HOW MANY PEOPLE FILE FOR BANKRUPTCY EACH YEAR?

        The United States Census estimates that in 2002 there were about 288,000,000 people in the U.S.  In the fiscal year that ended on September 30, 2002, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts determined that there were 39,091 business bankruptcy filings and 1,508,578 non-business bankruptcy filings in this country in that year.  Assuming that each non-business bankruptcy filing means one person filed for bankruptcy, then one out of every 191 individuals in the country, including the number of children, filed for bankruptcy in fiscal 2002.  A bankruptcy filing can include a husband and wife, and therefore the number of filings of 1,508,578, means that more than that number of individuals filed for bankruptcy that year. 

        You probably know several individuals who have filed for bankruptcy, they just didn't tell you.  A bankruptcy filing can be a fairly well-kept secret, notwithstanding that it is a matter of public record.  It is unlike a divorce filing, where one party usually moves out of the marital house.  A household in bankruptcy can look pretty much the same before bankruptcy as it does after bankruptcy.

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