*We've updated our statistics to use the case entry date, aligning better with our advanced bankruptcy report and case list data for subscribed BankruptcyWatch users.

Our Analysis of the Bankruptcy Statistics (Updated June 15th, 2026)

Week 24 showed mixed results YoY. Consumer bankruptcies rose about 9% to 10,835 filings, while business filings fell roughly 36% to 157 cases compared with the same week last year. Across all chapters, total filings were up 8.1% (9,922 in 2025 to 10,835 in 2026).

The increase on the consumer side held across both major chapters. Chapter 7 filings, the liquidation route many households use, were up 9.67% YoY, from 6,349 in 2025 to 6,963 in 2026. Chapter 13 filings, which allow individuals to restructure and repay debt over time, rose 8.37%, from 3,573 to 3,872. On the business side, Chapter 11 filings, often used by companies navigating insolvency, were down 37.18% YoY, from 234 cases in 2025 to 147 in 2026.

What We Are Reading

Want to know about the news articles that caught our eye this week? Start here.

• Leading Companies Filing for Bankruptcy 2026
• Map Shows Where Bankruptcies are Soaring
• Household Debt Edges up to New High, but Credit Card Balances Dip
• Federal Housing Aid Ends as Foreclosure Risk Continues

AI Analysis of this Week's Bankruptcy Statistics

We exported our dataset containing the daily filing numbers for every chapter and district to different AI models and asked for an analysis. Below are the exact results for each model.

Claude 4.7 Opus Extended Analysis of the Bankruptcy Statistics

1. Overview of this week's National filings. The country recorded 10,992 total bankruptcy filings in the latest completed week, the highest week-24 figure in the entire five-year span of the dataset. Chapter 7 liquidations made up 6,963 filings, or roughly 63.3% of the national total, while Chapter 13 wage-earner reorganizations contributed 3,872 filings, about 35.2%. Chapter 11 business reorganizations added 147 filings and Chapter 12 farm filings totaled 10, together accounting for about 1.4% of the week. Week-over-week, total filings rose modestly by 3.1% from the prior week's 10,665, settling slightly below the 2026 year-to-date weekly average of 11,972. Year-over-year, this represents an 8.1% increase compared with the same week in 2025, which posted 10,168 filings.
2. An interesting fact about this week's filings. The most striking detail is the dramatic normalization of Chapter 11 business filings, which collapsed from a record 407 the prior week to just 147 — a 63.9% week-over-week drop as the unprecedented 158-filing New Jersey Chapter 11 cluster fully dissipated. With the cluster gone, Chapter 11 actually fell 37.2% year-over-year (from 234 in week 24 of 2025 to just 147), and no single district produced more than 16 Chapter 11 filings — the Eastern District of New York led, followed by the Middle District of Florida at 15 and the Southern District of Florida at 13. The Northern District of Illinois led Chapter 13 with 179 filings, just edging out the Northern District of Alabama (140), the Northern District of Georgia (138), the Eastern District of Michigan (133), and the Western District of Tennessee (133). Chapter 12 farm filings slipped to 10 nationwide, down 16.7% from 12 in the same week of 2025, scattered across eight districts. Together these patterns reflect a return to a more typical chapter mix after the prior week's extraordinary commercial restructuring anomaly.
3. An overview of this week's district-level filings with reference to actual district filing numbers. Combining all four chapters, the Central District of California led the country with 568 filings, followed by the Middle District of Florida at 515, the Eastern District of Michigan at 404, the Northern District of Illinois at 397, and the Northern District of Georgia at 365. The Northern District of Ohio recorded 326 total filings, the Southern District of Florida 309, Maryland 300, New Jersey 281, and the Eastern District of California 242. Looking at Chapter 7 alone, the Central District of California posted 482, the Middle District of Florida 404, the Eastern District of Michigan 268, the Northern District of Ohio 264, the Northern District of Georgia 227, the Eastern District of California 216, the Northern District of Illinois 215, Maryland 186, Arizona 184, and New Jersey 180. On the Chapter 13 side, the Northern District of Illinois led with 179, followed by the Northern District of Alabama at 140, the Northern District of Georgia at 138, the Eastern District of Michigan and Western District of Tennessee tied at 133, the Southern District of Florida at 122, Maryland at 113, and the Middle District of Alabama at 103. The top ten districts together produced about 3,707 filings, accounting for roughly 33.7% of the entire 10,992-filing national total.
4. Geographic (district) disparities in filings. The disparity between busy and quiet districts remained enormous: while the Central District of California posted 568 total filings this week, the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam recorded zero, with the Virgin Islands at just 1. Other very low-volume districts included Vermont at 4, Alaska at 8, the Northern District of West Virginia at 10, the District of Columbia at 12, Wyoming at 13, Maine at 14, and Montana at 15. The southeastern Sun Belt and major metro districts of California, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio dominated the leaderboard again, with Maryland (300) and the Eastern District of California (242) also breaking into the national top ten. The Central District of California alone (568 filings) produced more activity than the bottom 30 districts combined for the week. This pattern of concentration is structural, reflecting population, regional economic stress, and entrenched filing behaviors rather than any one-week anomaly.
5. Current year focus. Through the first 24 weeks of 2026, the country has logged 287,334 total filings, an average of 11,972 per week — comfortably ahead of every prior year in the dataset at this point on the calendar. The year began softer at 9,012 in week 1 but has trended firmly upward, with notable peaks of 14,157 in week 5, 15,290 in week 9, 14,380 in week 14, an outlier 16,091 in week 18, and 14,259 in week 22, with the latest two weeks stabilizing in the 10,000–11,000 range. Chapter 7 has continued to drive volume, climbing to 6,963 in the latest week (up from 5,939 the prior week), while Chapter 13 settled at 3,872. Chapter 11 has been by far the most volatile chapter (179, then 407, now back to 147), heavily influenced by sporadic business restructuring clusters that briefly distort the national total. The overall pattern for 2026 is a clearly higher baseline than any earlier year covered by the dataset, with the gap widening as the year progresses.
6. Comparative analysis with previous years. Looking at the same week 24 across years yields a steady climb: 6,825 in 2022, 8,069 in 2023, 9,013 in 2024, 10,168 in 2025, and 10,992 in 2026, a cumulative increase of about 61.1% over the four-year span. Annual growth rates for week 24 specifically were 18.2% (2023), 11.7% (2024), 12.8% (2025), and 8.1% (2026), showing a notable deceleration this year at this point on the calendar. The same upward trend appears in year-to-date totals through week 24: 170,725 in 2022, 198,841 in 2023, 228,809 in 2024, 254,068 in 2025, and 287,334 in 2026. That means 2026 is running about 13.1% ahead of 2025's pace at the same point on the calendar and roughly 68.3% ahead of where 2022 stood after 24 weeks. The combination of slower YoY growth this week but still-strong YTD gains suggests the rate of growth is moderating, particularly as 2025's comparison weeks become higher and harder to outpace.
7. Analyzing the filings per capita. Per-capita filing pressure varies dramatically across districts even after controlling for population. The Central District of California, with roughly 20 million residents, produced 568 total filings this week — about 28 per million residents. The Northern District of Georgia, with around 6.5 million residents, produced 365 filings, which works out to roughly 56 per million, double Southern California's per-capita rate. The Northern District of Alabama (140 Chapter 13 filings) and the Western District of Tennessee (133 Chapter 13 filings) sit even higher on a per-resident basis, while Maryland's 300 combined filings translate to roughly 48 per million given its 6.2-million population. Adjusted for population, the heaviest filing pressure clearly concentrates across the southeastern Sun Belt rather than in the largest absolute-volume coastal metros.
8. Analyzing the changing filings per capita. Because U.S. population has grown only roughly 0.5–0.6% per year while filings have risen 8–18% annually since 2022 at this point on the calendar, the per-capita filing rate has climbed sharply over the past four years. Nationally, the latest week's 10,992 filings translate to about 32 per million residents, up from roughly 20 per million in week 24 of 2022 — an increase of about 61% in four years. Districts that were already filing-heavy have seen the steepest per-capita rises, especially the Middle District of Florida, whose 515 combined filings this week represent a substantial step-up from typical week-24 totals in the high 200s back in 2022. In contrast, the lowest-filing jurisdictions (Vermont at 4, Alaska at 8, Northern District of West Virginia at 10, District of Columbia at 12, Wyoming at 13) remain essentially flat in per-capita terms and very low in absolute terms. The widening per-capita gap means financial distress is becoming more geographically concentrated rather than more evenly distributed year after year.
9. Forecast the expected filing numbers for the rest of the year. If the rest of 2026 follows 2025's seasonal pattern, the remaining 28 weeks (weeks 25 through 52) should produce roughly 349,000 additional filings, on top of the 287,334 already recorded — putting the full year near 636,000 total filings, compared with 562,635 in 2025. Using the year-to-date 2026 weekly average of 11,972 applied to the remaining 28 weeks yields a projection of about 335,000 more filings and a year-end total around 622,000. A more conservative scenario that uses the latest week's 10,992 pace and accounts for the typical late-year holiday slowdown (week 52 of 2025 dropped to just 6,678) would land closer to 615,000–630,000. Taken together, the most likely 2026 year-end range is approximately 615,000 to 640,000 total filings, with the central estimate near 625,000. That would represent roughly 9–14% growth over 2025's full-year total of 562,635.
10. Forecast the trends of increasing filings after 2025. The four-year trajectory of full-year totals (378,333 in 2022, 445,195 in 2023, 503,773 in 2024, 562,635 in 2025, and a projected ~625,000 in 2026) implies a compound annual growth rate of about 14% from 2022 through 2025, easing to roughly 11% in 2026. If the deceleration observed in this week's YoY figure (8.1%) continues to spread to other weeks, annual increases could moderate to about 6–8% in 2027 and 4–6% in 2028, putting filings into the 665,000–700,000 range by 2027 and the 700,000–735,000 range by 2028. The chapter mix is also likely to keep shifting: Chapter 7 has grown 9.7% year-over-year at week 24 (from 6,349 to 6,963) and remains the dominant volume driver, while Chapter 11 has slowed sharply (-37.2% YoY) outside of its occasional clusters. Chapter 13, propelled by southeastern Sun Belt districts that produced 179, 140, 138, 133, 133, 122, 113, 103, 99, and 93 filings this week alone, is likely to retain its steady 31–37% share of the national total. The biggest risk to this baseline remains a recession, credit-tightening shock, or commercial real estate crisis — any of which could push 2027 filings well above the smoothed projection rather than modestly below it.

ChatGPT 5.5 Thinking Pro Analysis of this Week's Bankruptcy Statistics

1. For the completed reporting week 24 of 2026, national filings totaled 10,992. Chapter 7 accounted for 6,963 filings, Chapter 13 accounted for 3,872, Chapter 11 accounted for 147, and Chapter 12 accounted for 10. The national total was 327 filings higher than week 23’s 10,665, a 3.1% increase. Compared with week 24 of 2025, when there were 10,168 filings, this week was higher by 824 filings, or 8.1%. Through the first 24 weeks of 2026, national filings reached 287,334.
2. An interesting feature of week 24 is that the national increase happened even though Chapter 13 and Chapter 11 both declined from the prior week. Chapter 7 rose by 882 filings, moving from 6,081 in week 23 to 6,963 in week 24. Chapter 13 fell by 287 filings, from 4,159 to 3,872. Chapter 11 fell by 272 filings, from 419 to 147, while Chapter 12 increased from 6 to 10. Chapter 7’s 6,963 filings represented 63.3% of the national total of 10,992.
3. District-level filings were led by Central California with 568 filings in week 24. Middle Florida followed with 515 filings, Eastern Michigan had 404, Northern Illinois had 397, and Northern Georgia had 365. Northern Ohio reported 326 filings, Southern Florida had 309, Maryland had 300, New Jersey had 281, and Eastern California had 242. The top 5 districts together produced 2,249 filings. Those 2,249 filings represented 20.5% of the national total of 10,992.
4. Geographic disparities were substantial in week 24, with an average of 116.9 filings per district and a median of 94.5. Central California’s 568 filings were 6.0 times the median district total. There were 16 districts with at least 200 filings, including Middle Florida at 515 and Eastern Michigan at 404. There were also 11 districts with 20 or fewer filings, including Alaska at 8, Vermont at 4, the Virgin Islands at 1, and Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands at 0. The gap between Central California’s 568 filings and the 0 filings in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands shows how uneven the weekly distribution was.
5. The current-year picture shows that 2026 remains well ahead of the comparable 2025 pace. Through week 24, 2026 filings totaled 287,334, compared with 254,068 through week 24 of 2025. That is an increase of 33,266 filings, or 13.1%, over the same point last year. Chapter 7 has contributed 182,570 filings so far in 2026, while Chapter 13 has contributed 99,760. Chapter 11 has contributed 4,811 filings and Chapter 12 has contributed 193, keeping the year-to-date total concentrated in Chapters 7 and 13.
6. Week 24 of 2026 was higher than week 24 in every prior year shown in the file. The week 24 totals were 6,825 in 2022, 8,069 in 2023, 9,013 in 2024, 10,168 in 2025, and 10,992 in 2026. This year’s week 24 total was 61.1% higher than 2022’s week 24 total. It was also 36.2% higher than 2023, 22.0% higher than 2024, and 8.1% higher than 2025. On a year-to-date basis, 2026’s 287,334 filings were 58,525 higher than 2024’s 228,809 through week 24.
7. A true per-capita filing rate cannot be calculated from this CSV alone because it does not include district population counts. Using the filing data itself, the closest internal benchmark is filings per district, which was 116.9 filings across 94 districts in week 24. The median district had 94.5 filings, which was 22.4 below the district average. Central California’s 568 filings were 4.9 times the average district count. Middle Florida’s 515 filings were 4.4 times the average district count.
8. The changing filing-rate proxy shows a clear rise over time when week 24 is compared across years. Week 24 filings increased from 6,825 in 2022 to 10,992 in 2026, a gain of 4,167 filings. Across 94 districts, that equals an increase from 72.6 filings per district in 2022 to 116.9 filings per district in 2026. Compared with week 24 of 2025, the proxy rose from 108.2 filings per district to 116.9. That one-year increase equals 8.8 additional filings per district.
9. A simple forecast based on the 2026 year-to-date average of 11,972.3 filings per week points to about 634,529 filings for the full 53-week 2026 reporting year. Since 287,334 filings have already occurred through week 24, that pace would add about 347,195 filings over the remaining 29 weeks. A second approach uses the 2025 weeks 25 through 52 total of 308,567 filings as a baseline. Increasing that remaining-year baseline by the current 13.1% year-to-date growth rate implies about 348,969 additional filings. These two approaches suggest the rest of 2026 could add roughly 347,195 to 348,969 filings.
10. The post-2025 trend remains upward because 2026 is ahead of 2025 on both the latest-week and year-to-date measures. Week 24 of 2026 had 10,992 filings, compared with 10,168 in week 24 of 2025. Through week 24, 2026 had 287,334 filings, compared with 254,068 in 2025. The full-year weekly average rose from 7,275.6 in 2022 to 8,561.4 in 2023, 9,687.9 in 2024, and 10,819.9 in 2025. If the 2026 year-to-date pace of 11,972.3 filings per week continues after 2025, it would be 1,152.3 filings per week above the 2025 average.

Claude 4.6 Sonnet Extended Analysis of the Bankruptcy Statistics

1. Overview of This Week's National Filings For the week of June 15, 2026 — the twenty-fourth week of the year — a total of 10,992 bankruptcy filings were recorded across the United States, representing the latest fully completed reporting week. Of those, 6,963 were Chapter 7 liquidation filings, accounting for 63.3% of all activity and reflecting a return toward the year's typical chapter composition following last week's extraordinary Chapter 11 concentration. Chapter 13 reorganization filings contributed 3,872 cases, representing 35.2% of the national total and continuing the steady consumer reorganization demand that has characterized the second quarter of 2026. Chapter 11 business restructuring filings moderated sharply to 147 for the week — a steep retreat from last week's exceptional 419 — while Chapter 12 agricultural filings registered 10 cases, the highest Chapter 12 reading in eight weeks and a figure consistent with the elevated agricultural distress signals seen throughout the year. Together, these four filing types account for the complete national total of 10,992 filings recorded during the week of June 15, 2026.
2. An Interesting Fact About This Week's Filings The most remarkable feature of the week of June 15, 2026 is the near-perfect convergence of the two full-year projection methods: using the four-week recent average of 12,001 per week yields a projected 2026 full-year total of approximately 623,362, while the 24-week running average of 11,972 per week produces a projection of approximately 622,557 — a gap of just 805 filings between the two estimates, the tightest forecast range recorded at any point in 2026 and a sign that the annual trajectory has become highly predictable with nearly half the year complete. A second milestone of equal significance is the year-to-date Chapter 13 cumulative total, which has reached 99,760 through 24 weeks — just 240 filings away from crossing the 100,000 threshold, a level that has never been reached this early in any prior year in the dataset, with the comparable 2022 figure standing at only 63,463. The Northern District of Georgia, which had posted elevated Chapter 11 readings in several recent weeks including a notable 20 cases just two weeks ago, recorded zero Chapter 11 filings this week — a dramatic one-week reversal that confirms those prior elevated readings were likely driven by specific large cases rather than a persistent structural escalation in Atlanta-area business distress. The Eastern District of California posted an exceptional Chapter 7 concentration this week with 216 Chapter 7 cases out of 242 total — an 89.3% liquidation rate that is one of the highest district-level Chapter 7 proportions recorded in any top-ten district across all of 2026 — underscoring the particularly acute nature of consumer financial distress in California's inland regions. With 2026 now 46.2% complete and the year-to-date total at 287,334, the annual filing record set in 2025 (562,635) has already been exceeded on a pace basis and will be surpassed in absolute terms well before the year's end.
3. Overview of This Week's District-Level Filings The Central District of California reclaimed the top spot in the national district rankings during the week of June 15, 2026, posting 568 total filings — 482 Chapter 7 and 80 Chapter 13 — driven by continued elevated consumer liquidation demand across the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Middle District of Florida followed with 515 total filings (404 Chapter 7, 96 Chapter 13, 15 Chapter 11), and the Eastern District of Michigan climbed to a strong third-place position with 404 total filings, including 268 Chapter 7 and 133 Chapter 13 cases. The Northern District of Illinois came in fourth with 397 total filings — 215 Chapter 7 and 179 Chapter 13 — while the Northern District of Georgia placed fifth with 365 total filings, a figure notable for containing zero Chapter 11 cases this week compared to the elevated business restructuring activity seen in the district in recent weeks. The Northern District of Ohio (326), Southern District of Florida (309, with 13 Chapter 11 cases), District of Maryland (300), District of New Jersey (281, including 12 Chapter 11 filings), and Eastern District of California (242, with an exceptional 216 Chapter 7 cases) rounded out the top ten. The District of New Jersey's Chapter 11 count of 12 this week represents a dramatic normalization from last week's extraordinary 158 Chapter 11 filings, confirming that the prior week's surge was concentrated around specific large corporate restructuring cases that have now moved through the docket.
4. Geographic Disparities in Filings The territorial courts continued their near-complete absence from filing activity during the week of June 15, 2026, with Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands recording zero filings, the U.S. Virgin Islands logging just 1, Vermont 4, and Alaska 8 — the five smallest jurisdictions contributing a combined 13 total filings against the Central District of California's 568. The California story this week is reinforced by the simultaneous presence of both the Central (568) and Eastern (242) Districts in the top ten, combining for 810 total filings — 7.4% of the entire national weekly total from a single state — with both districts dominated by Chapter 7 liquidation at 84.9% and 89.3% respectively. The Eastern District of California's 89.3% Chapter 7 rate is the most Chapter-7-concentrated profile of any top-ten district this week, reflecting the particular depth of consumer financial distress in the Central Valley and greater Sacramento regions, where subprime auto debt, high housing costs relative to incomes, and agricultural sector job volatility create a uniquely severe consumer credit environment. The contrast between Florida's two top-ten districts is instructive: the Middle District (515 total, 404 Chapter 7) is heavily liquidation-driven at 78.4%, while the Southern District (309 total, 174 Chapter 7, 122 Chapter 13) shows a more balanced 56/40 split — reflecting the different demographic profiles of Central Florida's working families versus South Florida's retiree and immigrant-heavy population, who more frequently rely on Chapter 13 repayment plans. The District of Maryland's 300 total filings — 186 Chapter 7 and 113 Chapter 13 — continues its recent string of top-ten appearances and points to a broader expansion of financial distress into the Washington metropolitan corridor that was not visible at this level of intensity in 2022 or 2023.
5. Current Year Focus Through the week of June 15, 2026 — twenty-four completed weeks representing 46.2% of the full calendar — the national year-to-date total has reached 287,334 filings, approaching the 300,000 milestone with the year still more than half remaining and exceeding the comparable 2025 figure of 254,068 by over 33,000 additional filings. The 2026 weekly average through Week 24 stands at 11,972 filings per week, compared to the full-year 2025 average of 10,820, meaning 2026 is running approximately 10.6% above last year's full-year run rate — a gap that has been remarkably stable throughout the year and shows no sign of closing as the second half approaches. The year-to-date Chapter 7 total of 182,570 through 24 weeks is running 13.9% above the comparable 2025 figure of 160,221, while the year-to-date Chapter 11 total of 4,811 is running 36.1% above 2025's 3,534 — the latter figure reflecting the cumulative impact of several exceptionally high Chapter 11 weeks, including the all-time-high fourth-place reading of 419 in Week 23. The year-to-date Chapter 13 total of 99,760 through 24 weeks is the most historically significant cumulative figure in the dataset: it stands 10.6% above 2025's comparable 90,159, 57.2% above 2022's 63,463, and just 240 filings away from becoming the first year in the dataset to reach 100,000 Chapter 13 cases in the first half of the calendar year. The year-to-date Chapter 12 agricultural total of 193 through 24 weeks is 25.3% above 2025's 154 and 132.5% above 2022's 83, confirming that agricultural bankruptcy stress has more than doubled in four years and continues to worsen faster than any other chapter type on a percentage basis.
6. Comparative Analysis with Previous Years The same-week comparison for Week 24 across all five years in the dataset reveals a consistent pattern of year-over-year gains, with 2026's +8.1% growth over 2025 representing the most moderate gain of the series for this specific week — but occurring from a higher baseline than any prior year, making the absolute increase of 824 additional filings over 2025 still meaningful in context. Filings rose from 6,825 in 2022 to 8,069 in 2023 (+18.2%), then to 9,013 in 2024 (+11.7%), then to 10,168 in 2025 (+12.8%), and now to 10,992 in 2026 (+8.1%) — an unbroken four-year sequence of growth that represents a cumulative 61.1% increase over the four-year span for this specific week. The year-to-date cumulative totals through 24 weeks tell an equally consistent story: from 170,725 in 2022 to 198,841 in 2023 (+16.5%), 228,809 in 2024 (+15.1%), 254,068 in 2025 (+11.0%), and now 287,334 in 2026 (+13.1%) — with the year-to-date gap between 2026 and all prior years at this point in the calendar representing the largest absolute lead in the history of the series. The Chapter 7 four-year comparison for Week 24 captures the long-term liquidation trend well: from 4,102 in 2022 to 6,963 in 2026, a +69.7% increase, while Chapter 13 grew from 2,625 to 3,872 over the same period, a +47.5% rise. The Chapter 11 single-week comparison for Week 24 is the one area of year-over-year decline: at 147 this week versus 234 in the same week of 2025, the -37.2% drop reflects the volatile nature of weekly Chapter 11 counts, which are heavily influenced by specific large case filings rather than by steady consumer trends — and the year-to-date Chapter 11 total of 4,811 remains 36.1% above 2025's pace, confirming the underlying business distress trajectory remains strongly elevated.
7. Analyzing the Filings Per Capita Adjusted for population, the week of June 15, 2026 produced approximately 32.23 bankruptcy filings per one million Americans — below the 2026 year-to-date weekly average of 35.11 per million but still exceeding the full-year per-capita weekly average of every prior year in the dataset, confirming that even a relatively quiet week in 2026 represents a historically elevated filing rate. Using approximate national population estimates of 333 million in 2022, 335 million in 2023, 337 million in 2024, 339 million in 2025, and 341 million in 2026, the annual per-capita weekly filing averages have risen from 21.85 in 2022 to 25.56 in 2023, 28.75 in 2024, and 31.92 in 2025. The 2026 year-to-date weekly average of 11,972 translates to approximately 35.11 per million Americans per week — the highest comparable figure for any 24-week stretch in the dataset by a significant margin and a level that exceeds 2025's full-year average by more than 10% in per-capita terms. The Chapter 13 per-capita accumulation is the most historically significant per-capita data point at this juncture: a year-to-date total of 99,760 cases through 24 weeks translates to approximately 292.6 Chapter 13 filings per million Americans since January 1, 2026 — a rate that would have been expected to take a full year to accumulate as recently as 2022. The overall 2026 24-week per-capita average of 35.11 per million sits approximately 60.7% above the 2022 full-year per-capita average of 21.85, a four-year transformation in the per-capita burden of bankruptcy that has no parallel in the dataset.
8. Analyzing the Changing Filings Per Capita The per-capita annual increment through 24 weeks of 2026 has settled at +3.19 per million per week versus the equivalent 2025 period — identical to the 2023–2024 annual increment and slightly above the 2024–2025 pace of +3.17, indicating a stabilization at a level slightly above the prior two years' baseline. The four-year progression of annual per-capita increments — +3.71 (2022→2023), +3.19 (2023→2024), +3.17 (2024→2025), and now +3.19 (2025→2026 through 24 weeks) — shows that the deceleration which ran from 2022 through 2025 has definitively bottomed out, with 2026's rate of per-capita deterioration running at approximately the same pace as 2024 rather than continuing to slow. This stabilization is significant because it means each passing year is adding a predictable and consistent layer of additional per-capita financial distress — neither accelerating sharply nor beginning to unwind — suggesting that the structural forces driving filings have found a cruising altitude that may persist well into 2027 and beyond. The Chapter 11 per-capita contribution to the annual increment remains the most elevated sub-component: the year-to-date Chapter 11 per-capita rate is running 36.1% above 2025's comparable pace, meaning business distress is contributing disproportionately to the overall per-capita increment and could accelerate the aggregate rate further if corporate credit conditions tighten in the second half of the year. The Chapter 12 agricultural per-capita rate through 24 weeks — 193 filings year-to-date, 25.3% above 2025's comparable pace — confirms that farm financial stress is also contributing to the per-capita acceleration well above its proportional share of total filings, adding a rural and agricultural dimension to what is primarily a consumer and business urban filing story.
9. Forecast for the Expected Filing Numbers for the Rest of the Year With 24 weeks completed and a year-to-date total of 287,334 filings representing 46.2% of the full calendar year, the 2026 full-year projection has converged to its tightest range of the year, with both estimation methods pointing to approximately the same outcome. Using the average of the four most recent weeks (Weeks 21 through 24), which produced an average of approximately 12,001 filings per week, the remaining 28 weeks of the year would contribute an additional roughly 336,028 filings, pointing toward a projected full-year 2026 total of approximately 623,362 — an increase of approximately 60,727 over the 2025 full-year total of 562,635. The full 24-week running average of 11,972 per week for the remaining 28 weeks yields a projected full-year total of approximately 622,557 — a gap of just 805 between the two estimates, the most precise forecast produced at any point in 2026 and a reflection of how stable the weekly filing baseline has become through the year's first half. Applying the historical seasonal moderation factor of approximately 8–12% below the annual weekly average in late summer (Weeks 35–40) and year-end holiday periods (Weeks 50–52) would reduce the projection to the 605,000–615,000 range, representing a 7–9% increase over 2025 that is slightly more conservative than the raw projection but consistent with all prior years' seasonal patterns. The Chapter 11 year-to-date pace of 200.5 filings per week is projecting to approximately 10,424 annual business bankruptcies — meaningfully above the 10,000 threshold — and the resolution of any large corporate restructuring cases still in the pipeline could push actual Chapter 11 weekly counts back toward the exceptional readings of Weeks 6, 23, and other elevated weeks, adding upside risk to the central forecast.
10. Forecast of the Trends of Increasing Filings After 2025 With 24 weeks of data now in hand — nearly half the year complete — the post-2025 trajectory for U.S. bankruptcy filings can be assessed with greater confidence than at any prior point in 2026, and the picture is one of sustained, structurally embedded upward pressure that extends well beyond any single annual cycle. The full-year annual progression from 378,333 in 2022 to 445,195 in 2023, 503,773 in 2024, and 562,635 in 2025, combined with 2026's converged central forecast of approximately 622,000–623,000, describes a curve adding roughly 57,000–83,000 additional annual filings per year — a pace that, if maintained at even its lower bound, would carry annual totals past 680,000 by 2027 and toward 740,000 by 2028. The stabilization of the per-capita annual increment at approximately +3.19 per million per week — matching the 2023–2024 rate almost exactly — is the most important structural signal in the 24-week dataset: it means the financial system is deteriorating at a consistent, predictable rate that is neither accelerating dramatically nor beginning to reverse, suggesting a multi-year plateau of elevated stress rather than a temporary spike. The Chapter 11 trajectory remains the single most consequential post-2025 variable: with three of the five highest Chapter 11 weeks in dataset history occurring in 2026 (Weeks 5, 6, and 23) and the year-to-date pace projecting to over 10,000 annual business filings, the corporate distress cycle is operating at a level that historically does not resolve within a single calendar year and could add 2,000–4,000 more annual Chapter 11 filings in 2027 than in 2025 if current trends persist. The Chapter 13 year-to-date milestone of 99,760 filings through just 24 weeks — approaching 100,000 for the first time at this stage of the year, up from only 63,463 over the same period in 2022 — illustrates how comprehensively financial stress has spread across the consumer income spectrum, including households that theoretically have sufficient income to sustain a repayment plan but are being overwhelmed by debt levels that have outpaced their earnings growth. In summary, the most credible post-2025 outlook remains one of annual filing totals continuing to rise toward the 640,000–700,000 range through 2027–2028, with the pace and magnitude of this increase shaped primarily by the evolution of corporate credit conditions, the trajectory of consumer debt service burdens, and whether any significant monetary easing materializes in the second half of 2026 — none of which, based on the data through Week 24, appears to be generating a measurable reversal in the upward filing trend.

ChatGPT o3 Analysis of this Week's Bankruptcy Statistics

1. National snapshot. Bankruptcy courts recorded 10,992 new cases during the week ending 15 June 2026. Liquidations under Chapter 7 totaled 6,963, repayment plans under Chapter 13 reached 3,872, business restructurings added 147 Chapter 11 petitions, and family-farmer cases contributed 10 under Chapter 12. The headline count rose by 327 from the prior week’s 10,665 but still sat 1,009 below the four-week average of 12,001. After the late-May surge to 14,259, national volume has now settled into a tighter band near the 11-thousand mark.
2. A notable twist. Chapter 11 activity plunged by 272 filings week-over-week, falling from 419 to 147, a 65 % retreat that gave large-company cases their smallest share of the year at 1.3 % of the total. By contrast, Chapter 13’s 3,872 petitions lifted its share to 35.2 %, the second-highest reading of 2026. Chapter 7 continued to dominate with 63.4 %, yet its margin over Chapter 13 narrowed to just 28.2 percentage points, the slimmest gap since January. Such rapid shifts in debtor mix highlight how sensitive corporate filings are to financing conditions, while consumer cases remain steadier.
3. District leaders. Five courts accounted for one-fifth of all filings: the Central District of California logged 568, the Middle District of Florida 515, the Eastern District of Michigan 404, the Northern District of Illinois 397, and the Northern District of Georgia 365. Their combined 2,249 petitions represented 20.5 % of the national total. No other single district exceeded 330 cases. The next tier—Ohio Northern at 326 and Florida Southern at 309—closed the gap only modestly. This clustering shows how a handful of populous jurisdictions continue to set the national tempo.
4. Regional contrasts. At the low end, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands recorded 0 petitions, the Virgin Islands 1, Vermont 4, and Alaska 8. The busiest venue, Central California, therefore handled 142× more cases than Vermont (568 vs 4). Sun-Belt, Great Lakes, and coastal metros dominate the upper decile, whereas remote or sparsely populated areas anchor the bottom. Such disparities underscore how local economic structures and household leverage shape insolvency risk. Policymakers tracking financial stress should watch these regional fault lines.
5. Year-to-date progress. Through 24 weeks, 2026 has generated 287,334 filings—33,266 more than the 254,068 logged over the same span in 2025. The weekly average thus stands at 11,972, versus last year’s 10,586. Chapter 7 leads the charge with 168,789 cases, ahead of 2025 by 18,521; Chapter 13 follows at 95,873, up 9,397; Chapter 11 sits at 4,506, up 1,002; and Chapter 12 has edged higher to 166. Every major chapter except Chapter 12 is pacing comfortably ahead of its 2025 trajectory. The numbers confirm that 2026 remains on course to become the busiest year since 2010.
6. Multi-year lens. This week’s 10,992 cases exceed the same week of 2025, which tallied 10,168, by 824 filings, a 8.1 % increase. They also surpass week 24 of 2024, when courts handled 9,321 petitions, by 1,671, or 17.9 %. Chapter 7 alone added 320 cases versus 2025, while Chapter 13 climbed by 223. The four-week average of 12,001 is now 1,415 higher than the comparable 2025 run-rate of 10,586. Such persistent gains across consecutive years point to a durable upswing rather than a fleeting rebound.
7. Filings per capita. With a national population of roughly 335 million, the latest total equates to 32.8 petitions per million residents. Chapter 7 accounts for 20.8 per million, Chapter 13 for 11.6, while Chapters 11 and 12 together add just 0.5. The five hottest districts deliver about 64 filings per million across their combined 35 million inhabitants. Vermont’s 4 cases translate to only 11 per million, and Guam posts none, underscoring how unevenly risk is distributed. Bankruptcy therefore remains rare in aggregate yet densely clustered in specific economic hubs.
8. Momentum in per-capita terms. One year ago, week 24 produced 30.3 filings per million inhabitants; the current 32.8 marks a rise of 2.5, or 8.3 %. Year-to-date, weekly volume averages 35.6 per million compared with 32.1 in 2025, a gain of 3.5. Central California now posts roughly 38 filings per million, up from 34 last year, while Alaska remains near 12. Such widening spreads reveal diverging local financial conditions beneath the headline national growth. Monitoring these shifts helps pinpoint regions most at risk from household or small-business stress.
9. Rest-of-year outlook. If the current weekly mean of 11,972 continued for the remaining 28 weeks, 2026 would add about 335,000 cases and finish near 622,000 filings. Holding the recent four-week average of 12,001 would lift the projection to roughly 623,400. A conservative scenario in which the latest 10,992 level persisted would still yield a year-end total near 595,000. All three paths exceed 2025’s full-year count of 562,629. Double-digit annual growth therefore remains the base-case expectation.
10. Long-run trajectory. The weekly average has climbed from 10,586 in 2025 to 11,972 this year, a 13.1 % jump. Maintaining that pace would push weekly counts toward 13,600 by early 2028. Even a modest 7 % compound rise would propel annual filings beyond 750,000 before 2030. Chapter 13’s expanding share—now 35.2 %, up from 33.5 % last year—suggests households will drive much of the future growth. Taken together, the data indicate that insolvency pressure will keep intensifying beyond 2025, with a new cyclical peak likely late in the decade.