Florida named second highest state for business bankruptcies

Business bankruptcy filings in the U.S. have surpassed pre-pandemic levels, according to a new study by national collection agency The Kaplan Group, and a state-by-state breakdown shows that Florida is the state with the second highest share of those filings. 

U.S. business bankruptcy filings fell sharply in the years immediately after the pandemic, but then rebounded through 2025, the study shows. Annual U.S. business bankruptcy filings reached 24,737 in 2025 — 8.6% higher than in 2019 and 83.5% higher than the 2022 trough. 

National Chapter 11 filings grew from 6,052 in 2019 to 11,730 in 2025, meaning more companies are trying to reorganize debt rather than shut down.

The Kaplan Group found that every state saw business bankruptcy fillings rise between 2022 and 2025, but the national rebound is not evenly distributed. Some states are now well above their 2019 business bankruptcy levels, while others still sit below that baseline.

Nationwide, Texas has seen the largest increase in commercial bankruptcies, followed by Florida, California, Georgia and New Jersey. 

Texas posted the largest increase, rising from 2,429 business filings in 2019 to 4,087 in 2025, a gain of 1,658 filings or 68.3%. From 2022 to 2025, filings rose by 2,209, a jump of 117.6%.

Florida increased from 1,817 in 2019 to 2,372 in 2025, a gain of 555 filings or 30.5%. From 2022 to 2025, filings rose by 1,101, or 86.6%.

Meanwhile, South Dakota, Kentucky, and Connecticut remained well below their pre-pandemic business bankruptcy levels in 2025. 

Filings fell from 63 to 28 in South Dakota, from 271 to 120 in Kentucky, and from 189 to 109 in Connecticut. Other states still below their 2019 business bankruptcy totals included Kansas, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Michigan, Nebraska, and Indiana.

“Bankruptcy pressure clearly re-emerged after the 2022 trough, but it did so with very different intensity across states,” the study says. “Taken together, the data suggests that U.S. business bankruptcy risk has not simply returned, but has returned in a more selective and operationally important way.”

The study was conducted using annual bankruptcy filing totals from federal judiciary statistics for 2019 through 2025, The Kaplan Group says.