually Shows
This ranking covers 51 jurisdictions with per 100k values sourced from AOUSC Judicial Caseload Statistics. The leading state, South Dakota, posts 89.3, while the trailing state, Alabama, posts 329.7 — a spread of -240.4 points and a ratio of roughly 0.3x between the extremes. The median jurisdiction sits near 172.8, giving a quick sense of where a "typical" state falls versus the leaders and laggards.
The top of this list (South Dakota, North Dakota, Connecticut) and the bottom of this list (Alabama, Georgia, Nevada) are not close substitutes for one another. States with the lowest bankruptcy filing rates have fewer residents turning to federal bankruptcy courts for debt relief. Low rates can indicate stronger economic fundamentals — higher incomes, lower debt burdens, and more robust social safety nets. However, they may also reflect restrictive state exemptions that make bankruptcy less beneficial, cultural stigma against filing, or limited access to bankruptcy attorneys in rural areas. Northeastern states with higher incomes and Western states with strong economies typically rank lowest. Differences this large between neighboring states usually reflect structural legal and economic factors — exemption laws, attorney fee conventions, local trustee practices, means-test thresholds tied to state median income, and creditor recovery norms — rather than short-term swings in consumer behavior. Some of these factors change slowly (state statutes), while others shift year to year (median-income thresholds, interest rates).
Rankings describe aggregate populations of court filings across a full fiscal year; they do not predict the result of any single case nor determine whether bankruptcy is the right choice for any individual. A state's position on this list tells you something about the local filing environment, but it does not replace a case-specific analysis of income, assets, secured debt, exemptions, and alternative remedies. This page is statistical information only and is not legal advice; anyone weighing a bankruptcy filing should consult a licensed bankruptcy attorney admitted to practice in the relevant judicial district.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a low filing rate mean people have less debt?
Not necessarily. A low filing rate means fewer people choose bankruptcy as a solution. Some states with low filing rates have high costs of living and significant household debt, but residents use alternatives like debt consolidation, negotiation, or simply endure financial hardship without filing. Cultural factors, attorney availability, and state exemption laws all influence whether struggling debtors actually file.
Which factors keep bankruptcy rates low?
Common factors include higher median household incomes, lower unemployment rates, state exemption laws that make bankruptcy less beneficial (especially for homeowners), smaller populations with fewer bankruptcy attorneys per capita, and cultural or community norms that discourage filing. States with strong economies and diverse industry bases tend to have more financial stability and fewer filings.
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Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.