Empirical analysis of 4,895,163 consumer bankruptcy cases across all 94 federal districts, fiscal years 2008 through 2024.
These numbers represent the largest publicly available analysis of Chapter 13 consumer bankruptcy outcomes in the United States. Every statistic is derived from the FJC Integrated Database and can be independently verified.
More than half of all Chapter 13 cases filed between 2008 and 2024 ended in dismissal -- meaning the debtor received no debt relief despite filing fees, attorney costs, and months or years of plan payments.
Fewer than 42% of Chapter 13 debtors successfully completed their repayment plans and received a discharge. This is the fundamental measure of whether Chapter 13 works as intended.
One in three Chapter 13 filers had filed a previous bankruptcy case. Among these 1.6 million prior filers, only 27.4% ultimately received a discharge -- compared to 41.7% overall.
Approximately 409,053 Chapter 13 cases were filed without attorney representation. Pro se rates vary dramatically by district, from under 1% to over 53%.
Our screening algorithms identified an estimated 168,539 cases where a debtor may have received a Chapter 13 discharge despite a statutory filing bar under 11 U.S.C. Section 1328(f). No federal court currently has a systematic mechanism to check for these bars at the time of filing. Our research led to Suggestion 26-BK-3 to the Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules.
Outcomes vary enormously by district. A Chapter 13 case filed in Vermont has a 75% chance of resulting in discharge. The same case filed in the Eastern District of New York has an 88% chance of dismissal. These disparities are among the most significant findings in our dataset.
| District | Total Filed | Dismissal Rate | Pro Se Rate | Prior Filer Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E.D.N.Y. | 52,527 | 88.2% | 53.1% | 42.0% |
| C.D. Cal. | 210,421 | 80.7% | 39.6% | 34.6% |
| D. Conn. | 16,107 | 80.0% | 19.3% | 38.6% |
| W.D. Tenn. | 173,823 | 79.6% | 1.4% | 53.5% |
| D.V.I. | 62 | 78.4% | 12.9% | 14.5% |
| District | Total Filed | Dismissal Rate | Pro Se Rate | Prior Filer Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D. Vt. | 2,548 | 24.9% | 2.8% | 13.2% |
| D. Kan. | 44,949 | 31.4% | 1.6% | 26.1% |
| D.N.D. | 1,635 | 32.4% | 5.0% | 20.2% |
| D. Neb. | 23,240 | 33.9% | 1.9% | 34.4% |
| D. Minn. | 35,287 | 35.4% | 4.0% | 25.1% |
| District | Total Filed | Est. Violations | Prior Filer Rate | Dismissal Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N.D. Ga. | 245,569 | 7,815 | 44.8% | 72.9% |
| N.D. Ill. | 238,789 | 7,607 | 38.4% | 67.0% |
| N.D. Ala. | 122,368 | 5,415 | 41.5% | 60.6% |
| W.D. La. | 109,994 | 4,962 | 33.3% | 56.3% |
| W.D. Tenn. | 173,823 | 4,861 | 53.5% | 79.6% |
Data covers all 94 federal bankruptcy districts. Full district-level data is available through our data access page. Interactive maps are available on our research tools.
Our analysis has produced several interactive tools and research products that make this data accessible to non-technical audiences.
The full dataset is available for download in SQLite format. Our analysis scripts are open source on GitHub and produce reproducible results.
Benchmark your district against national averages. Identify outcome patterns. Screen for Section 1328(f) discharge bars before filing.
Use our data to investigate bankruptcy outcomes in your region. All findings are independently verifiable against public records.
Our data reveals systemic compliance gaps in the bankruptcy system that affect millions of Americans. No other public source provides this level of detail.
All analysis scripts, methodology documentation, and precomputed datasets are available on GitHub under open source licenses. The full FJC database (~2GB SQLite) is available for download.
All statistics on this page are derived from the Federal Judicial Center Integrated Database, the official statistical record maintained by the judicial branch of the United States government. The FJC-IDB contains administrative records for every federal bankruptcy case filed since 2008.
Our analysis pipeline ingests raw FJC data, normalizes district codes across schema changes, and computes outcome metrics using disposition codes. Prior-filer identification uses the FJC's PRFILE field. Section 1328(f) screening applies statutory timing rules (4-year and 6-year bars) to sequential filings by the same debtor.
Supplemental data from PACER docket records and the CourtListener RECAP archive is used for docket-level validation. Census Bureau data provides demographic overlays.
We donate docket data to the Free Law Project's RECAP archive, expanding free public access to federal court records that would otherwise cost $0.10 per page on PACER.
We are developing a public API for programmatic access to district-level statistics, screening results, and trend data. Researchers and civic technologists can sign up to be notified when the API launches.
If you use these statistics in academic work, journalism, or policy analysis, please cite:
Open Bankruptcy Project. "National Consumer Bankruptcy Outcomes, FY2008-2024." openbankruptcyproject.org/statistics. Accessed [date]. Dataset derived from Federal Judicial Center Integrated Database.
Citation is appreciated but not required. This data is released under CC BY 4.0.