FY2015 Bankruptcy Filings
844,495 total filings nationwide
Statistical information only — not legal advice. Consult a bankruptcy attorney for guidance on your specific situation.
844,495
Total
100.0% of total
573,203
Chapter 7
67.9% of total
258,697
Chapter 13
30.6% of total
7,563
Chapter 11
0.9% of total
683
Chapter 12
0.1% of total
31,869
Business
3.8% of total
States by Total Filings — FY2015
| Rank | State | Total Filings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 110,047 |
| 2 | Texas | 68,593 |
| 3 | Florida | 68,354 |
| 4 | Georgia | 60,589 |
| 5 | New York | 45,973 |
| 6 | Illinois | 38,005 |
| 7 | Tennessee | 38,005 |
| 8 | Ohio | 37,273 |
| 9 | Pennsylvania | 32,053 |
| 10 | Michigan | 30,313 |
| 11 | Alabama | 29,305 |
| 12 | North Carolina | 29,269 |
| 13 | New Jersey | 28,573 |
| 14 | Arizona | 25,792 |
| 15 | Virginia | 23,353 |
| 16 | Indiana | 23,039 |
| 17 | Louisiana | 19,873 |
| 18 | Missouri | 19,873 |
| 19 | Washington | 19,873 |
| 20 | Maryland | 17,819 |
| 21 | Nevada | 17,123 |
| 22 | Oklahoma | 16,393 |
| 23 | South Carolina | 16,393 |
| 24 | Colorado | 16,079 |
| 25 | Kentucky | 15,523 |
| 26 | Minnesota | 14,653 |
| 27 | Wisconsin | 14,653 |
| 28 | Mississippi | 14,479 |
| 29 | Massachusetts | 13,609 |
| 30 | Oregon | 13,609 |
| 31 | Utah | 12,913 |
| 32 | Arkansas | 10,163 |
| 33 | Kansas | 9,781 |
| 34 | Iowa | 8,389 |
| 35 | Connecticut | 6,685 |
| 36 | New Mexico | 6,683 |
| 37 | Nebraska | 5,953 |
| 38 | West Virginia | 5,639 |
| 39 | Idaho | 5,117 |
| 40 | Hawaii | 4,943 |
| 41 | Maine | 3,292 |
| 42 | Delaware | 3,290 |
| 43 | New Hampshire | 3,169 |
| 44 | Montana | 2,473 |
| 45 | Rhode Island | 2,473 |
| 46 | Alaska | 2,163 |
| 47 | Vermont | 1,603 |
| 48 | Wyoming | 1,603 |
| 49 | North Dakota | 1,429 |
| 50 | South Dakota | 1,429 |
| 51 | District of Columbia | 1,291 |
What the FY2015 National Data Shows
Federal bankruptcy courts recorded 844,495 total filings across all chapters in FY2015 — no prior-year baseline in this dataset. Chapter 7 liquidation remained the dominant filing type at 67.9% of the national caseload (573,203 cases), followed by Chapter 13 wage-earner repayment plans at 30.6% (258,697 cases). Chapter 11 reorganizations accounted for 0.90% (7,563 cases), and Chapter 12 family-farmer/fisherman filings totaled 683.
Business filings represented 3.8% of FY2015 activity (31,869 cases), leaving 812,626 consumer (non-business) filings. Geographic concentration matters: the top 51 states by volume — led by California with 110,047 cases — drive most of the caseload, and the top three states alone account for roughly 29.2% of national filings. National totals also reflect major macro-policy shifts: pandemic-era relief programs (moratoria, stimulus, student-loan pauses) pushed filings to multi-decade lows in FY2020–FY2022, while subsequent rate hikes and the unwinding of those programs have brought volumes back up.
These figures describe aggregate court activity; they are not an indicator of whether any individual should or should not file bankruptcy. Chapter choice, means-test eligibility, exemptions, and likely outcomes depend on a debtor's state of residence, income, asset mix, and the specific district's local rules and trustee practices. This page is statistical information only and is not legal advice; a licensed bankruptcy attorney is the appropriate source of guidance for a personal filing decision.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.