Bankruptcy filings by state

Name: Consumer bankruptcy filings by state, per 100,000 residents (12 months ending September 30, 2026)
Creator: Debt Relief Path
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Where Americans file for bankruptcy most and least, per person, using the latest federal court data for the 12 months ending September 30, 2026.

By the Debt Relief Path Editorial Team · Published November 9, 2026 · Data: U.S. Courts, U.S. Census Bureau

Key findings

Alabama has the highest consumer bankruptcy rate: 415 filings per 100,000 residents, 2.4 times the national rate of 172 and 11 times Alaska's, the lowest.
Highest rates: Alabama (415), Mississippi (349), Tennessee (314), Georgia (299), Nevada (291).
Lowest rates: Alaska (38), Maine (44), Vermont (48), Massachusetts (72), New Hampshire (73).
Filings are rising: 594,057 consumer cases nationwide, up 11.4% from 533,337 the year before.
Chapter 13 is a Southern pattern: Louisiana (74%), Alabama (70%), South Carolina (66%), North Carolina (64%), Arkansas (58%) file Chapter 13 most often. In Idaho (9%), New Mexico (13%), North Dakota (14%), nearly everyone files Chapter 7.

Consumer bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents

Non-business bankruptcy cases commenced, 12 months ending September 30, 2026, per 100,000 residents (Census July 1, 2025 estimates). Darker bars are above the national rate.

All states

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1	Alabama	415	21,552	6,504	15,044	70%
2	Mississippi	349	10,297	4,723	5,573	54%
3	Tennessee	314	23,002	10,087	12,900	56%
4	Georgia	299	33,845	15,589	18,242	54%
5	Nevada	291	9,546	7,930	1,612	17%
6	Kentucky	280	12,888	7,144	5,742	45%
7	Indiana	265	18,460	10,393	8,065	44%
8	Arkansas	241	7,505	3,119	4,382	58%
9	Michigan	233	23,566	16,115	7,445	32%
10	Ohio	228	27,179	20,932	6,242	23%
11	Utah	228	8,059	5,421	2,637	33%
12	Louisiana	224	10,359	2,697	7,652	74%
13	Maryland	219	13,696	8,785	4,902	36%
14	Illinois	216	27,495	16,442	11,040	40%
15	Florida	207	48,462	34,663	13,730	28%
16	Oregon	190	8,102	6,510	1,590	20%
17	Oklahoma	188	7,768	6,434	1,334	17%
18	Virginia	188	16,724	10,134	6,575	39%
19	Missouri	180	11,273	6,355	4,911	44%
20	Minnesota	173	10,108	7,833	2,271	22%
21	Arizona	172	13,112	10,812	2,291	17%
22	Wisconsin	168	10,057	6,554	3,501	35%
23	Colorado	149	8,936	7,221	1,708	19%
24	Delaware	146	1,552	981	571	37%
25	New Jersey	145	13,854	8,776	5,047	36%
26	Kansas	145	4,312	2,259	2,051	48%
27	California	141	55,588	45,828	9,645	17%
28	Nebraska	140	2,832	1,916	915	32%
29	Idaho	126	2,564	2,334	229	9%
30	Washington	125	9,965	7,802	2,152	22%
31	Texas	124	39,376	24,524	14,824	38%
32	North Dakota	123	983	848	135	14%
33	Iowa	110	3,547	2,914	633	18%
34	New York	108	21,598	14,594	6,924	32%
35	West Virginia	106	1,871	1,485	386	21%
36	Pennsylvania	104	13,623	7,565	6,050	44%
37	South Carolina	103	5,758	1,976	3,780	66%
38	Rhode Island	101	1,123	862	261	23%
39	North Carolina	97	10,851	3,886	6,959	64%
40	Wyoming	97	569	467	102	18%
41	Connecticut	96	3,547	2,971	564	16%
42	District of Columbia	84	581	444	130	22%
43	New Mexico	79	1,687	1,466	220	13%
44	Montana	78	897	741	154	17%
45	Hawaii	78	1,115	703	410	37%
46	South Dakota	78	727	581	146	20%
47	New Hampshire	73	1,032	778	254	25%
48	Massachusetts	72	5,158	3,479	1,672	32%
49	Vermont	48	309	239	70	23%
50	Maine	44	626	486	140	22%
51	Alaska	38	283	217	66	23%

What's behind the differences

Bankruptcy rates track more than hard times. Researchers point to income and medical debt levels, how strong a state's wage garnishment and property protections are, and local legal culture. States that let creditors garnish more of a paycheck tend to see more people file, because filing stops garnishment. Texas, for example, bars most wage garnishment for consumer debts and ranks 31st.

Chapter choice is even more local. In parts of the South, attorneys often take Chapter 13 cases with little money down, and filers use the plan to keep cars and homes. In much of the West and Northeast, Chapter 7 is the norm.

Thinking about bankruptcy? See Chapter 7 vs. Chapter 13, what it costs, or find your state's courts and exemptions. We can connect you with a bankruptcy attorney licensed in your state.

Methodology

Filings are non-business bankruptcy cases commenced in the 12 months ending September 30, 2026, from U.S. Courts Table F-2, summed across each state's federal court districts. Rates divide filings by the Census Bureau's July 1, 2025 resident population estimates. Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 counts are non-business cases; the small number of non-business Chapter 11 cases is included in totals only. Year-over-year change is from the U.S. Courts' October 22, 2026 release. Puerto Rico and other territories are excluded from the ranking. We'll update this page when the next annual data is released.

Use this data

Journalists, researchers and bloggers are welcome to use these figures and the chart with a link to this page. Suggested citation:

Debt Relief Path, "Bankruptcy Filings by State" (https://debtreliefpath.net/data/bankruptcy-filings-by-state/), using U.S. Courts and U.S. Census Bureau data.

Need a state-specific breakdown or comment? Email [email protected].

Questions people ask

Which state has the most bankruptcies per person?

Alabama, with 415 consumer bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents in the 12 months ending September 30, 2026, about 2.4 times the national rate of 172.

Which state has the fewest bankruptcies per person?

Alaska, with 38 per 100,000 residents. Maine and Vermont are also among the lowest.

Are bankruptcy filings going up?

Yes. Consumer (non-business) filings rose 11.4% nationally, from 533,337 to 594,057, compared with the prior 12 months, according to the U.S. Courts.

Why do some states file so much more Chapter 13?

Local legal culture plays a large role: attorney fee practices, trustee and court norms, and how often filers are trying to keep a home or car they're behind on. Chapter 13 also protects property that Chapter 7 might not, so state exemption laws matter.

Can I use this data?

Yes. Please cite Debt Relief Path and link to this page. The underlying figures are public data from the U.S. Courts and U.S. Census Bureau.