This tool provides general cost estimates for informational purposes only. It is NOT legal advice. Costs vary significantly based on individual circumstances. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for specific guidance.
2026 cost estimates for bankruptcy in Pennsylvania, including attorney fees, court costs, and other expenses.
As of June 29, 2026, a bankruptcy in Pennsylvania costs on average $3,800, typically $2,700-$5,400 for a moderate-complexity case, based on sourced attorney-fee and court-cost data. Typical attorney rates run $180 to $335 per hour. A moderate-complexity case typically takes 3-5 years to resolve. Common related costs include chapter 13 filing fee ($313) and credit counseling course ($25-$50).
Data verified: June 29, 2026
| Complexity | Low | Median | High | Typical Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | $1,100 | $1,650 | $2,800 | 3-4 months |
| Moderate | $2,700 | $3,800 | $5,400 | 3-5 years |
| Complex | $2,850 | $4,800 | $7,700 | 3-5 years |
Last verified: June 2026
$180 – $335/ hour
Median: $260/hr
3-5 years
For moderate complexity cases
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</script>Bankruptcy cost formation splits along the two most common filing types. Chapter 7 (liquidation) is a shorter federal process, so attorney fees are usually charged as a flat fee covering the whole case. Chapter 13 (repayment plan) requires the attorney to stay involved for the full 3-5 year repayment period, so the fee is higher and is often split into an upfront portion plus ongoing amounts paid through the repayment plan itself.
On top of the attorney fee, every filer pays a federal court filing fee (set by statute, the same nationwide regardless of state) plus mandatory credit counseling and debtor education course fees. Case complexity within either chapter — multiple creditors, contested exemptions, business assets, or a means-test dispute — adds attorney hours beyond the base flat fee, which is why complex-case costs run well above the simple-case median shown on this page.
Take a moderate-complexity bankruptcy matter in Pennsylvania. The recorded median total is $3,800, with reported quotes clustering between $2,700 and $5,400. Each statutory line below is sized against that median.
Added together the itemised lines come to $363–$413, which leaves roughly $3,387–$3,437 of the Pennsylvania median as professional time — the part that differs between quotes. One further recorded fee is not itemised above and is not in that total.
At $3,800, the median bankruptcy cost in Pennsylvania runs 9% above the $3,479 national average across all 50 states and DC.
Pennsylvania carries 3 rows — simple, $1,100–$2,800 at $155–$285/hr over 3-4 months; moderate, $2,700–$5,400 at $180–$335/hr over 3-5 years; complex, $2,850–$7,700 at $205–$410/hr over 3-5 years — on 5 shared citations. They put it above the midpoint, short of the top quarter.
$3,800 is a median, not the middle of the band — $1,100 above the $2,700 floor, $1,600 under the $5,400 ceiling. Every rank below is out of 47.
At 19th of 47, Pennsylvania sits above the midpoint of the bankruptcy table: $200 more than the $3,600 median state, or 6%, with 18 states recording a higher median.
New Jersey ($3,800) and Alaska ($3,700) bracket Pennsylvania inside a $100 window — narrow enough that 19th is close to arbitrary.
7 tracked states — Illinois, Wisconsin, Maryland, Nevada among them — record a median within three percent of Pennsylvania's $3,800. The figure sits in the densest part of the bankruptcy distribution, where a rank change of several rows costs only a few hundred dollars.
Rate and total sit 1 place apart — 20th of 47 at $260 an hour against 19th on the bankruptcy total — which is close enough to read as the same signal.
| Rank | State | Median | Against Pennsylvania |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Texas | $3,950 | +$150 |
| 14 | Illinois | $3,900 | +$100 |
| 15 | Wisconsin | $3,900 | +$100 |
| 16 | Maryland | $3,800 | −$0 |
| 17 | Nevada | $3,800 | −$0 |
| 18 | New Jersey | $3,800 | −$0 |
| 19 | Pennsylvania | $3,800 | — |
| 20 | Alaska | $3,700 | −$100 |
| 21 | Colorado | $3,700 | −$100 |
| 22 | Delaware | $3,650 | −$150 |
| 23 | Arizona | $3,600 | −$200 |
| 24 | Michigan | $3,600 | −$200 |
| 25 | Oregon | $3,550 | −$250 |
The 19th position is not a stable fact about Pennsylvania: $0 up or $100 down moves Pennsylvania a row, and a ten percent revision in either direction would cross 14 rows, 7 above and 7 below in near-equal numbers.
Climbing five places would mean passing Illinois, Wisconsin, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey and adding $100 to the $3,800 recorded here.
Five places down means passing under Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, Arizona, Michigan: $200.
$600 short of Hawaii ($4,400), $1,450 clear of Kentucky ($2,350).
At $260 an hour, the $3,800 median represents about 15 hours of attorney time — a matter measured in days of work, not weeks. The peer median is 14 hours, so 1 more hours of work sit behind the Pennsylvania figure than behind the typical state's.
The escalation is comparatively shallow on hours. A complex bankruptcy costs 2.9x a simple one in Pennsylvania, but the implied workload only rises 1.9x — 8 hours at $205 becomes 15 hours at $310 — meaning the senior-rate premium of 1.51x carries an unusually large share of the increase.
From $2,700 to $5,400 the moderate band is $2,700 wide, close to the $2,550 peer median. End to end that is 10 hours at $260.
A third ordering: by implied hours Pennsylvania is 15th of 47 at 15 hours, 4 places above its cost rank of 19th on cost — more work behind the same bankruptcy money.
33% up the $2,700–$5,400 band sits the $3,600 table midpoint, buying 14 hours at $260 against the 15 the local bankruptcy median implies — 1 hour apart.
| Measure | Pennsylvania | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Moderate median | $3,800 | 19th |
| Hourly median | $260 | 20th |
| Implied hours | 15 | 15th |
| Simple median | $1,650 | 17th |
| Complex median | $4,800 | 27th |
$260 an hour puts Pennsylvania between Oregon ($270) and Texas ($260) — not the bankruptcy cost pairing.
Texas, Utah record the same $260: rate cannot separate them, totals do.
$3,800 buys 19 hours at $205, 15 at $260, 12 at $310.
| Rank | State | Median rate |
|---|---|---|
| 18 | Minnesota | $270 |
| 19 | Oregon | $270 |
| 20 | Pennsylvania | $260 |
| 21 | Texas | $260 |
| 22 | Utah | $260 |
The tiers rank Pennsylvania very differently. It is 17th at the simple tier, 19th at moderate, 27th at complex of 47 — a fall of 10 places as the matter becomes harder. The state is expensive to start a bankruptcy in and comparatively ordinary to finish one in.
$1,650 is 17th of 47 on a straightforward bankruptcy, under Oregon ($1,650) and over New Hampshire ($1,600), $150 over the $1,500 tier midpoint.
$4,800 is 27th of 47 once contested, between Michigan ($4,850) and Texas ($4,800), $300 off the $5,100 tier midpoint.
The three bands are continuous in Pennsylvania: the simple tier reaches $2,800 where the moderate tier starts at $2,700, and the moderate tier reaches $5,400 where the complex tier starts at $2,850. A single quoted figure can therefore belong to two different tiers, and the tier label — not the number — is what identifies which.
| Tier | Pennsylvania | Rank | Tier midpoint | Implied hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| simple | $1,650 | 17th | $1,500 | 8 |
| moderate | $3,800 | 19th | $3,600 | 15 |
| complex | $4,800 | 27th | $5,100 | 15 |
$1,650 puts Pennsylvania 17th of 47 on straightforward matters, 2 up on its moderate position, and $150 (10%) over the $1,500 tier midpoint.
8 implied hours at $205: 53% of the moderate tier's 15, over 3-4 months.
Oregon ($1,650) and New Hampshire ($1,600) bracket it — a $50 window.
6 states sit within three percent of the $1,650 here, against 7 at the moderate row.
$4,800 drops Pennsylvania to 27th of 47 on contested matters, 8 below its moderate position and $300 (6%) under the $5,100 tier midpoint.
15 implied hours at $310: 100% of the moderate tier's 15, over 3-5 years.
Michigan ($4,850) and Texas ($4,800) bracket it — a $50 window.
2 states sit within three percent of the $4,800 here, against 7 at the moderate row.
| Rank | State | Median |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | New York | $1,650 |
| 16 | Oregon | $1,650 |
| 17 | Pennsylvania | $1,650 |
| 18 | New Hampshire | $1,600 |
| 19 | Alaska | $1,550 |
| Rank | State | Median |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | Maine | $4,950 |
| 26 | Michigan | $4,850 |
| 27 | Pennsylvania | $4,800 |
| 28 | Texas | $4,800 |
| 29 | Nevada | $4,650 |
In Pennsylvania a bankruptcy is 6th of 8 at $3,800, between Personal Injury and Real Estate Closing. At 36% of Criminal Defense ($10,450).
Across practice areas Pennsylvania ranges from 17th of 47 for Personal Injury to 31st for DUI / DWI — a 14-place spread, with its 19th on bankruptcy inside it.
Pennsylvania is not equally priced in every practice area. Measured against each matter's own midpoint, Immigration runs 6% above its own midpoint while DUI / DWI runs 7% below its own midpoint — a 13-point spread between the extremes.
The largest tracked median in Pennsylvania is 5.2x the smallest, effectively the 5.1x that the typical state records: the internal spread is ordinary even where the levels are not.
1 of 8 matter types rank Pennsylvania in the upper third, 0 in the lower, 7 between; bankruptcy is 19th.
In percentile terms it sits at the 61th percentile of the 47 tracked states.
| Matter | Simple | Moderate | Complex | Hours | Rank | vs mid | Above |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Criminal Defense | $3,300 | $10,450 | $29,650 | 34 | 23rd | +2% | Illinois |
| Divorce | $2,800 | $8,400 | $22,600 | 27 | 27th | −2% | Arizona |
| DUI / DWI | $3,700 | $6,950 | $16,050 | 24 | 31st | −7% | Montana |
| Immigration | $2,250 | $5,050 | $11,000 | 18 | 22nd | +6% | Virginia |
| Personal Injury | $1,600 | $5,000 | $15,900 | — | 17th | −4% | Michigan |
| Bankruptcy | $1,650 | $3,800 | $4,800 | 15 | 19th | +6% | New Jersey |
| Real Estate Closing | $1,050 | $2,300 | $4,800 | 9 | 21st | +3% | Nevada |
| Estate Planning / Probate | $650 | $2,000 | $5,900 | 7 | 27th | −4% | Minnesota |
Simple tier. $1,650 ÷ $205 = about 8 hours, spread over 3-4 months at roughly $471 a month. The $2,150 step to the moderate tier is 7 more hours at that rate.
Work against price. $3,800 to $4,800 is a $1,000 step weighted toward price: 0 more hours at $260 is $0, but $310 across 15 hours adds $750 — 100% of it.
Borrowing the wrong row. Budgeting from Alaska ($3,700) lands $100 under Pennsylvania; from New Jersey ($3,800), $0 over; from the $3,600 table midpoint, $200 out.
Contested against simple. At Pennsylvania's own recorded figures, $4,800 buys 2.9 matters at the $1,650 simple median — or, counted in time, 15 implied hours against 8, a factor of 1.9 — the two ratios differing because the rate rises with the tier.
Verified June 2026. Filing fees change on the Pennsylvaniacourt's own schedule; billing models are covered in the legal fees guide.
This tool provides general cost estimates for informational purposes only. It is NOT legal advice. Costs vary significantly based on individual circumstances. Consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for specific guidance.