People who filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2025 reported median monthly income of $3,513 on their income schedule and median monthly expenses of $3,679. On the separate means-test form, which uses income before payroll deductions, the median was $3,924 a month. The figures cover 321,794 cases with complete schedules, out of 335,981 nonbusiness Chapter 7 cases filed in 2025.
Among Chapter 7 cases that closed in 2025, 62,221 of 332,374 (18.7%) had at least one reaffirmation agreement filed, a promise to keep paying a debt that the bankruptcy would otherwise wipe out. In 2024 the share was 19.9%.
Income and expenses
| Measure (monthly, per case) | 2025 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median current monthly income (means test) | $3,924 | $3,744 | 4.8% |
| Median average monthly income (Schedule I) | $3,513 | $3,361 | 4.5% |
| Median average monthly expenses (Schedule J) | $3,679 | $3,517 | 4.6% |
The two income lines measure different things. "Current monthly income" comes from the means test and is the average of the six months before filing, from most sources, before taxes. "Average monthly income" comes from Schedule I and is closer to take-home pay at the time of filing, after payroll deductions such as taxes, plus other income. Expenses come from Schedule J, the filer’s own list of monthly costs.
Median expenses were $167 higher than median Schedule I income. That does not mean the typical filer spends $167 more than they earn: each median is taken separately, so the filer at the middle for income is usually not the filer at the middle for expenses. Taken together, the medians suggest that many filers report little or nothing left over each month after basic costs.
What changed
Chapter 7 filings rose: 335,981 nonbusiness cases were filed in 2025, compared with 291,731 in 2024. Median Schedule I income rose 4.5% and median expenses rose 4.6%, so the gap between the two medians grew slightly, from $156 to $167. The number of closed cases with a reaffirmation agreement rose from 57,218 to 62,221, but more cases closed overall, so the share fell from 19.9% to 18.7%.
Reaffirmation agreements
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Chapter 7 cases closed | 332,374 | 287,975 |
| Cases with at least one reaffirmation agreement | 62,221 (18.7%) | 57,218 (19.9%) |
| Reaffirmation agreements filed | 85,411 | 78,468 |
| Cases with an agreement filed without an attorney's endorsement (pro se) | 4,578 | 4,129 |
| Cases with an agreement approved by the court | 448 | 386 |
A reaffirmation agreement keeps a debt alive after a Chapter 7 discharge, usually so the filer can keep property that secures the loan, such as a car. The 85,411 agreements were spread across 62,221 cases, so some filers reaffirmed more than one debt. Most agreements were filed with a lawyer’s endorsement: 4,578 cases had one filed without it. Courts approved agreements in 448 cases; court approval is required only in some situations, so this is not a count of agreements that took effect.
How often filers reaffirm varies a lot by district. Among districts with at least 1,000 closed Chapter 7 cases, the share with an agreement ranged from 0.8% in Puerto Rico to 41.1% in New York, Northern District. The other low districts were Pennsylvania, Western District (1.0%), New York, Eastern District (1.7%), New Jersey (2.5%), Massachusetts (2.6%); the other high ones were Mississippi, Southern District (40.4%), Washington, Eastern District (40.1%), Florida, Northern District (36.6%), Alabama, Northern District (36.6%). The table does not say why; local court practice and lender policies may play a part. District figures for both tables are in the CSV below.
Why it matters
These are the people the bankruptcy system is mostly built for: households with modest incomes whose costs leave little room to pay unsecured debts. The numbers also show that a meaningful minority leave Chapter 7 still owing on at least one debt they chose to keep.
What you can do if you are considering Chapter 7
- Reaffirming is voluntary. Before signing, ask whether you need to reaffirm to keep the property, whether the payment fits your budget after bankruptcy, and whether the amount owed is more than the property is worth.
- You can generally cancel a reaffirmation agreement by telling the creditor before your discharge or within 60 days after the agreement is filed with the court, whichever is later.
- If a lawyer does not sign off on the agreement, the court generally has to review it, and you may be asked to explain how you will afford it.
- To see whether you pass the means test, compare your household income with the bankruptcy means test median income for your state.
What these numbers are
Table 2A covers nonbusiness Chapter 7 cases filed in 2025 by individuals and includes income and expense data only for cases with complete schedules. Table 4 covers nonbusiness Chapter 7 cases that closed in 2025 and were filed on or after October 17, 2006. The two tables count different groups of cases (filed versus closed), so they should not be combined into a single rate. The income and expense figures are what filers reported on their forms, not verified amounts. The courts’ own national totals for dollar amounts in a related table (1A) contain an apparent data error for one district, so we did not use them.
Source
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, BAPCPA Table 2A and BAPCPA Table 4, 12 months ending December 31, 2025, and the same tables for 2024, downloaded October 19, 2026. U.S. government data. Our tables are available under CC BY 4.0. Credit "My Credit Guide (mycreditguide.org)".
Steven Reynolds, "Chapter 7 Filers: Income, Expenses and Reaffirmation Agreements," My Credit Guide, October 19, 2026, https://mycreditguide.org/data/chapter-7-filer-income-and-reaffirmations/.