FY2017 Bankruptcy Filings

767,721 total filings nationwide (-3.4% from FY2016)

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

767,721

Total

100.0% of total

498,561

Chapter 7

64.9% of total

257,017

Chapter 13

33.5% of total

7,183

Chapter 11

0.9% of total

616

Chapter 12

0.1% of total

25,127

Business

3.3% of total

States by Total Filings, FY2017

Rank State Total Filings
1 California 100,042
2 Texas 62,357
3 Florida 62,140
4 Georgia 55,080
5 New York 41,793
6 Illinois 34,550
7 Tennessee 34,550
8 Ohio 33,884
9 Pennsylvania 29,139
10 Michigan 27,557
11 Alabama 26,641
12 North Carolina 26,608
13 New Jersey 25,975
14 Arizona 23,447
15 Virginia 21,230
16 Indiana 20,945
17 Louisiana 18,066
18 Missouri 18,066
19 Washington 18,066
20 Maryland 16,199
21 Nevada 15,567
22 Oklahoma 14,902
23 South Carolina 14,902
24 Colorado 14,618
25 Kentucky 14,111
26 Minnesota 13,320
27 Wisconsin 13,320
28 Mississippi 13,162
29 Massachusetts 12,371
30 Oregon 12,371
31 Utah 11,739
32 Arkansas 9,239
33 Kansas 8,891
34 Iowa 7,626
35 Connecticut 6,077
36 New Mexico 6,076
37 Nebraska 5,411
38 West Virginia 5,127
39 Idaho 4,652
40 Hawaii 4,494
41 Maine 2,993
42 Delaware 2,991
43 New Hampshire 2,880
44 Montana 2,248
45 Rhode Island 2,248
46 Alaska 1,966
47 Vermont 1,457
48 Wyoming 1,457
49 North Dakota 1,299
50 South Dakota 1,299
51 District of Columbia 1,174

What the FY2017 National Data Shows

Federal bankruptcy courts recorded 767,721 total filings across all chapters in FY2017 - a decrease of 3.4% from the 794,492 cases filed in FY2016. Chapter 7 liquidation remained the dominant filing type at 64.9% of the national caseload (498,561 cases), followed by Chapter 13 wage-earner repayment plans at 33.5% (257,017 cases). Chapter 11 reorganizations accounted for 0.94% (7,183 cases), and Chapter 12 family-farmer/fisherman filings totaled 616.

Business filings represented 3.3% of FY2017 activity (25,127 cases), leaving 742,594 consumer (non-business) filings. Geographic concentration matters: the top 51 states by volume, led by California with 100,042 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.

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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.