2010 Bankruptcies By State: Arizona Bankruptcies Up 23.9 Percent

01-04-2011 • blogs.wsj.com

Personal bankruptcies rose 9% to 1,530,078 in 2010 from a year earlier, reaching their highest level since a revamp of the bankruptcy law took effect in 2005, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute, an association of attorneys and other bankruptcy professionals, and the National Bankruptcy Research Center. But some states fared better than others. Southern states such as Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama and Kentucky posted declines in the number of bankruptcies recorded last year. Meanwhile, states still struggling with housing busts, such as California, Arizona and Florida were among those with the largest increases. State 2010 Change from year earlier Alaska 13.3% Alabama -2.3% Arkansas 0.0% Arizona 23.9% California 25.0% Colorado 17.4%