Bankruptcy filing rates by county
3,033 U.S. counties ranked by personal and business bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents — every county the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts caseload table F-5A can place, 3,033 of the nation's 3,144. Counts are for the 12 months ending December 31, 2025. Rate per 100,000 lets a small county sit next to a large one on the same scale.
| Rank | County | State | Rate / 100K | Chapter 13 share | Total filings | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Butler County | AL | 843.2 | 91% | 155 | 18,382 |
| 2 | Lowndes County | AL | 792.4 | 90% | 77 | 9,717 |
| 3 | Chambers County | AL | 786.4 | 84% | 268 | 34,079 |
| 4 | Knott County | KY | 776.0 | 64% | 106 | 13,659 |
| 5 | Clinch County | GA | 741.2 | 96% | 50 | 6,746 |
| 6 | Clay County | MS | 730.5 | 89% | 133 | 18,206 |
| 7 | Shelby County | TN | 704.5 | 75% | 6,411 | 910,042 |
| 8 | Conecuh County | AL | 689.1 | 94% | 77 | 11,174 |
| 9 | Coosa County | AL | 672.0 | 80% | 69 | 10,268 |
| 10 | Houston County | AL | 636.2 | 82% | 690 | 108,462 |
| 11 | Haywood County | TN | 634.8 | 85% | 110 | 17,328 |
| 12 | Crenshaw County | AL | 633.5 | 88% | 83 | 13,101 |
| 13 | Henry County | AL | 625.7 | 86% | 112 | 17,899 |
| 14 | Tift County | GA | 623.3 | 94% | 259 | 41,554 |
| 15 | Montgomery County | AL | 616.9 | 86% | 1,388 | 224,980 |
| 16 | Panola County | MS | 615.3 | 67% | 201 | 32,669 |
| 17 | Dale County | AL | 597.5 | 87% | 298 | 49,871 |
| 18 | Union Parish | LA | 595.6 | 88% | 123 | 20,650 |
| 19 | Macon County | AL | 593.4 | 88% | 109 | 18,370 |
| 20 | Red River Parish | LA | 584.6 | 81% | 43 | 7,356 |
| 21 | Morehouse Parish | LA | 580.3 | 92% | 139 | 23,955 |
| 22 | Quitman County | MS | 577.0 | 66% | 32 | 5,546 |
| 23 | Letcher County | KY | 572.9 | 48% | 117 | 20,423 |
| 24 | Desha County | AR | 572.6 | 48% | 60 | 10,479 |
| 25 | Dallas County | AL | 569.6 | 81% | 206 | 36,165 |
| 26 | Chickasaw County | MS | 569.2 | 68% | 96 | 16,866 |
| 27 | Petersburg city | VA | 567.4 | 50% | 189 | 33,309 |
| 28 | Henry County | GA | 566.7 | 49% | 1,443 | 254,613 |
| 29 | Tallapoosa County | AL | 565.4 | 76% | 230 | 40,677 |
| 30 | Mobile County | AL | 564.6 | 79% | 2,324 | 411,640 |
| 31 | Irwin County | GA | 559.2 | 92% | 51 | 9,120 |
| 32 | Greene County | AL | 558.5 | 88% | 41 | 7,341 |
| 33 | Pike County | AL | 552.3 | 87% | 183 | 33,137 |
| 34 | Berrien County | GA | 549.3 | 90% | 102 | 18,570 |
| 35 | Randolph County | GA | 542.9 | 82% | 33 | 6,078 |
| 36 | Perry County | KY | 541.8 | 35% | 147 | 27,133 |
| 37 | Barbour County | AL | 536.9 | 85% | 132 | 24,585 |
| 38 | Ben Hill County | GA | 531.3 | 95% | 91 | 17,128 |
| 39 | Pickens County | AL | 529.8 | 89% | 99 | 18,688 |
| 40 | Cook County | GA | 525.0 | 90% | 93 | 17,714 |
| 41 | Yalobusha County | MS | 524.8 | 71% | 65 | 12,386 |
| 42 | Turner County | GA | 516.3 | 91% | 46 | 8,909 |
| 43 | Grenada County | MS | 512.7 | 53% | 108 | 21,065 |
| 44 | Geneva County | AL | 511.3 | 87% | 138 | 26,988 |
| 45 | Johnson County | KY | 510.9 | 41% | 113 | 22,116 |
| 46 | Coahoma County | MS | 508.0 | 56% | 102 | 20,077 |
| 47 | Magoffin County | KY | 507.7 | 42% | 57 | 11,228 |
| 48 | Tunica County | MS | 498.2 | 61% | 46 | 9,234 |
| 49 | Ouachita Parish | LA | 495.7 | 87% | 781 | 157,568 |
| 50 | Atkinson County | GA | 494.4 | 98% | 41 | 8,293 |
| 51 | Hopkins County | KY | 494.1 | 50% | 222 | 44,929 |
| 52 | Hopewell city | VA | 492.3 | 44% | 112 | 22,752 |
| 53 | Genesee County | MI | 490.6 | 31% | 1,970 | 401,522 |
| 54 | Douglas County | GA | 488.1 | 46% | 728 | 149,160 |
| 55 | Richland Parish | LA | 487.0 | 95% | 96 | 19,712 |
| 56 | Clayton County | GA | 486.8 | 47% | 1,452 | 298,300 |
| 57 | Russell County | AL | 483.5 | 78% | 284 | 58,744 |
| 58 | Jefferson County | AL | 481.7 | 63% | 3,193 | 662,895 |
| 59 | Hardeman County | TN | 481.1 | 76% | 123 | 25,567 |
| 60 | Marshall County | MS | 480.6 | 60% | 164 | 34,123 |
| 61 | St. Louis city | MO | 479.1 | 43% | 1,350 | 281,754 |
| 62 | Lowndes County | MS | 476.6 | 90% | 273 | 57,283 |
| 63 | Colquitt County | GA | 474.4 | 87% | 219 | 46,167 |
| 64 | DeSoto County | MS | 474.0 | 52% | 916 | 193,247 |
| 65 | Baker County | GA | 473.9 | 77% | 13 | 2,743 |
| 66 | Coffee County | AL | 472.7 | 89% | 263 | 55,643 |
| 67 | Copiah County | MS | 469.9 | 53% | 130 | 27,664 |
| 68 | Covington County | AL | 469.0 | 86% | 178 | 37,952 |
| 69 | Autauga County | AL | 467.3 | 77% | 282 | 60,342 |
| 70 | Leslie County | KY | 466.3 | 15% | 46 | 9,864 |
| 71 | Newton County | GA | 466.1 | 52% | 560 | 120,135 |
| 72 | Tuscaloosa County | AL | 463.4 | 77% | 1,100 | 237,373 |
| 73 | Elmore County | AL | 463.3 | 78% | 419 | 90,441 |
| 74 | Rockdale County | GA | 462.6 | 48% | 444 | 95,987 |
| 75 | Montgomery County | MS | 458.3 | 59% | 44 | 9,600 |
| 76 | Monroe County | AL | 457.6 | 93% | 88 | 19,229 |
| 77 | Pike County | KY | 457.4 | 40% | 256 | 55,973 |
| 78 | Clay County | GA | 455.7 | 92% | 13 | 2,853 |
| 79 | Talbot County | GA | 454.7 | 85% | 26 | 5,718 |
| 80 | Ware County | GA | 449.7 | 94% | 163 | 36,243 |
| 81 | Calhoun County | MS | 449.3 | 70% | 57 | 12,685 |
| 82 | Lee County | MS | 448.1 | 51% | 371 | 82,799 |
| 83 | Monroe County | MS | 446.3 | 69% | 150 | 33,609 |
| 84 | Franklin Parish | LA | 445.9 | 90% | 86 | 19,285 |
| 85 | Whitley County | KY | 445.3 | 14% | 164 | 36,825 |
| 86 | Floyd County | KY | 444.5 | 52% | 153 | 34,423 |
| 87 | Simpson County | KY | 440.7 | 35% | 89 | 20,195 |
| 88 | Dougherty County | GA | 440.4 | 80% | 364 | 82,645 |
| 89 | Winston County | MS | 436.4 | 88% | 76 | 17,416 |
| 90 | Terrell County | GA | 435.9 | 76% | 38 | 8,718 |
| 91 | Randolph County | AL | 434.5 | 79% | 99 | 22,786 |
| 92 | Laurel County | KY | 431.3 | 22% | 273 | 63,296 |
| 93 | Lauderdale County | TN | 430.7 | 62% | 106 | 24,610 |
| 94 | Hale County | AL | 429.9 | 78% | 64 | 14,888 |
| 95 | Coffee County | GA | 429.4 | 97% | 186 | 43,317 |
| 96 | Bibb County | GA | 426.8 | 57% | 668 | 156,512 |
| 97 | Murray County | GA | 426.5 | 57% | 175 | 41,035 |
| 98 | Perry County | AL | 426.5 | 94% | 33 | 7,738 |
| 99 | Knox County | KY | 426.3 | 15% | 127 | 29,794 |
| 100 | Walker County | GA | 426.0 | 63% | 296 | 69,489 |
How the ranking is built
The count is every bankruptcy case filed by a debtor in the county over the 12-month period, from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts caseload table F-5A. That total is divided by the county population and expressed per 100,000 residents, so a rural county and a metro county land on the same scale. The national rate is 169.7 filings per 100,000.
Among the 100 counties with the highest filing rates, most sit in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Kentucky. In those counties 66% of cases are filed under Chapter 13, the repayment plan that lets a household hold onto a house or a car while catching up. Nationally the Chapter 13 share is 35.9% against 62.4% for Chapter 7, the straight discharge. Where the county rate is high, the Chapter 13 share tends to run higher still.
Rate and population are separate sourced facts. Filing counts are compiled by the U.S. Courts; population is the U.S. Census Bureau figure carried across the rest of the site. Small counties with a few dozen filings can post a high rate on a thin base, so the total-filings and population columns sit next to the rate, and the population filter narrows the view to counties above any size you pick. 3,033 of 3,144 counties are ranked; the rest could not be matched to a filing-district record.
Frequently asked questions
Which county has the highest bankruptcy rate?
As of the 2025 caseload data, Butler County, Alabama has the highest rate at 843.2 filings per 100,000 residents, on 155 total filings. Rankings recompute when the U.S. Courts release the next annual F-5A table.
What is the difference between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13?
Chapter 7 discharges eligible debts by liquidating non-exempt assets. Chapter 13 sets up a three-to-five-year repayment plan that can let a filer keep a home or vehicle while catching up on the arrears. Nationally, 62.4% of cases are Chapter 7 and 35.9% are Chapter 13, but the mix varies sharply by region.
Where does the data come from?
The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts publishes bankruptcy filings by county and chapter in caseload table F-5A. This page uses the table for 12-month period ending December 31, 2025. Filings are counted by the debtor's county regardless of which court district processed the case.
Is a high filing rate a sign the county is worse off?
Not on its own. Filing rates reflect state exemption law, the local bar's practice patterns, and how common Chapter 13 is in a district, alongside household distress. This page reports the rate; the county distress score on each county page weighs delinquency, debt burden, labor, and safety-net measures together.
More distress rankings
Three more views of household distress. See the national top 100 most distressed counties, the most distressed county in every state, and where the job market is strong and the bills go unpaid.