FY2023 Bankruptcy Filings

433,658 total filings nationwide (+11.8% from FY2022)

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

433,658

Total

100.0% of total

271,825

Chapter 7

62.7% of total

151,895

Chapter 13

35.0% of total

6,569

Chapter 11

1.5% of total

789

Chapter 12

0.2% of total

18,315

Business

4.2% of total

States by Total Filings, FY2023

Rank State Total Filings
1 California 56,510
2 Texas 35,223
3 Florida 35,101
4 Georgia 31,113
5 New York 23,607
6 Illinois 19,516
7 Tennessee 19,516
8 Ohio 19,140
9 Pennsylvania 16,459
10 Michigan 15,566
11 Alabama 15,049
12 North Carolina 15,030
13 New Jersey 14,672
14 Arizona 13,245
15 Virginia 11,992
16 Indiana 11,831
17 Louisiana 10,205
18 Missouri 10,205
19 Washington 10,205
20 Maryland 9,150
21 Nevada 8,793
22 Oklahoma 8,418
23 South Carolina 8,418
24 Colorado 8,257
25 Kentucky 7,971
26 Minnesota 7,524
27 Wisconsin 7,524
28 Mississippi 7,435
29 Massachusetts 6,988
30 Oregon 6,988
31 Utah 6,631
32 Arkansas 5,219
33 Kansas 5,022
34 Iowa 4,308
35 Connecticut 3,433
36 New Mexico 3,432
37 Nebraska 3,057
38 West Virginia 2,896
39 Idaho 2,628
40 Hawaii 2,538
41 Maine 1,691
42 Delaware 1,690
43 New Hampshire 1,627
44 Montana 1,270
45 Rhode Island 1,270
46 Alaska 1,111
47 Vermont 823
48 Wyoming 823
49 North Dakota 734
50 South Dakota 734
51 District of Columbia 663

What the FY2023 National Data Shows

Federal bankruptcy courts recorded 433,658 total filings across all chapters in FY2023 - an increase of 11.8% from the 387,721 cases filed in FY2022. Chapter 7 liquidation remained the dominant filing type at 62.7% of the national caseload (271,825 cases), followed by Chapter 13 wage-earner repayment plans at 35.0% (151,895 cases). Chapter 11 reorganizations accounted for 1.51% (6,569 cases), and Chapter 12 family-farmer/fisherman filings totaled 789.

Business filings represented 4.2% of FY2023 activity (18,315 cases), leaving 415,343 consumer (non-business) filings. Geographic concentration matters: the top 51 states by volume, led by California with 56,510 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.