FY2016 Bankruptcy Filings

794,492 total filings nationwide (-5.9% from FY2015)

Statistical information only, not legal advice. Consult a bankruptcy attorney for guidance on your specific situation.

794,492

Total

100.0% of total

538,023

Chapter 7

67.7% of total

245,053

Chapter 13

30.8% of total

7,292

Chapter 11

0.9% of total

728

Chapter 12

0.1% of total

29,166

Business

3.7% of total

States by Total Filings, FY2016

Rank State Total Filings
1 California 103,531
2 Texas 64,531
3 Florida 64,307
4 Georgia 57,001
5 New York 43,251
6 Illinois 35,755
7 Tennessee 35,755
8 Ohio 35,066
9 Pennsylvania 30,155
10 Michigan 28,518
11 Alabama 27,570
12 North Carolina 27,536
13 New Jersey 26,881
14 Arizona 24,265
15 Virginia 21,970
16 Indiana 21,675
17 Louisiana 18,696
18 Missouri 18,696
19 Washington 18,696
20 Maryland 16,764
21 Nevada 16,109
22 Oklahoma 15,422
23 South Carolina 15,422
24 Colorado 15,127
25 Kentucky 14,603
26 Minnesota 13,785
27 Wisconsin 13,785
28 Mississippi 13,621
29 Massachusetts 12,803
30 Oregon 12,803
31 Utah 12,148
32 Arkansas 9,562
33 Kansas 9,201
34 Iowa 7,892
35 Connecticut 6,289
36 New Mexico 6,288
37 Nebraska 5,600
38 West Virginia 5,305
39 Idaho 4,814
40 Hawaii 4,651
41 Maine 3,097
42 Delaware 3,096
43 New Hampshire 2,981
44 Montana 2,326
45 Rhode Island 2,326
46 Alaska 2,035
47 Vermont 1,508
48 Wyoming 1,508
49 North Dakota 1,344
50 South Dakota 1,344
51 District of Columbia 1,215

What the FY2016 National Data Shows

Federal bankruptcy courts recorded 794,492 total filings across all chapters in FY2016 - a decrease of 5.9% from the 844,495 cases filed in FY2015. Chapter 7 liquidation remained the dominant filing type at 67.7% of the national caseload (538,023 cases), followed by Chapter 13 wage-earner repayment plans at 30.8% (245,053 cases). Chapter 11 reorganizations accounted for 0.92% (7,292 cases), and Chapter 12 family-farmer/fisherman filings totaled 728.

Business filings represented 3.7% of FY2016 activity (29,166 cases), leaving 765,326 consumer (non-business) filings. Geographic concentration matters: the top 51 states by volume, led by California with 103,531 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.

FY2015 FY2016 FY2017 FY2018 FY2019 FY2020 FY2021 FY2022 FY2023 FY2024

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Related

Browse all → | Rankings →
Data sourced from Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AOUSC) Judicial Caseload Statistics. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainBankruptcy Editorial

Every figure on PlainBankruptcy is rendered directly from federal court source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on federal court source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.