Personal bankruptcy filings are soaring in 2026, signaling growing economic distress

Here's what to know about this growing trend Published August 29, 2026 6:00AM (EDT) Young man worried about saving money and paying bills (Getty Images/Westend61) This article was originally published on The Conversation. The number of Americans who file for bankruptcy is growing. More than 500,000 people took this step in 2025, nearly 50% more than in 2022. And the numbers have kept on climbing, with a 12% jump in June 2026 from a year earlier as many consumers struggled to pay their bills. Bankruptcy filing rising after decline The number of personal bankruptcies filed annually fell sharply for more than a decade before the recent uptick, hitting a low of about 368,000 in 2022, down from about 1.5 million in 2010. That number has climbed steadily since 2022. A 2005 law called the Bankrup