According to Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX), which analyzed its comprehensive small business database for the study, commercial bankruptcies among the country’s more than twenty-five million small businesses increased by nearly 81% in June 2009 from June 2008..  

10,339 bankruptcy cases were filed nationally in June 2009, markedly up from 5,712 a year ago, according to the data.

California is the most negatively affected state with ten MSA’s (metropolitan statistical areas) among the fifteen areas with the most commercial bankruptcy filings during June. Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Sacramento led the nation in small-business bankruptcy cases. The other MSA’s with the most bankruptcy filings during the month include:

• Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC
• Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA
• Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA
• Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX
• New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ
• California (excluding MSA’s within the state)
• Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA
• Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA
• Denver-Aurora, CO
• San Diego-Carlsbad CA
• Oregon (excluding MSA’s within the state)
• Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX

“The data shows that the economic pain is continuing for small businesses across the country,” said the head of North American research for Equifax’s Commercial Information Solutions division, Dr. Reza Barazesh. “While it may not be quite as intense in some areas as what we saw earlier this year, we’re still seeing hefty increases in the number of bankruptcies in a lot of major metro areas.”

The Houston increased to 153 bankruptcy cases from 84 the year before; Atlanta MSA increased to 208 from 93; and Charlotte, which wasn’t even in the top fifteen a year ago, had 225 bankruptcies in June, the fourth highest of any MSA.

Equifax reviewed and analyzed small business data for the month of June, the most recent month for which complete data is available, and compared it with results from June 2008. Equifax defines a small business as a commercial entity of less than one hundred employees.

The fifteen metro areas with the least small-business bankruptcy filings are:

• Springfield, MA
• Lafayette, LA
• Cedar Rapids, IA
• Charleston, WV
• Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV
• Hawaii
• Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH
• Clarksville, TN-KY
• Gainesville, FL
• Gulfport-Biloxi, MS
• Huntsville, AL
• Lynchburg, VA
• Baton Rouge, LA
• Beaumont - Port Arthur, TX
• Brownsville-Harlingen, TX