Texas is getting hit with a bankruptcy wave, with filings in 2025 swelling past 38,000 and making the state responsible for roughly one out of every 15 cases in the country. The surge is showing up on court dockets from San Antonio to Austin and marks the sharpest rise in filings the state has seen in several years.
According to the Austin American-Statesman, Texas courts recorded more than 38,000 bankruptcy cases last year, an increase of more than 20% from 2024. Bexar County logged about 2,300 filings, and Travis County reported roughly 905. The same reporting notes that Texas accounted for roughly one in 15 U.S. bankruptcies, with most of the jump coming from consumer Chapter 7 cases and small-business filings.
National Numbers Show a Broader Upswing
The Texas spike is part of a larger national reversal. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts reported 542,529 bankruptcy filings for the 12 months ending June 30, 2025, and its data show filings have climbed steadily from a low point reached in mid 2022. Federal tables indicate that both consumer and business cases are feeding the increase, which has turned around a multiyear decline in caseloads.
Industry tallies paint a similar picture. The American Bankruptcy Institute, using Epiq AACER data, reports that business bankruptcies continued to rise through 2025, totaling nearly 25,000 cases. Those business filings increased year over year as companies ran into tighter financing conditions and less forgiving lenders.
Local Signals: Hiring, Rates, and Tariffs
Closer to home, some Texas indicators suggest why more people and firms are heading to bankruptcy court. Coverage of the Dallas Fed’s January survey in The Dallas Morning News notes that only 44% of surveyed firms were trying to hire in January, down from 51% last July and the lowest share since the Dallas Fed began asking that question in 2019. It is a sign that employers are tapping the brakes on hiring while costs stay stubbornly high…