Bankruptcy Rates in Georgia: Where Are People Struggling the Most?

ATLANTA, GA — A bankruptcy isn't something that gets advertised to the neighbors, but it is an important metric to determine a community's economic vitality.

Georgia accounted for a third of the top counties in the country with individuals struggling through bankruptcy, according to the number crunchers at Nerdwallet.

Overall, bankruptcy filings across the country are on the decline, falling to 6.9 percent in the 12-month period ending June 30. According to federal data, nearly 794,000 individuals filed for bankruptcy protection in that period, compared to more than 1.2 million four years ago.

Using federal court data, Nerdwallet determined the number of personal bankruptcy filings per 100,000 residents across 587 counties nationwide from April 1, 2015, to March 31, 2016.

Ten of the top 30 counties on the list with the most bankruptcy filings are in Georgia, with the highest being Clayton County at No. 2.

Here's how Georgia counties ranked among the top 100 counties, according to Nerdwallet along with the number of bankruptcies per 100,000 residents:

2. Clayton County, 1,096.05

5. Henry County, 861.44

6. Newton County, 850.22

8. Douglas County, 754.61

12. DeKalb County, 673.66

22. Richmond County, 600.27

23. Paulding County, 562.64

26. Bartow County, 545.79

27. Chatham County, 535.77

30. Bibb County, 529.51

36. Coweta County, 503.73

38. Fulton County, 501.81

41. Gwinnett County, 487.95

45. Whitfield County, 465.42

52. Muscogee County, 445.40

62. Houston County, 431.25

68. Carroll County, 422.80

76. Cobb County, 414.43

92. Lowndes County, 394.61

See the complete list at Nerdwallet.

See federal data on June bankruptcy filings by county.