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Final Tally on Personal Bankruptcies in 2000
The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts recently released its final tabulation of personal bankruptcies filed in the U.S. during 2000. A total of 1,217,972 petitions were filed, down 5 percent from 1999. Of these petitions, 68.9 percent were filed under Chapter 7, in which about 95 percent of current borrowers are exempt from any asset liquidation and have their debts discharged as a prelude to a "fresh start." The nearby table displays a breakdown by state and judicial district.
The U.S. Court data confirm that the rate of decline in bankruptcies continued to slow throughout 2000. Of the 91 judicial districts that comprise the 50 states and Puerto Rico, 32 experienced an increase in their 12-month filing volume as of the end of December, 2000, relative to the same period ending one year earlier. Filings during the fourth quarter alone were only 2.5 percent lower than in the fourth quarter of 1999. This marked the 8th consecutive quarter in which personal bankruptcies dropped on a year-over-year basis, but the rate of decline diminished throughout 2000.
As we reported last month, quite a different story is emerging for the first quarter 2001. Visa U.S.A.'s Bankruptcy Notification Service tracks weekly filings for personal bankruptcies in courts across the country. For the first 11 weeks of 2001 (as of March 17, 2001), 282,087 petitions had been filed in U.S. bankruptcy courts, up 19.9 percent from the 235,239 petitions filed during the first 11 weeks of 2000. The chart below illustrates weekly filings for the past 3 years. This strong growth in filings far exceeds the projections of even the most pessimistic observers last fall, particularly so early in the year. Creditors can't be blamed for hoping there is either an error in the reporting process (this seems unlikely), or the filing surge is a temporary result of attorney advertising to beat the bankruptcy reform bill which recently passed both the U.S. House and Senate. Otherwise, if the surge truly reflects deteriorating household balance sheets or increased willingness to throw in the towel and seek debt relief from the courts, it will be a long year.
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| Personal Bankruptcies in 2000 by State and Judicial District for the 12-Month Period Ending December 31, 2000 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Filings as of 12/31/2000 |
% Change In Total 12/31/2000-12/31/1999 |
% Chapter 7 as of 12/31/2000 |
|
| Total | 1,217,972 | -5.0% | 68.9% |
| Alabama | 32,543 | 8.0% | 39.9% |
| Middle | 7,147 | 12.5% | 42.6% |
| North | 20,073 | 4.9% | 38.1% |
| South | 5,323 | 14.6% | 43.3% |
| Alaska | 1,301 | -5.5% | 90.6% |
| Arizona | 20,190 | -7.5% | 81.6% |
| Arkansas | 16,523 | 1.8% | 56.2% |
| East | 10,415 | 3.1% | 49.9% |
| West | 6,108 | -0.4% | 66.8% |
| California | 138,124 | -20.6% | 79.4% |
| Central | 78,550 | -21.5% | 79.8% |
| East | 28,617 | -14.8% | 84.6% |
| North | 18,499 | -26.8% | 70.7% |
| South | 12,458 | -17.6% | 77.9% |
| Colorado | 15,185 | -4.0% | 84.8% |
| Connecticut | 10,504 | -10.4% | 86.2% |
| District Of Columbia | 2,288 | -13.2% | 64.6% |
| Delaware | 2,375 | -1.5% | 64.3% |
| Florida | 71,284 | -3.2% | 70.8% |
| Middle | 39,774 | -2.6% | 70.6% |
| North | 5,082 | 3.1% | 77.7% |
| South | 26,428 | -5.1% | 69.7% |
| Georgia | 58,915 | 3.7% | 36.5% |
| Middle | 14,720 | 5.1% | 41.0% |
| North | 31,515 | 0.9% | 39.5% |
| South | 12,680 | 9.1% | 23.8% |
| Hawaii | 4,486 | -16.0% | 89.1% |
| Idaho | 6,850 | -1.4% | 81.4% |
| Illinois | 59,892 | -4.3% | 70.5% |
| Central | 11,272 | -2.8% | 84.6% |
| North | 41,792 | -5.5% | 66.7% |
| South | 6,828 | 1.4% | 70.8% |
| Indiana | 37,126 | -1.6% | 79.8% |
| North | 13,976 | -1.2% | 84.2% |
| South | 23,150 | -1.9% | 77.1% |
| Iowa | 8,079 | -2.1% | 92.9% |
| North | 3,236 | -2.8% | 96.3% |
| South | 4,843 | -1.7% | 90.7% |
| Kansas | 11,146 | -1.9% | 81.7% |
| Kentucky | 20,663 | 0.6% | 83.1% |
| East | 8,837 | -0.2% | 87.4% |
| West | 11,826 | 1.2% | 80.0% |
| Louisiana | 22,516 | 2.2% | 57.6% |
| East | 8,143 | 8.2% | 62.5% |
| Middle | 2,795 | 5.4% | 72.8% |
| West | 11,578 | -2.4% | 50.4% |
| Maine | 3,880 | -2.5% | 92.6% |
| Maryland | 29,658 | -5.8% | 68.0% |
| Massachusetts | 15,208 | -15.7% | 85.7% |
| Michigan | 35,835 | -2.1% | 72.1% |
| East | 24,789 | -2.7% | 71.2% |
| West | 11,046 | -1.0% | 74.2% |
| Minnesota | 13,822 | -3.1% | 79.7% |
| Mississippi | 18,255 | 4.0% | 59.4% |
| North | 6,215 | 7.5% | 60.7% |
| South | 12,040 | 2.3% | 58.8% |
| Missouri | 25,651 | -3.8% | 70.7% |
| East | 14,934 | -4.8% | 62.4% |
| West | 10,717 | -2.4% | 82.2% |
| Montana | 3,195 | -2.1% | 88.6% |
| Nebraska | 5,514 | 3.2% | 84.6% |
| Nevada | 13,678 | -5.2% | 73.5% |
| New Hampshire | 3,313 | -11.8% | 91.1% |
| New Jersey | 36,645 | -8.2% | 63.3% |
| New Mexico | 6,519 | -3.9% | 85.2% |
| New York | 57,210 | -12.3% | 80.3% |
| East | 22,165 | -15.0% | 78.6% |
| North | 13,100 | -6.9% | 82.4% |
| South | 11,736 | -17.5% | 86.5% |
| West | 10,209 | -5.7% | 74.4% |
| North Carolina | 26,646 | 4.8% | 41.4% |
| East | 10,575 | 5.1% | 45.4% |
| Middle | 9,283 | 10.1% | 33.8% |
| West | 6,788 | -2.0% | 45.7% |
| North Dakota | 1,841 | -10.0% | 96.8% |
| Ohio | 52,713 | 0.2% | 78.6% |
| North | 27,015 | 0.3% | 80.3% |
| South | 25,698 | 0.1% | 76.8% |
| Oklahoma | 18,403 | -4.6% | 85.8% |
| East | 3,570 | 3.6% | 93.6% |
| North | 4,565 | -3.2% | 89.2% |
| West | 10,268 | -7.8% | 81.6% |
| Oregon | 16,774 | 10.1% | 85.8% |
| Pennsylvania | 42,515 | 0.0% | 69.2% |
| East | 20,771 | -3.0% | 55.4% |
| Middle | 9,625 | 1.3% | 79.7% |
| West | 12,119 | 4.6% | 84.7% |
| Rhode Island | 4,383 | -11.3% | 93.2% |
| South Carolina | 11,820 | 5.1% | 47.3% |
| South Dakota | 1,972 | -4.8% | 96.4% |
| Tennessee | 48,595 | 6.3% | 43.8% |
| East | 15,464 | 5.1% | 56.6% |
| Middle | 11,485 | 7.2% | 60.0% |
| West | 21,646 | 6.6% | 25.9% |
| Texas | 59,529 | -4.6% | 52.1% |
| East | 8,575 | -4.4% | 51.1% |
| North | 19,737 | -3.8% | 50.6% |
| South | 16,334 | -3.3% | 53.6% |
| West | 14,883 | -7.1% | 53.1% |
| Utah | 14,741 | 8.0% | 59.5% |
| Vermont | 1,421 | -15.1% | 90.7% |
| Virginia | 35,376 | -5.9% | 74.4% |
| East | 25,835 | -7.4% | 71.2% |
| West | 9,541 | -1.7% | 83.1% |
| Washington | 30,414 | -1.9% | 77.3% |
| East | 7,994 | 6.2% | 75.1% |
| West | 22,420 | -4.5% | 78.1% |
| West Virginia | 8,369 | 6.0% | 94.9% |
| North | 3,283 | 1.8% | 93.5% |
| South | 5,086 | 8.8% | 95.9% |
| Wisconsin | 17,164 | -2.9% | 84.2% |
| East | 11,903 | -4.0% | 81.7% |
| West | 5,261 | -0.1% | 89.7% |
| Wyoming | 2,031 | 4.7% | 93.9% |
| Guam | 124 | 12.7% | 81.5% |
| NMI | 9 | 50.0% | 88.9% |
| Puerto Rico | 14,710 | -16.9% | 28.7% |
| Virgin Islands | 49 | -9.3% | 79.6% |
| Circuit | |||
| 1st | 41,494 | -14.3% | 67.3% |
| 2nd | 69,135 | -12.0% | 81.4% |
| 3rd | 81,584 | -3.9% | 66.4% |
| 4th | 111,869 | -1.6% | 63.5% |
| 5th | 100,300 | -1.7% | 54.7% |
| 6th | 157,806 | 1.5% | 67.0% |
| 7th | 114,182 | -3.2% | 75.6% |
| 8th | 73,402 | -2.0% | 73.9% |
| 9th | 235,145 | -14.0% | 79.9% |
| 10th | 68,025 | -1.2% | 79.4% |
| 11th | 162,742 | 1.3% | 52.2% |
| States and territories in each circuit: | |||
| 1st: ME, MA, NH, RI, PR | |||
| 2nd: CT, NY, VT | |||
| 3rd: DE, NJ, PA, VI | |||
| 4th: MD, NC, SC, VA, WV | |||
| 5th: LA, MS, TX | |||
| 6th: KY, MI, OH, TN | |||
| 7th: IL, IN, WI | |||
| 8th: AR, IA, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD | |||
| 9th: AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, WA, GUAM, NMI | |||
| 10th: CO, KS, NM, OK, UT, WY | |||
| 11th: AL, FL, GA | |||
| Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. | |||
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