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Wisconsin Bankruptcy Filings Dropped Over the Past Year

While we are well on our way through Q3 of the calendar year, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has just released its data on the number of bankruptcies filed through the end of the latest fiscal year. 

Across the country, “Personal and business bankruptcy filings took a sharp drop in the twelve-month period ending June 30, 2022, falling 17.7 percent compared with the previous year.” There were 380,634 bankruptcy cases filed in the year ending June 2022, compared with 462,309 cases filed in the previous year. 

While it is always interesting to take a look at nation-wide trends, Hanson & Payne is a Milwaukee-based bankruptcy firm that primarily serves the needs of businesses and families in the Southeastern corner of the state. So, we like to take a bit of a deeper dive into the Wisconsin and Milwaukee area data. 

A Closer Look at Wisconsin

Across the state of Wisconsin, 8,049 bankruptcy cases were filed from June 2021-22. This is a 23.2% drop from June 2020-21, when 10,508 bankruptcy cases were filed. 

Of the bankruptcy cases that were filed in Wisconsin over the past year, only 161 of them were business bankruptcies. The vast majority — 7,888 cases — were non-business bankruptcies, including personal bankruptcies and farm bankruptcies.

What’s Going on in the Milwaukee Area

Milwaukee County, as usual, led the state in the number of bankruptcies filed by county. There were 2,841 bankruptcy cases filed here over the past year. That’s 35.3% of the cases filed across the whole state. 

22 of the Milwaukee County cases were business-related, while 2,819 were filed by people attempting to clear personal debt. 

Even controlling for population density, the Milwaukee County data is eye-popping. The region as a whole, looks a bit better. Other counties in the region saw the following number of bankruptcies filed over the past year:

Racine – 309

Ozaukee – 77

Waukesha – 382

Sheboygan – 129

That means as a region, the Milwaukee area had 3,738 or 46.4% of the state’s 8,049 bankruptcies.

Milwaukee Bankruptcy Attorneys You Can Trust

According to the Administrative Office of the Courts, “Bankruptcy filings have fallen almost steadily since peaking in 2010. That trend has accelerated since the pandemic began in early 2020, despite some early COVID-related disruptions to the economy.” Looking back at past posts we have written about bankruptcy data shows this is true in Wisconsin as well. 

The Hanson & Payne team will continue to monitor bankruptcy trends across the country and in the Milwaukee area to ensure we can serve our clients well. 

We are a full-service bankruptcy law firm you can trust to handle your case with care. Please contact our experienced team of attorneys to schedule a meeting if you are in need of advice about bankruptcy, or representation in a pending case.