Roman Law Firm

Research Desk

Research on bankruptcy, debt and creditor remedies.

Each project states its sources, definitions, exclusions and update date.

Current projects

National legal-data investigation Data through July 1, 2026

In 2009, 33 jurisdictions protected exactly $217.50 and 13 protected more; by July 2026, 25 protected exactly $217.50 and 20 protected more. Five had no single weekly figure in 2009 and six did in 2026.

Wage garnishment and the minimum wage

Nine states have a minimum wage above $7.25, but their garnishment laws still calculate from the federal rate. We reconstructed the protected floor in every state and D.C. from 2009 through July 2026.

51 jurisdictions
Primary-law source ledger
Interactive history and state-by-state rules

Read the investigation

Statistical reference Data through June 30, 2026

Rolling 12-month U.S. bankruptcy filings fell from 774,940 in December 2019 to 380,634 in June 2022, then rose to 608,511 in June 2026.

U.S. Bankruptcy Statistics

U.S. bankruptcy filings reached 608,511 in the 12 months ending June 30, 2026, up 12.2% from a year earlier. Explore national, state and county trends from U.S. Courts and Census data.

Official court data
State and county tables
Copyable citations and downloads

Explore the statistics

Research Desk

Roman Chebotarev

Managing editor

Roman is a bankruptcy attorney serving Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland. Source files, definitions and update dates accompany each project.

About Roman