Summary
Residents of Nevada, Tennessee and Georgia remain most likely to file bankruptcy, according to third quarter 2009 statistics. How likely are the neighbors in your state to file for protection from debts?
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Editor’s note: See the most recent bankruptcy statistic story.
Continuing harsh economic conditions kept bankruptcy filings on the rise in the third quarter of 2009. According to the Automated Access to Court Electronic Records, Chapter 7, 11 and 13 filings pushed ever higher, approaching the pace of 2005, the year that set all records for American bankruptcies.
More than 1.07 million consumer bankruptcy cases have been filed since the beginning of 2009. Residents of Nevada, Tennessee and Georgia continued to have the greatest chance of filing; consumers in the District of Columbia, Texas and South Carolina remained least likely to file. In terms of per capita filings, Missouri and Utah have made the biggest upward move in the past two years, in terms of likelihood of filing.
Moving up the rankings? Utah and Missouri. Moving down? As Louisiana continues to recover from Hurricane Katrina, it has fallen to the middle of the pack.
Because of its huge population, California saw the largest raw number of bankruptcies. The Golden State witnessed more than 150,000 bankruptcies filed in the first three quarters of 2009.
What about the place you call home? Use the table below to find out how your state ranked.Rankings are on a per capita basis — the number of bankruptcies per every 1,000 residents.
| State | 2009 rank (through Sept. 30) | 2008 rank | 2007 rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nevada | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| Tennessee | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Georgia | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Indiana | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Alabama | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Michigan | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| Ohio | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| Kentucky | 8 | 8 | 9 |
| Arkansas | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| Colorado | 10 | 11 | 14 |
| Illinois | 11 | 10 | 12 |
| California | 12 | 14 | 30 |
| Utah | 13 | 20 | 37 |
| Delaware | 14 | 12 | 11 |
| Missouri | 15 | 22 | 21 |
| Florida | 16 | 19 | 31 |
| Arizona | 17 | 15 | 18 |
| Wisconsin | 18 | 16 | 17 |
| Idaho | 19 | 13 | 10 |
| Rhode Island | 20 | 23 | 19 |
| Mississippi | 21 | 29 | 40 |
| Oregon | 22 | 17 | 20 |
| Virginia | 23 | 24 | 23 |
| Washington | 24 | 25 | 25 |
| Maryland | 25 | 28 | 26 |
| Louisiana | 26 | 18 | 15 |
| Nebraska | 27 | 26 | 29 |
| Minnesota | 28 | 30 | 33 |
| New Jersey | 29 | 21 | 13 |
| New Hampshire | 30 | 32 | 32 |
| Kansas | 31 | 27 | 16 |
| Oklahoma | 32 | 31 | 22 |
| West Virginia | 33 | 33 | 24 |
| Iowa | 34 | 34 | 28 |
| Massachusetts | 35 | 36 | 35 |
| New Mexico | 36 | 35 | 27 |
| Pennsylvania | 37 | 38 | 36 |
| North Carolina | 38 | 40 | 41 |
| Maine | 39 | 37 | 34 |
| New York | 40 | 41 | 42 |
| Connecticut | 41 | 39 | 45 |
| Montana | 42 | 45 | 46 |
| Vermont | 43 | 43 | 48 |
| Wyoming | 44 | 42 | 38 |
| North Dakota | 45 | 49 | 47 |
| Hawaii | 46 | 47 | 43 |
| South Dakota | 47 | 48 | 50 |
| Texas | 48 | 44 | 44 |
| South Carolina | 49 | 46 | 39 |
| District of Columbia | 50 | 50 | 49 |
| Alaska | 51 | 51 | 51 |
Source: Automated Access to Court Electronic Records (AACER)
See related:Bankruptcy filings on track to hit 1.4 million in 2009, State by state bankruptcy filings, 2005-2009, 5 tips for those considering bankruptcy, 4 ways to re-establish credit after bankruptcy, 5 misconceptions after credit after bankruptcy
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