Boulder County bankruptcy filings increase in March

Boulder County bankruptcy filings increased in March compared to the same month in 2022, according to a new BizWest report. 

The outlet analyzed U.S. Bankruptcy Court data to find that there were 23 bankruptcy filings in March, up from 19 during the same period a year ago. So far this year, the county has reported 52 bankruptcy filings, up from 43 year-to-date filings registered at the same time last year.

In the neighboring Weld County, the surge was higher — there were 65 bankruptcy filings in March, compared with 29 last March, according to the report. So far this year, there have been 118 filings, compared with 89 year-to-date filings last year — a surge of more than 32%.

The BizWest analysis, which includes new bankruptcy case filings that are open, closed or dismissed, shows that Colorado recorded 596 filings in March, compared with 446 in the same month last year — a 34% increase. Year-to-date filings were up by just over 20% compared with 2022.

Despite the recent statewide increase, the total number of bankruptcies each year decreased in Colorado between 2019 and 2022, according to the report. Thestate saw 11,038 filings in 2019, 8,279 in 2020, 6,281 in 2021 and 5,092 in 2022, the analysis shows.

But the end of federal pandemic financial aid is putting many residents across the U.S. under mounting pressure.

New bankruptcy filings increased by 17% across the nation in March, compared with March 2022 — from 36,068 to 42,368, according to a report by the legal research firm Epiq. Year-to-date commercial filings were up 24%, and individual filings were up 17%.

While March is typically the highest month for filings every year, there’s no doubt that high inflation and the end of federal pandemic aid is impacting people’s finances.

“The increase in bankruptcy filings in the first quarter of the year demonstrates the growing debt burdens of both consumers and businesses,” said Amy Quackenboss, American Bankruptcy Institute executive director, in the report. “As inflationary prices have increased in tandem with the cost of borrowing, struggling companies and households have access to a financial reprieve through the bankruptcy process.”

Across the nation, total filings went from 31,898 in February to 42,368 in March — a 33% increase, the Epiq report shows.