FY2020 Bankruptcy Filings
544,463 total filings nationwide (-29.7% from FY2019)
Statistical information only, not legal advice. Consult a bankruptcy attorney for guidance on your specific situation.
544,463
Total
100.0% of total
387,059
Chapter 7
71.1% of total
145,437
Chapter 13
26.7% of total
7,128
Chapter 11
1.3% of total
710
Chapter 12
0.1% of total
25,890
Business
4.8% of total
States by Total Filings, FY2020
| Rank | State | Total Filings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 70,949 |
| 2 | Texas | 44,223 |
| 3 | Florida | 44,069 |
| 4 | Georgia | 39,063 |
| 5 | New York | 29,639 |
| 6 | Illinois | 24,503 |
| 7 | Tennessee | 24,503 |
| 8 | Ohio | 24,030 |
| 9 | Pennsylvania | 20,665 |
| 10 | Michigan | 19,543 |
| 11 | Alabama | 18,894 |
| 12 | North Carolina | 18,870 |
| 13 | New Jersey | 18,421 |
| 14 | Arizona | 16,629 |
| 15 | Virginia | 15,056 |
| 16 | Indiana | 14,854 |
| 17 | Louisiana | 12,812 |
| 18 | Missouri | 12,812 |
| 19 | Washington | 12,812 |
| 20 | Maryland | 11,489 |
| 21 | Nevada | 11,040 |
| 22 | Oklahoma | 10,569 |
| 23 | South Carolina | 10,569 |
| 24 | Colorado | 10,367 |
| 25 | Kentucky | 10,008 |
| 26 | Minnesota | 9,447 |
| 27 | Wisconsin | 9,447 |
| 28 | Mississippi | 9,335 |
| 29 | Massachusetts | 8,774 |
| 30 | Oregon | 8,774 |
| 31 | Utah | 8,325 |
| 32 | Arkansas | 6,553 |
| 33 | Kansas | 6,306 |
| 34 | Iowa | 5,408 |
| 35 | Connecticut | 4,310 |
| 36 | New Mexico | 4,309 |
| 37 | Nebraska | 3,838 |
| 38 | West Virginia | 3,636 |
| 39 | Idaho | 3,299 |
| 40 | Hawaii | 3,187 |
| 41 | Maine | 2,122 |
| 42 | Delaware | 2,121 |
| 43 | New Hampshire | 2,043 |
| 44 | Montana | 1,594 |
| 45 | Rhode Island | 1,594 |
| 46 | Alaska | 1,394 |
| 47 | Vermont | 1,033 |
| 48 | Wyoming | 1,033 |
| 49 | North Dakota | 921 |
| 50 | South Dakota | 921 |
| 51 | District of Columbia | 832 |
What the FY2020 National Data Shows
Federal bankruptcy courts recorded 544,463 total filings across all chapters in FY2020 - a decrease of 29.7% from the 774,940 cases filed in FY2019. Chapter 7 liquidation remained the dominant filing type at 71.1% of the national caseload (387,059 cases), followed by Chapter 13 wage-earner repayment plans at 26.7% (145,437 cases). Chapter 11 reorganizations accounted for 1.31% (7,128 cases), and Chapter 12 family-farmer/fisherman filings totaled 710.
Business filings represented 4.8% of FY2020 activity (25,890 cases), leaving 518,573 consumer (non-business) filings. Geographic concentration matters: the top 51 states by volume, led by California with 70,949 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.
Related
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.