---
title: "Bankruptcy Chapter 7 to Chapter 13 Filing Ratio"
slug: the-wipeout-ratio
summary: "1.79 times as many Chapter 7 cases as Chapter 13 cases over the 12 months through Q3 2026"
category: "Courts"
unit: ratio
frequency: quarterly
direction: bidirectional
latest_value: 1.79
latest_period: "2026-Q3"
trend: rising
last_updated: "2026-10-23T00:00:00Z"
source: "Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-2"
source_url: https://www.uscourts.gov/data-table-numbers/f-2
canonical_html: https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-wipeout-ratio/
citation_apa: "Kilburn, R. (2026). Bankruptcy Chapter 7 to Chapter 13 Filing Ratio [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-wipeout-ratio/"
citation_chicago: "Kilburn, Ross. 2026. \"Bankruptcy Chapter 7 to Chapter 13 Filing Ratio.\" American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-wipeout-ratio/."
citation_mla: "Kilburn, Ross. \"Bankruptcy Chapter 7 to Chapter 13 Filing Ratio.\" American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/the-wipeout-ratio/."
---

# Bankruptcy Chapter 7 to Chapter 13 Filing Ratio

Also tracked as The Wipeout Ratio.

> 1.79 times as many Chapter 7 cases as Chapter 13 cases over the 12 months through Q3 2026

## Current Reading

As of 2026-Q3, Bankruptcy Chapter 7 to Chapter 13 Filing Ratio is **1.8 times** (rising).

Chapter 7 cases per Chapter 13 case, from 12-month U.S. Courts totals

## What Changed

- Over the 12 months through Q3 2026, there were 1.79 times as many Chapter 7 filings as Chapter 13 filings, up from 1.7 times a year earlier, in Q3 2025.
- The ratio has been above its year-earlier level for 11 quarters in a row.
- The latest reading is the highest ratio since Q1 2022.

## Recent Values

| Period | Value |
|--------|-------|
| 2026-Q3 | 1.79x |
| 2026-Q2 | 1.77x |
| 2026-Q1 | 1.75x |
| 2025-Q4 | 1.72x |
| 2025-Q3 | 1.7x |
| 2025-Q2 | 1.66x |
| 2025-Q1 | 1.61x |
| 2024-Q4 | 1.57x |
| 2024-Q3 | 1.52x |
| 2024-Q2 | 1.48x |
| 2024-Q1 | 1.45x |
| 2023-Q4 | 1.42x |

## Historical Context

- Peak since 2017: **2.9 times** in Q1 2021
- Low since 2017: **1.4 times** in Q2 2023
- Post-pandemic average (2020-01 – 2024-12): **1.9 times**

## Methodology

This indicator carries quarterly observations and is interpreted as moving in both directions against household distress, with no single end of the range reading as the distressed one. Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-2.
Automation: collected automatically on the daily refresh pipeline, with no hand entry.

## Source

Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Table F-2 — [https://www.uscourts.gov/data-table-numbers/f-2](https://www.uscourts.gov/data-table-numbers/f-2)

Data retrieved: 2026-10-23T00:00:00Z

## Machine-Readable Endpoints

- HTML page: https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-wipeout-ratio/
- JSON: https://americandefault.org/api/indicators/the-wipeout-ratio.json
- CSV: https://americandefault.org/api/downloads/the-wipeout-ratio.csv
- BibTeX: https://americandefault.org/citations/the-wipeout-ratio.bib
- RIS: https://americandefault.org/citations/the-wipeout-ratio.ris

## Citation

**APA 7th**

    Kilburn, R. (2026). Bankruptcy Chapter 7 to Chapter 13 Filing Ratio [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-wipeout-ratio/

**Chicago (author-date)**

    Kilburn, Ross. 2026. "Bankruptcy Chapter 7 to Chapter 13 Filing Ratio." American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-wipeout-ratio/.

**MLA 9th**

    Kilburn, Ross. "Bankruptcy Chapter 7 to Chapter 13 Filing Ratio." American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/the-wipeout-ratio/.

Use **American Default Research** as the institutional name in source lists, bibliographies, and press citations. **American Default** is the brand and URL form. **American Distress Index (ADI)** is the product name for the national composite score.