FY2019 Bankruptcy Filings

774,940 total filings nationwide (-0.6% from FY2018)

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

774,940

Total

100.0% of total

481,050

Chapter 7

62.1% of total

281,986

Chapter 13

36.4% of total

6,959

Chapter 11

0.9% of total

531

Chapter 12

0.1% of total

22,780

Business

2.9% of total

States by Total Filings, FY2019

Rank State Total Filings
1 California 100,983
2 Texas 62,943
3 Florida 62,724
4 Georgia 55,598
5 New York 42,186
6 Illinois 34,875
7 Tennessee 34,875
8 Ohio 34,203
9 Pennsylvania 29,413
10 Michigan 27,816
11 Alabama 26,891
12 North Carolina 26,858
13 New Jersey 26,219
14 Arizona 23,668
15 Virginia 21,429
16 Indiana 21,142
17 Louisiana 18,236
18 Missouri 18,236
19 Washington 18,236
20 Maryland 16,352
21 Nevada 15,713
22 Oklahoma 15,042
23 South Carolina 15,042
24 Colorado 14,755
25 Kentucky 14,244
26 Minnesota 13,446
27 Wisconsin 13,446
28 Mississippi 13,286
29 Massachusetts 12,488
30 Oregon 12,488
31 Utah 11,849
32 Arkansas 9,326
33 Kansas 8,975
34 Iowa 7,698
35 Connecticut 6,134
36 New Mexico 6,133
37 Nebraska 5,462
38 West Virginia 5,175
39 Idaho 4,696
40 Hawaii 4,536
41 Maine 3,021
42 Delaware 3,019
43 New Hampshire 2,908
44 Montana 2,269
45 Rhode Island 2,269
46 Alaska 1,985
47 Vermont 1,471
48 Wyoming 1,471
49 North Dakota 1,311
50 South Dakota 1,311
51 District of Columbia 1,185

What the FY2019 National Data Shows

Federal bankruptcy courts recorded 774,940 total filings across all chapters in FY2019 - a decrease of 0.6% from the 779,828 cases filed in FY2018. Chapter 7 liquidation remained the dominant filing type at 62.1% of the national caseload (481,050 cases), followed by Chapter 13 wage-earner repayment plans at 36.4% (281,986 cases). Chapter 11 reorganizations accounted for 0.90% (6,959 cases), and Chapter 12 family-farmer/fisherman filings totaled 531.

Business filings represented 2.9% of FY2019 activity (22,780 cases), leaving 752,160 consumer (non-business) filings. Geographic concentration matters: the top 51 states by volume, led by California with 100,983 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.