Rising Bankruptcies Among Younger Adults

Two consumer bankruptcy attorneys report a sharp rise in Gen Z and young millennial bankruptcy filings, especially among 25- to 35-year-olds. They attribute the trend to higher living costs and flat wages. They also point to easy access to credit cards, buy now, pay later loans, and a surge in online gambling debt.

Personal bankruptcy filings have climbed from their pandemic lows, with over 533,000 individual cases in 2025, including nearly 333,000 Chapter 7 and just over 200,000 Chapter 13 cases. Florida attorney Chad Van Horn says 30–35% of his roughly 4,000 clients last year were between 25 and 35, up from 5–10% historically. This shift has prompted his firm to change its marketing to reach younger adults where they get information, including social media.

Ed Boltz, a North Carolina bankruptcy attorney with the Law Offices of John T. Orcutt, says his firm handled about 2,000 cases in 2025, with around 20% in the 25–35 age range. He describes current filings as a “hangover” from years of stimulus and rising costs without matching wage growth. Both attorneys note that young filers often face heavy student loans, high housing costs, and growing consumer debt, and that some younger clients are influenced by TikTok content framing bankruptcy as a smart way to wipe out overwhelming debt.