PROVIDENCE – There were 843 bankruptcy filings in Rhode Island in 2023, a 6.3% increase from 793 one year prior, according to data from the
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
Of all filings in Rhode Island in 2023, 28 were businesses and 815 were consumers.
Most of the 619 consumer filings in Rhode Island in 2023 were Chapter 7 filings, the most common form of bankruptcy in the country that discharges qualifying debt.
Among the New England states, Vermont saw the highest percentage increase at 19.7%, despite only seeing 213 bankruptcy cases filed.
Connecticut saw a 15.4% increase while Massachusetts saw a 14.3% uptick in 2023. New Hampshire saw an 8.4% rise increase in bankruptcies year over year while Maine had a 2.6% bump.
Across the nation, total bankruptcy filings rose 16.8% in 2023, with significant increases in both business and no-business bankruptcies, in the 12-month period ending Dec. 31, 2023
Annual bankruptcy filings in the U.S. totaled 452,990 in 2023, compared with 387,721 cases in the previous year, according to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts on Jan. 26.
Business filings across the country rose 40.4% from 13,481 to 18,926, in the year ending Dec. 31, 2023. Nonbusiness bankruptcy filings rose 16% to 434,064, compared with 374,240 in December 2022.