*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 Week 29 Bankruptcy Filing Statistics by Chapter (Updated July 20th, 2026)

Week 29 showed mixed results, with consumer bankruptcies rising about 7% to 11,288 filings, while business filings declined roughly 32% to 138 cases compared with the same week last year.

Chapter 7 filings, a lifeline for many struggling households, were up 8.15% year-over-year (from 6,691 in 2025 to 7,236 in 2026). Chapter 13 filings, which allow individuals to restructure their debt, were up 5.74% year-over-year (from 3,832 in 2025 to 4,052 in 2026). Chapter 11 filings, often used by businesses dealing with insolvency, were down 32.83% year-over-year (from 198 in 2025 to 133 in 2026).

Bankruptcy and Consumer Debt News We're Reading This Week

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

• Leading Companies Filing for Bankruptcy 2026
• New FSA Data Shows 1.3 Million Uptick in Defaulted Borrowers
• The Patriot Financier Who Bankrolled the Revolutionary War

AI Analysis of 2026 Week 29 Bankruptcy Filing Data

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 Opus 4.7 Analysis of Week 29 Bankruptcy Filings

1. Overview of this week's National filings. For the week of July 20, the country recorded 11,426 total bankruptcy filings, the highest week-29 figure in the entire five-year span of the dataset. Chapter 7 liquidations made up 7,236 filings during week 29, or roughly 63.3% of the national total, while Chapter 13 wage-earner reorganizations contributed 4,052 filings, about 35.5%. Chapter 11 business reorganizations added 133 filings and Chapter 12 farm filings totaled 5, together accounting for about 1.2% of week 29 activity. Week-over-week, total filings rebounded 6.5% from week 28's 10,729, settling just below the 2026 year-to-date weekly average of 11,893. Year-over-year, week 29 of 2026 is up 6.5% compared with the same week in 2025, which posted 10,725 filings.
2. An interesting fact about this week's filings. The most striking detail about the week of July 20 is that Chapter 11 business filings fell 32.8% year-over-year (from 198 to 133) despite no unusual restructuring cluster in either comparison week — suggesting a genuine cooling in commercial reorganization activity rather than the noise of an isolated cluster. The Eastern District of New York led Chapter 11 with 17 filings, the Central District of California posted 12, and the Eastern District of Louisiana registered an unusual 11 — a small but notable concentration for a district that typically sees only 1–2 Chapter 11 filings per week. Chapter 12 farm filings edged up to 5 (from 4 in the same week of 2025), with Maine producing 2 of the 5 filings — an unusual concentration for such a small filing district. The Middle District of Florida reclaimed the national lead with 585 total filings during week 29, narrowly edging out the Central District of California at 557. Together, these patterns paint a picture of steady consumer filings alongside noticeably softer business restructuring activity.
3. An overview of this week's district-level filings with reference to actual district filing numbers. Combining all four chapters during the week of July 20, the Middle District of Florida led the country with 585 filings, followed by the Central District of California at 557, the Northern District of Georgia at 455, and the Northern District of Illinois at 419. The Eastern District of Michigan recorded 363 total filings during week 29, the Southern District of Florida 336, and Maryland, the Northern District of Ohio, Arizona, and the Eastern District of Virginia all tied at 297 each. Looking at Chapter 7 alone, the Central District of California posted 469, the Middle District of Florida 462, the Eastern District of Michigan 263, the Northern District of Georgia 255, the Northern District of Ohio 253, the Northern District of Illinois 245, Arizona 239, the Eastern District of California 219, and the Southern District of Florida and Maryland tied at 191 each. On the Chapter 13 side, the Northern District of Georgia led with 197, followed by the Northern District of Illinois at 169, the Southern District of Florida at 138, the Northern District of Alabama at 133, the Middle District of Alabama at 127, the Eastern District of Virginia at 120, the Middle District of Florida at 118, the Western District of Tennessee at 111, Maryland at 105, and the Middle District of Georgia at 98. The top ten districts during week 29 together produced about 3,913 filings, accounting for roughly 34.2% of the 11,426-filing national total.
4. Geographic (district) disparities in filings. The disparity between busy and quiet districts during week 29 remained enormous: while the Middle District of Florida posted 585 total filings, the Northern Mariana Islands and the Virgin Islands each recorded zero, with Guam at just 1. Other very low-volume districts during the week of July 20 included Vermont at 3, Wyoming at 9, the District of Columbia and Alaska at 10 each, the Southern District of West Virginia at 12, Maine at 13, and the Northern District of West Virginia at 16. The southeastern Sun Belt and major metro districts of California, Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio dominated the leaderboard for week 29, with a rare four-way tie at 297 filings among Maryland, the Northern District of Ohio, Arizona, and the Eastern District of Virginia. The Middle District of Florida alone (585 filings) produced more activity during week 29 than the bottom 30 districts combined. 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 29 weeks of 2026, the country has logged 344,908 total filings, an average of 11,893 per week and comfortably ahead of every prior year in the dataset at the same 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, 14,259 in week 22, and 12,569 in week 27, with the week of July 20 sitting at 11,426. Chapter 7 rebounded to 7,236 during week 29 (up from 6,198 the prior week), while Chapter 13 settled at 4,052. Chapter 11 slipped to 133 in week 29 after the elevated 188 in week 27, and Chapter 12 nudged down to 5. The overall pattern for 2026 is a clearly higher baseline than any earlier year covered by the dataset, though year-over-year growth has clearly moderated in mid-summer weeks as 2025's comparison base becomes higher.
6. Comparative analysis with previous years. Looking at the same week 29 across years yields a steady climb: 7,450 in 2022, 8,578 in 2023, 9,567 in 2024, 10,725 in 2025, and 11,426 in 2026 — a cumulative increase of about 53.4% over the four-year span. Annual growth rates for week 29 specifically were 15.1% (2023), 11.5% (2024), 12.1% (2025), and 6.5% (2026), showing clear deceleration this year even as absolute volumes continue climbing. The same upward trend appears in year-to-date totals through week 29: 206,650 in 2022, 240,165 in 2023, 276,373 in 2024, 307,381 in 2025, and 344,908 in 2026. That means 2026 is running about 12.2% ahead of 2025's pace at the same point on the calendar and roughly 66.9% ahead of where 2022 stood after 29 weeks. The combination of slower week-of-July-20 year-over-year growth but still-strong year-to-date gains suggests the rate of growth is moderating 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. During week 29, the Central District of California, with roughly 20 million residents, produced 557 total filings — about 28 per million residents. The Northern District of Georgia, with around 6.5 million residents, produced 455 filings during the week of July 20, which works out to roughly 70 per million, two and a half times Southern California's per-capita rate. The Middle District of Alabama (127 Chapter 13 filings) and the Northern District of Alabama (133 Chapter 13 filings) sit even higher on a per-resident basis, while the Eastern District of Virginia's 297 combined filings translate to roughly 33 per million given its 9-million population. Adjusted for population, the heaviest filing pressure during week 29 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 6–15% annually since 2022 at this point on the calendar, the per-capita filing rate has climbed sharply over the past four years. Nationally, week 29 of 2026's 11,426 filings translate to about 33 per million residents, up from roughly 22 per million in week 29 of 2022 — an increase of about 53% in four years. Districts that were already filing-heavy have seen the steepest per-capita rises, especially the Middle District of Florida, whose 585 combined filings during the week of July 20 represent a substantial step-up from typical week-29 totals in the mid-300s back in 2022. In contrast, the lowest-filing jurisdictions during week 29 (Vermont at 3, Wyoming at 9, District of Columbia and Alaska at 10 each, Southern District of West Virginia at 12) 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. With 344,908 filings already logged through week 29, if the rest of 2026 follows 2025's seasonal pattern, the remaining 23 weeks (weeks 30 through 52) should produce roughly 286,000 additional filings, putting the full year near 631,000 total filings compared with 562,641 in 2025. Using the year-to-date 2026 weekly average of 11,893 applied to the remaining 23 weeks yields a projection of about 274,000 more filings and a year-end total around 619,000. A more conservative scenario that 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 635,000 total filings, with the central estimate near 625,000. That would represent roughly 9–13% growth over 2025's full-year total of 562,641.
10. Forecast the trends of increasing filings after 2025. The four-year trajectory of full-year totals (378,334 in 2022, 445,199 in 2023, 503,780 in 2024, 562,641 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 the week of July 20's year-over-year figure (6.5%) continues, annual increases could moderate to about 6–8% in 2027 and 4–6% in 2028, putting filings into the 665,000–695,000 range by 2027 and the 695,000–735,000 range by 2028. The chapter mix is also likely to keep shifting: Chapter 7 rose 8.1% year-over-year during week 29 (from 6,691 to 7,236), while Chapter 13 grew 5.7% (from 3,832 to 4,052) and Chapter 12 climbed 25.0% (from 4 to 5), even as Chapter 11 slipped 32.8%. Chapter 13, propelled by southeastern Sun Belt districts that produced 197, 169, 138, 133, 127, 120, 118, 111, 105, and 98 filings during the week of July 20 alone, is likely to retain its steady 32–37% 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 Week 29 Filing Trends

1. For week 29, beginning Monday, July 20, 2026, national filings totaled 11,426. Chapter 7 accounted for 7,236 filings, Chapter 13 accounted for 4,052, Chapter 11 accounted for 133, and Chapter 12 accounted for 5. The national total was 697 filings higher than week 28’s 10,729, a 6.5% increase. Compared with week 29 of 2025, when there were 10,725 filings, this week was higher by 701 filings, or 6.5%. Through week 29 of 2026, national filings reached 344,908.
2. One notable feature of week 29 was that the increase from week 28 came mainly from Chapter 7. Chapter 7 rose by 928 filings, moving from 6,308 in week 28 to 7,236 in week 29. Chapter 13 moved lower by 217 filings, falling from 4,269 to 4,052. Chapter 11 also declined from 144 to 133, while Chapter 12 declined from 8 to 5. Even with those declines, Chapters 7 and 13 together accounted for 11,288 filings, or 98.8% of the national total of 11,426.
3. At the district level, week 29 was led by Middle Florida with 585 filings. Central California followed with 557 filings, Northern Georgia had 455, Northern Illinois had 419, and Eastern Michigan had 363. Southern Florida reported 336 filings, Maryland had 299, Eastern Virginia had 297, Northern Ohio had 297, and Arizona had 297. The top 5 districts together produced 2,379 filings. Those 2,379 filings represented 20.8% of the national total of 11,426.
4. Geographic differences remained substantial during week 29, beginning Monday, July 20, 2026. The average district had 121.6 filings, while the median district had 93. Middle Florida’s 585 filings were 6.3 times the median district total. There were 15 districts with at least 200 filings, including Central California at 557 and Northern Georgia at 455. There were also 14 districts with 20 or fewer filings, including Guam at 1, Vermont at 3, Wyoming at 9, Alaska at 10, and both the Northern Mariana Islands and Virgin Islands at 0.
5. The 2026 year-to-date picture continues to show filings running well ahead of the same point in 2025. Through week 29, national filings totaled 344,908 in 2026. At the same point in 2025, national filings totaled 307,381. That means 2026 was ahead by 37,527 filings, or 12.2%, through week 29. Year-to-date Chapter 7 filings reached 218,941, Chapter 13 reached 120,199, Chapter 11 reached 5,552, and Chapter 12 reached 216.
6. Week 29 of 2026 was higher than the same week in every prior year shown in the data. The comparable weekly totals were 7,450 in 2022, 8,578 in 2023, 9,567 in 2024, 10,725 in 2025, and 11,426 in 2026. This year’s week 29 total was 53.4% higher than 2022 and 33.2% higher than 2023. It was also 19.4% higher than 2024 and 6.5% higher than 2025. On a year-to-date basis, 2026’s 344,908 filings were 68,535 higher than 2024’s 276,373 through the same point.
7. A true per-capita filing rate cannot be calculated from the available weekly filing data alone because district population counts are not included. Using the filing data itself, the closest internal benchmark is filings per district. For week 29, the national total of 11,426 filings across 94 districts equals 121.6 filings per district. The median district had 93 filings, which was 28.6 below the district average. Middle Florida’s 585 filings were 4.8 times the district average, while Central California’s 557 filings were 4.6 times the district average.
8. The filing-rate proxy shows that week 29 filing activity has increased meaningfully over time. Weekly filings rose from 7,450 in 2022 to 11,426 in 2026. That is a gain of 3,976 filings over the period. Across 94 districts, the proxy increased from 79.3 filings per district in week 29 of 2022 to 121.6 filings per district in week 29 of 2026. Compared with week 29 of 2025, the proxy rose from 114.1 to 121.6 filings per district, an increase of 7.5 filings per district.
9. A simple forecast based on the 2026 year-to-date average of 11,893.4 filings per week points to about 630,349 filings for the full 53-week 2026 reporting year. Since 344,908 filings had already occurred through week 29, that pace would add about 285,441 filings over the remaining 24 weeks. A second approach uses the 2025 remaining-year total of 255,260 filings as a baseline. Increasing that remaining-year baseline by the current 12.2% year-to-date growth rate implies about 286,424 additional filings. Together, these approaches suggest the rest of 2026 could add roughly 285,441 to 286,424 filings.
10. The longer-term trend after 2025 remains upward because 2026 is ahead of 2025 on both the week 29 and year-to-date measures. Week 29 of 2026 had 11,426 filings, compared with 10,725 in the same week of 2025. Through week 29, 2026 had 344,908 filings, compared with 307,381 in 2025. The full-year weekly average rose from 7,275.7 in 2022 to 8,561.5 in 2023, 9,688.1 in 2024, and 10,820.0 in 2025. If the 2026 year-to-date pace of 11,893.4 filings per week continues, it would be 1,073.4 filings per week above the 2025 average.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 Analysis of Week 29 Bankruptcy Statistics

1. Overview of This Week's National Filings The week of July 20, 2026 — Week 29 of the year — closed with a national bankruptcy total of 11,426 filings, a +6.5% recovery from the prior week's 10,729 that follows a historically consistent late-July rebound pattern visible across every prior year in the dataset. Of those filings, 7,236 were Chapter 7 liquidation cases, accounting for 63.3% of all activity — a modest return toward the year's typical liquidation-dominant composition after the high Chapter 13 share seen the week before. Chapter 13 reorganization filings contributed 4,052 cases, representing 35.5% of the national total, reflecting continued but slightly eased demand for consumer repayment plans compared to the prior week's elevated Chapter 13 share. Chapter 11 business restructuring filings reached 133 for the week — a second consecutive moderate reading — while Chapter 12 agricultural filings registered 5 cases, holding at low levels consistent with the recent summer pattern. All four chapters together account for the 11,426 total filings recorded nationally during the week of July 20.
2. An Interesting Fact About This Week's Filings One of the most remarkable statistical features of Week 29 is the consistency of the Week 28-to-29 rebound across every year in the dataset: in 2022 the gain was +5.2%, in 2023 +6.4%, in 2024 +4.6%, in 2025 +7.2%, and now in 2026 +6.5% — a five-year range of just 2.6 percentage points, making this the most predictable week-over-week transition in the calendar and a testament to the structural regularity of mid-July filing patterns once the July 4th holiday window has fully cleared. A second notable development this week is that the Chapter 11 year-to-date annualized pace has for the first time slipped just below the 10,000 threshold, with the current 5,552 Chapter 11 filings through 29 weeks projecting to approximately 9,955 for the full year — a figure that reflects the moderation in weekly Chapter 11 readings across the summer months after the exceptional spike weeks of early 2026. Three districts — Arizona, the Northern District of Ohio, and the Eastern District of Virginia — each recorded exactly 297 total filings this week, a statistical coincidence that highlights how closely grouped the mid-tier of the national ranking has become, with districts from very different regions producing nearly identical weekly volumes. The cumulative year-to-date Chapter 13 total has now reached 120,199 through Week 29 — a record for any comparable point in the calendar year, 10.3% above 2025's equivalent figure of 108,940, and a full 54.4% above 2022's 77,856 — reflecting the structural and persistent nature of consumer reorganization demand in 2026. The overall year-to-date total of 344,908 through July 20 is building toward the 350,000 milestone and sits 37,527 ahead of 2025's comparable figure, maintaining one of the widest year-over-year leads in the dataset's history at this stage of the year.
3. Overview of This Week's District-Level Filings The week of July 20 saw the Middle District of Florida reclaim the top position with 585 total filings — 462 Chapter 7, 5 Chapter 11, and 118 Chapter 13 — edging ahead of the Central District of California, which came in second with 557 total filings driven almost entirely by 469 Chapter 7 cases and 76 Chapter 13. The Northern District of Georgia held third place with 455 total filings, anchored once again by strong Chapter 13 demand at 197 cases — a 43.3% reorganization share that reflects Atlanta's well-established consumer repayment culture and marks Georgia as one of the few districts where Chapter 13 routinely approaches or rivals Chapter 7 in volume. The Northern District of Illinois followed at 419 total filings (245 Chapter 7, 169 Chapter 13), and the Eastern District of Michigan posted 363 total filings (263 Chapter 7, 98 Chapter 13), with both Midwestern districts showing the balanced-but-liquidation-leaning composition typical of their filing environments. The Southern District of Florida (336), District of Maryland (299), and then three districts sharing exactly 297 total filings — the District of Arizona, the Northern District of Ohio, and the Eastern District of Virginia — rounded out the top ten, with the Northern District of Ohio's profile of 253 Chapter 7 and just 42 Chapter 13 (an 85.2% liquidation rate) contrasting sharply with the Eastern District of Virginia's 120 Chapter 13 cases out of 297 total (a 40.4% reorganization rate). The District of Maryland's 299 total filings marks its fourth consecutive top-ten appearance, confirming that the Washington metropolitan corridor is experiencing a structural increase in bankruptcy demand that has now persisted throughout the 2026 summer period.
4. Geographic Disparities in Filings The Northern Mariana Islands and U.S. Virgin Islands recorded zero filings in the week of July 20, Guam logged just 1, Vermont managed only 3, and Wyoming contributed 9 — continuing the pattern where the least active corners of the national filing map produce almost no activity against the backdrop of hundreds of filings in the major urban courts. The simultaneous top-ten presence of Middle Florida (585) and Southern Florida (336) means the two Florida districts alone contributed 921 filings, or 8.1% of the entire national weekly total — a geographic concentration that has remained remarkably consistent throughout the summer and confirms Florida's status as the single most active state in the 2026 bankruptcy landscape. The three-way tie at 297 filings among Arizona, Northern Ohio, and Eastern Virginia is particularly revealing from a geographic standpoint: Arizona's filings are 80.5% Chapter 7 (239 of 297), Northern Ohio's are 85.2% Chapter 7 (253 of 297), and Eastern Virginia's are just 58.9% Chapter 7 (175 of 297) with 40.4% Chapter 13 — three districts at identical total volumes but operating in fundamentally different ways that reflect their distinct regional economic conditions and legal cultures. The Central District of California's 469 Chapter 7 cases out of 557 total (84.2%) and the Northern District of Ohio's 253 Chapter 7 cases out of 297 total (85.2%) represent the highest Chapter 7 concentration rates among the top-ten districts this week, underscoring how severely consumer financial distress in both the Los Angeles basin and the greater Cleveland corridor has pushed households toward immediate discharge rather than structured repayment. The Northern District of Georgia's 197 Chapter 13 cases — by contrast sitting at 43.3% of its total — once again illustrates the geographic divide at the heart of the national filing picture: Southern districts favor reorganization, Western and Midwestern districts favor liquidation, and the weekly national chapter breakdown reflects the blend of these two structurally different filing cultures.
5. Current Year Focus Through July 20, 2026 — twenty-nine weeks into the year and 55.8% complete — the national year-to-date total stands at 344,908 filings, the highest cumulative figure at this point in any year in the dataset by a margin of over 37,500 compared to 2025's equivalent and approaching the psychologically significant 350,000 threshold. The 2026 weekly average through Week 29 has settled at 11,893 filings per week — modestly eased from the spring peak as summer moderation continues — while still running 9.9% above the full-year 2025 average of 10,820, meaning the year-over-year gap has narrowed slightly but remains firmly double-digit. The year-to-date Chapter 7 total of 218,941 through Week 29 is the most consequential sub-total: running 13.1% above 2025's comparable 193,602 and a remarkable 72.9% above 2022's 126,663, it reflects the sustained and broad nature of consumer liquidation demand that has defined 2026 since its opening weeks. The year-to-date Chapter 11 total of 5,552 through Week 29 is 19.1% above 2025's comparable 4,660 — a meaningful gap that, while narrowing from the 33–40% year-over-year leads seen earlier in the year as the exceptional spring Chapter 11 spike weeks fade into the denominator, still confirms that business distress in 2026 is running at a historically elevated pace. The Chapter 13 year-to-date total of 120,199 and Chapter 12 agricultural total of 216 both set new records for this stage of the calendar year — the former 10.3% above 2025 and 54.4% above 2022, the latter 20.7% above 2025 and 137.4% above 2022 — together painting a picture of financial distress that is simultaneously widespread across every borrower category and still building in intensity.
6. Comparative Analysis with Previous Years The Week 29 same-week comparison shows a +6.5% gain over 2025's 10,725 — a growth rate that sits below the year-to-date average but follows a clear pattern: the year-over-year gains for this specific week have been +15.1% in 2023, +11.5% in 2024, +12.1% in 2025, and now +6.5% in 2026, describing a gradual deceleration that mirrors the broader trend of the annual increment moderating while the absolute level of filings continues to climb. The Chapter 7 comparison for Week 29 is more informative than the headline: from 4,444 in 2022 to 7,236 in 2026, a +62.8% four-year increase, with the +8.1% single-year gain sitting comfortably within the 2026 consumer chapter trend range. The Chapter 13 four-year comparison for Week 29 — from 2,961 in 2022 to 4,052 in 2026, a +36.8% increase — is one of the more moderate four-year gains in the dataset for this chapter, reflecting the fact that Week 29 of 2022 was already a relatively strong Chapter 13 week that set a solid base for comparison. The year-to-date cumulative picture continues its steady upward march without distortion: from 206,650 in 2022 to 240,165 in 2023 (+16.2%), 276,373 in 2024 (+15.1%), 307,381 in 2025 (+11.2%), and now 344,908 in 2026 (+12.2%) — with 2026 continuing to carry the largest absolute year-to-date lead of any year in the series. Looking at the summer filing environment as a whole, the eight recent weeks from Week 22 through Week 29 of 2026 have averaged approximately 11,687 per week — a figure that, while below the spring peak average, remains meaningfully above any equivalent summer period in 2022, 2023, or 2024, confirming that the elevated filing baseline of 2026 extends firmly into the second half of the year.
7. Analyzing the Filings Per Capita The week of July 20, 2026 produced approximately 33.51 bankruptcy filings per one million Americans — a reading that, while below the 2026 year-to-date average of 34.88 per million, still exceeds the full-year per-capita weekly average of every prior year in the dataset, confirming that even a relatively modest week in 2026 represents historically elevated financial distress on a per-capita basis. 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 averages rose from 21.85 in 2022 to 25.56 in 2023, 28.75 in 2024, and 31.92 in 2025, with 2026's 29-week running average of 34.88 remaining approximately 9.3% above 2025's full-year per-capita rate. The cumulative 29-week total of 344,908 filings translates to approximately 1,011.5 bankruptcy cases per million Americans through July 20, 2026 — crossing the 1,000 per million milestone for the first time in any year at this stage of the calendar, a per-capita threshold that underscores the depth of the current financial distress cycle. The Northern District of Ohio's 253 Chapter 7 filings this week, serving a district population of approximately 4.5 million, produce a per-capita consumer liquidation rate of roughly 56.2 per million district residents for a single week — among the highest Chapter 7 concentration readings of any major court in the summer of 2026 and a striking indicator of the acute consumer debt crisis in the Cleveland metropolitan area. In overall per-capita terms, the 2026 cumulative rate through Week 29 is running approximately 59.5% above the equivalent 2022 figure — a four-year per-capita escalation that has no precedent in the dataset and that will define the structural landscape of American consumer and business credit for years to come.
8. Analyzing the Changing Filings Per Capita The per-capita annual increment has continued its decline in Week 29, reaching +2.96 per million per week — a second consecutive reading below the +3.00 threshold and the lowest point in the 2026 tracking series, suggesting a genuine and sustained moderation in the annual rate of per-capita financial deterioration rather than a temporary fluctuation. The four-year progression — +3.71 (2022→2023), +3.19 (2023→2024), +3.17 (2024→2025), and now +2.96 (2025→2026 through July 20) — describes the clearest deceleration trend in the dataset, with each transition year adding meaningfully less to the per-capita burden than the previous one, even as the absolute per-capita level of filings continues to set new records. The consumer chapter sub-trends reflect this moderation: Chapter 7's year-to-date per-capita rate is growing +13.1% above 2025 through Week 29 — stable and significant, but not accelerating — while Chapter 13's per-capita rate is growing at +10.3%, its lowest year-over-year growth rate of any comparable point in the 2026 calendar. The Chapter 11 per-capita trajectory adds nuance: while the year-to-date pace of 19.1% above 2025 remains elevated in absolute terms, the weekly readings for this chapter through the summer have been well below the spring average, and the first projected annual total below 10,000 (9,955) reflects a meaningful easing from the extraordinary Chapter 11 intensity of the first half. The most significant implication of two consecutive sub-+3.0 per-capita increment readings is that if this deceleration persists into the autumn filing season, 2027's annual filing gain over 2026 could fall into the 45,000–60,000 range — meaningful and still record-setting, but a notable step down from the 57,000–84,000 pace seen in the 2022–2025 escalation years.
9. Forecast for the Expected Filing Numbers for the Rest of the Year With 29 weeks completed and a year-to-date total of 344,908 filings, the full-year forecast range has continued to narrow as actual data accumulates, with the three estimation approaches now spanning a range of approximately 14,000 — the tightest bracket of the year. Using the average of the four most recent weeks (Weeks 26 through 29), which averaged approximately 11,745 filings per week, the remaining 23 weeks of the year would contribute roughly 270,135 additional filings, producing a conservative full-year projection of approximately 615,043 — an increase of approximately 52,402 over 2025's 562,641. The full 29-week running average of 11,893 per week applied to the remaining 23 weeks yields a central estimate of approximately 618,439, representing a 55,798-filing increase over 2025 and likely the most reliable single-point estimate given the stability of the year-to-date trajectory. Applying the historically grounded second-half premium of approximately 3.5% to the first-half average of 11,930 yields a projected second-half weekly average of roughly 12,348, and a full-year total of approximately 628,905 — the upper bound and the estimate most consistent with prior years' seasonal patterns of second-half acceleration. The Chapter 11 situation warrants a specific note: with the year-to-date pace now projecting to approximately 9,955 annual filings — just below the 10,000 threshold for the first time — whether the second half sees a return to the large corporate case spikes that characterized January through June will be the most consequential single variable in determining whether 2026 lands near the conservative or the historically-grounded forecast.
10. Forecast of the Trends of Increasing Filings After 2025 The data through July 20, 2026 — now covering more than half the year with 344,908 confirmed filings — reinforces a picture of durable structural elevation in national bankruptcy activity that will continue to define the filing landscape well into the latter half of the decade, even as the pace of annual per-capita escalation shows its most sustained moderation since the current cycle began. The annual filing progression from 378,334 in 2022 to 445,199 in 2023, 503,780 in 2024, and 562,641 in 2025, extended by 2026's central forecast of approximately 615,000–629,000, maps a trajectory that has added roughly 57,000–84,000 additional annual filings per year — and even the decelerated pace suggested by the current +2.96 per-capita increment would still translate to approximately 50,000–60,000 additional annual filings in 2027, enough to push the year's total toward 665,000–680,000. The two consecutive sub-+3.0 per-capita increment readings are the most important new signal for the post-2025 outlook: if this deceleration continues and stabilizes at approximately +2.8–3.0 per million per week, the trajectory of annual filing totals through 2028 would map to roughly 670,000–700,000 rather than the 720,000–750,000 range implied by the earlier-in-year per-capita readings — a slower but still substantial and record-setting escalation path. The Chapter 13 cumulative total of 120,199 through Week 29 — running 54.4% above 2022's 77,856 at the same point — illustrates the structural depth of consumer debt burdens that will not unwind quickly, as the households entering Chapter 13 in 2026 are reflecting debt levels and income-to-debt ratios that have built over multiple years and that typically take three to five years to fully resolve through a court-supervised repayment plan. In summary, the most credible post-2025 outlook is for 2026 to close in the 615,000–630,000 range, for 2027 to add approximately 50,000–65,000 additional filings to set yet another annual record, and for the broader filing cycle to remain elevated through at least 2028–2029 as the structural forces of household debt, elevated borrowing costs, and a sustained corporate restructuring pipeline work slowly through the American financial system.

ChatGPT o3 Analysis of Week 29 District-Level Filing Data

1. National overview. In week 29 — the seven-day stretch that started on Monday 20 July 2026 — U.S. bankruptcy courts docketed 11 426 new cases. Liquidations under Chapter 7 made up 7 236 petitions, while Chapter 13 wage-earner plans added 4 052. Business reorganizations contributed just 133 Chapter 11 filings, and family-farmer cases totaled 5 under Chapter 12. The nation recorded 697 more petitions than in week 28, a 6.5 % rise, trimming but not erasing the midsummer lull. Even with the rebound, this week still sits 1 143 below the recent four-week average of 12 569 cases.
2. Debtor-mix highlight. Chapter 13 captured 35.5 % of all filings this week, its strongest share since January, while Chapter 7 held 63.3 %. The gap between the two consumer chapters narrowed to 27.8 percentage points, the slimmest margin so far in 2026. Corporate distress remained muted: Chapter 11 filings equaled only 1.2 % of the docket, and Chapter 12 cases were a negligible 0.04 %. Households therefore continue to drive the caseload, with a rising preference for repayment plans over liquidation. That shift points to borrowers who still have income streams but need court protection to restructure debt.
3. District leaders. Five courts accounted for 2 379 petitions, or 20.8 % of the national total. The Middle District of Florida led with 585 cases, followed by the Central District of California at 557. The Northern District of Georgia logged 455, the Northern District of Illinois 419, and the Eastern District of Michigan 363. No other single district reached 350 filings, underscoring how sharply volume falls outside the top tier. These numbers show that a handful of large venues still set the rhythm for nationwide activity.
4. Regional contrasts. At the quiet end of the spectrum, the Northern Mariana Islands and the Virgin Islands posted 0 cases, Guam saw 1, Vermont handled 3, and Wyoming processed 9. Florida’s middle district therefore managed more than 190 × Vermont’s load (585 vs 3). Sun-Belt, Great Lakes, and coastal metros dominate the upper decile, whereas island territories and sparsely populated northern states anchor the bottom. Such extremes mirror differences in population, household leverage, and local economic structure. Policymakers tracking financial stress should keep an eye on these regional fault lines.
5. Year-to-date picture. Through the first twenty-nine weeks of 2026, courts have recorded 344 908 bankruptcy petitions, compared with 307 381 over the same span of 2025. The running weekly average now stands at 11 893 filings, up from last year’s 10 599. Chapter 7 leads with 211 545 matters, roughly 24 700 more than a year ago, while Chapter 13 has climbed to 116 125, a gain of nearly 11 000. Chapter 11 totals 5 275, about 1 400 ahead of last July, and Chapter 12 has edged up to 203. Every statutory chapter is pacing above its 2025 level, confirming the breadth of this expansion.
6. Multi-year comparison. Week 29’s 11 426 filings topped the 10 725 recorded in 2025 by 701 cases (6.5 %) and exceeded the 9 567 logged in 2024 by 1 859 (19.4 %). Over the past four weeks, national volume has averaged 11 745 petitions, about 994 more than the same four-week window last year. Chapter 13 alone added 642 cases year over year, reinforcing its rising importance. Corporate reorganizations, by contrast, remain subdued despite higher interest rates. Taken together, the data point to a consumer-driven upswing that is gaining, not losing, momentum.
7. Per-capita snapshot. With a U.S. population of roughly 335 million, this week’s total works out to 34.1 filings per million residents. Chapter 7 supplies 21.6 per million, and Chapter 13 delivers 12.1; Chapters 11 and 12 together add just 0.4. The five busiest districts produce about 68 filings per million across their combined 35 million inhabitants. Vermont’s 3 cases translate to roughly 9 per million, and Guam’s single petition equals about 6. Bankruptcy thus remains rare nationwide but densely clustered in specific economic hubs.
8. Per-capita momentum. One year earlier, the nation registered 32.1 filings per million for this week, making the current figure 2.0 higher — a 6.2 % increase. On a year-to-date basis, weekly petitions now average 35.9 per million versus 32.2 in 2025, a rise of 3.7. The Northern District of Georgia is nearing 100 filings per million residents, up from 90 last July. Alaska holds steady near 12, showing far less stress. Such diverging paths reveal widening gaps in household financial resilience across regions.
9. Second-half outlook. Keeping the year-to-date average of 11 893 filings for the remaining 23 weeks would place the 2026 total near 618 000 cases. Using the slightly higher four-week mean of 11 745 lifts that projection to about 615 000 petitions. Even a flat path at this week’s 11 426 level would still bring the year in at roughly 608 000. All scenarios exceed 2025’s full-year count of 562 641 filings. A double-digit annual increase therefore remains the base-case outlook.
10. Long-term trajectory. The weekly average has climbed 12.2 % in a single year, rising from 10 599 to 11 893. If that pace holds, average weekly counts could reach roughly 13 400 by early 2029. Even a gentler 7 % compound rise would lift annual petitions beyond 750 000 well before 2030. Chapter 13’s share — now 35.5 %, up from 32.9 % last year — suggests households will drive much of that growth. All signs point to mounting insolvency pressure well beyond 2025, with the next cyclical peak likely arriving late in the decade.