Bankruptcy Statistics and the Things We Can Learn From Them

What’ll it be this time? The rent, the electricity bill, or food? There’s money enough for just one of these, and that’s not counting last year’s huge medical bill. The ambulance ride alone costs more than $1,000.

This is what real life looks like for a lot of Americans. The data on bankruptcies shows an alarming number of individuals, families, and corporations face insolvency every year. Bankruptcies have serious consequences for personal lives, businesses, and even the national economy. 

Key Bankruptcy Statistics for 2026 - Editor's Choice

• 62% of people who file for bankruptcy earn less than $30,000 a year.
• Chapter 13 filings are dismissed at an 18x higher rate than Chapter 7 filings.
• Commercial Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings surged by 28% in 2025.
• In the US, there were 16.2% more bankruptcy filings in 2025 compared to the year before.

Bankruptcy Around the World

In 2025, global bankruptcies increased by 11%.

(Allianz)

The turbulence in the global economy continued during 2025, with another increase in insolvencies driven by high debt-servicing costs.

3 out of 4 countries exceeded the pre-pandemic insolvency records in 2025.

(Allianz)

This was up from 50% of countries just two years prior, as government support buffers completely evaporated.

North America, Western Europe, and South Korea had the largest increase in bankruptcies in 2025.

(Allianz)

In contrast, China maintained a stable but fragile insolvency environment, while some emerging markets saw fluctuations based on commodity prices.

Canada saw a 41.4% increase in business bankruptcies in 2025.

(Government of Canada)

Canada witnessed record business insolvency rates, marking a compounding crisis following a difficult 2024.

France had the largest number of business insolvencies in Europe in 2025.

(Statista)

The actual data showed that over 66,000 business bankruptcies were declared in France, surpassing the United Kingdom and Germany.

Bankruptcy in the United States

47% of people who file for bankruptcy are male.

(Debt.org)

Men were slightly less likely to go bankrupt than women, who represented 53% of all bankruptcies in 2025. The most common reason men went bankrupt was job loss, and the most common reason women went bankrupt was medical debt or divorce.

63% of people who file for bankruptcy are married.

(Debt.org)

Most debtors were married. Many filed for joint bankruptcy to make the process easier. For comparison’s sake, 18% of debtors were single, 16% were divorced, and 3% were widowed.

Recent studies show that 38% of people who file for bankruptcy have only a high school education.

(Debt.org)

In addition, 19% of debtors had a bachelor’s degree or higher, and 31% had “some college education.” Those who’ve gone to college but haven’t graduated remained at a particular risk because of mounting student loan debt.

62% of people who file for bankruptcy earn less than $30,000 a year according to data from early 2026.

(Debt.org)

Unsurprisingly, bankruptcy rates were the highest among those who earned the least. Stats also showed that only 8.8% of those who reported making more than $60,000 annually went bankrupt.

585,780 was the total number of national bankruptcy filings for 2025.

(American Bankruptcy Institute)

This represented a 16.2% increase compared to the calendar year 2024.

Commercial Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings rose 28% in 2025.

(American Bankruptcy Institute)

There were a total of 11,535 filings of this type, up significantly from 9,012 in 2024.

There were 342,150 Chapter 7 bankruptcy filings in the calendar year 2025.

(American Bankruptcy Institute)

The numbers rose drastically compared to the previous year, when there were 298,644 total Chapter 7 bankruptcies filed.

The state with the currently highest bankruptcy filing rate is Alabama.

(Statista)

The latest data shows that 352.1 out of 100,000 residents of Alabama filed for bankruptcy. On the other end of the spectrum, Alaska maintained the lowest rate of 26.4 per 100,000 inhabitants.

High credit card debt and interest rates were the main reasons people considered filing for bankruptcy in 2025.

(The Bankruptcy Help)

This was the primary driver for 28.4% of filers, up from 2024 levels. The second biggest reason was medical expenses, followed by persistent inflation in housing costs.

Filers aged 65 and older became the fastest-growing demographic in bankruptcy courts in 2025.

(Consumer Finance Research)

This "Silver Tsunami" saw a 14% increase in filings among seniors, primarily driven by the erosion of fixed incomes against rising healthcare costs.

5% of individual bankruptcy filings in 2025 cited significant losses in digital assets as a primary factor.

(Financial Conduct Authority)

Digital asset contagion has become a measurable driver of insolvency, with one in twenty debtors reporting that cryptocurrency crashes catalyzed their financial collapse.

Eviction-related bankruptcy filings increased by 22% in the first quarter of 2026.

(National Low Income Housing Coalition)

The rent burden has intensified as the gap between median wages and average housing costs reached its widest point in a decade, forcing tenants to use bankruptcy to stay an eviction.

Auto loan defaults preceded 1 in 5 Chapter 7 filings in late 2025.

(Experian)

The surge in underwater car loans has become a leading indicator of total financial insolvency for American households.

Beyond Bankruptcy

There’s one thing we want to make clear before we go—there is no shame in filing for bankruptcy. The social stigma attached to financial struggles shouldn’t prevent individuals or corporations from getting the help they need to pick themselves up and make a fresh start.

These statistics are troubling, but they aren’t hopeless. Within a few years you can take back the reins and recover. The process will be smoother if you take this time to learn more about managing your money to remain financially solvent.