Bankruptcy Data Is Sending a Warning
VRIC Media Jul 20, 2026
Summary
About half of adults aged 30 and younger live with their parents, a pattern DiMartino Booth calls abnormal for a dynamic, regenerative economy.
She argues the trend is slowing household formation and now filtering through into rising bankruptcies.
Fresh data shows household bankruptcies up 12 percent year over year, and small business bankruptcies up 50 percent as of June.
She reads these figures as a warning that households and small businesses are under mounting financial pressure.
Danielle DiMartino Booth's takeaways
- Top takeaway Argues small business bankruptcies were up 50% year over year as of June 2026, a number she calls incredible, and treats the bankruptcy surge as a warning sign for the economy.
- Cites fresh data showing household bankruptcies up 12% year over year, saying financial stress is now hitting households as well as businesses.
- Points to roughly half of adults aged 30 and younger living with their parents, which she says is not a normal state for a dynamic, regenerative economy.
- Argues this trend is slowing household formation and filtering through into the elevated bankruptcy levels she sees across small businesses and households.