Top bankruptcy states
1. Tennessee – Bankruptcy filings fell 6 percent last year to 36,052 or 5.73 filings per 1,000 residents 2. Alabama – Bankruptcy filings rose 2 percent last year to 25,249 – the biggest increase of any state – or 5.36 filings per 1,000 residents 3. Georgia – Bankruptcy filings declined by 4 percent last year to 49,334 or 5.02 filings per 1,000 residents. 4. Illinois – Bankruptcy filings fell by 7 percent to 56,004 or 4.34 filings per 1,000 residents 5. Utah – Bankruptcy filings fell by 12 percent last year to 11,917 or 4.28 filings per 1,000 residents Source: American Bankruptcy Institute
Bankruptcy filings
The number of individuals and businesses filing for bankruptcy protection in the Chattanooga division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court has declined each year since the 2009 peak in filings. 2015 – 5,747 2014 – 5,882 2013 – 6515 2012 – 6640 2011 – 7273 2010 – 7357 2009 – 8487 2008 – 7252 2007 – 5782 2006 – 4630 2005 – 8703 2004 – 8392 2003 – 8819 2002 – 8392 2001 – 8446
The number of Chattanoogans going broke fell for the sixth consecutive year in 2015 as consumers capitalized on the growing economy, cheaper gas prices and historically low interest rates to improve their financial status.
But the drop in local bankruptcy filings last year was far less than the nationwide decline, helping to keep Tennessee as the top state for the rate of bankruptcies again in 2015.
“Bankruptcy filings rose to very high levels during the Great Recession, but we’ve seen filings go down in recent years as the economy improves,” said Larry Ahern, a bankruptcy attorney and consultant for more than four decades and an adjunct professor of law at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. “Creditors and consumers have been more cautious about their debt levels at the same time as property values and workers’ income have been going up. Bankruptcy filings tend to mirror the overall economy.”