There’s a lot of misinformation floating around about bankruptcy and debt resolution. While we’ve already busted some of the most persistent bankruptcy myths, the statistics below will paint a clearer picture of the role bankruptcy plays and the impact it can have.
Bankruptcy Filing Statistics
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484,400 consumer bankruptcy cases were filed around the country in 2024.
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The most active year for bankruptcy in U.S. history was 2005, when more than two million bankruptcy cases were filed.
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Nationwide, about 60% of bankruptcy filings are Chapter 7 cases.
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Locally, Chapter 7 cases make up an even larger share: in the Los Angeles bankruptcy court, more than 80% of cases filed in 2024 were under Chapter 7.
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More adversary proceedings were filed in Los Angeles bankruptcy cases in the first half of 2025 than in all of 2024.
Success Metrics
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49.3% of Chapter 13 plans were successfully completed in 2024–more than half were dismissed. NOTE: This number includes a large number of cases that are filed without an attorney. 99.96% of those cases are dismissed. Success rates are MUCH higher when you have an experienced attorney prepare your Chapter 13 case.
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24% of the Chapter 13 debtors whose Chapter 13 plans were successfully completed in 2024 had to modify their repayment plans at least once.
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More than half of all Chapter 13 cases dismissed in 2024 were dismissed for failure to make plan payments.
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The most recent data available for the Central District of California says 94.1% of Chapter 7 cases filed by bankruptcy attorneys ended in a discharge of debt, versus 55.6% of those filed by the debtor without help.
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About 98% of bankruptcy filers who have attempted to discharge student loan debt since the end of 2022 have succeeded in having their debt reduced or eliminated.
Timeline Statistics
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The average time to complete a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case in the U.S. is 170 days (median 110) days.
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In the Central District of California, Chapter 7 cases move faster: the average time from filing to completion is 124 days (median 103).
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The average time to complete a Chapter 13 bankruptcy case in the U.S. is 1,173 days–about three years and three months (median 1,274–about three years and six months)
Debt Statistics
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As of Q1 of 2025, Americans were carrying $18.2 trillion in household debt.
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More than $78 billion of that amount was at some stage of delinquency.
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Americans are carrying more than $1 trillion in credit card debt.
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More than 12% of that credit card debt, or more than $120 billion, is in default (at least 90 days past due).
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Mortgage balances reached $12.8 trillion, not including $402 billion in home equity lines of credit (HELOCs).
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About 14 million Americans have more than $1,000 in medical debt, and about 3 million are carrying more than $10,000.
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More than $86 billion in debt was listed in U.S. bankruptcy cases in 2024.
What Do These Numbers Mean for You?
These numbers may be a bit overwhelming, but they can be reassuring, too. If you’re drowning in credit card debt or have delinquent credit accounts, you are far from alone. And, last year alone, hundreds of thousands of people got relief from unmanageable debt through bankruptcy. More than 10,000 of them were right here in the Los Angeles area, probably facing challenges very much like yours.
The first step toward taking control of your debt is to get reliable information about your options. The best source of that information is an experienced Los Angeles bankruptcy attorney. At Borowitz & Clark, we’ve been helping Californians get out of debt for decades. We’ve personally helped tens of thousands of people get the fresh start they needed.
To make it easy for you to get the information you need, we offer free, no-obligation consultations. You can schedule yours right now by calling 877-439-9717