Small claims court statistics vary widely by jurisdiction, reporting year, and case classification. Recent preliminary data from the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) put small claims filings at approximately 671,000 in reporting jurisdictions in 2021 and nearly 1 million in 2025. Older state benchmarks, fiscal-year reports, and processing measures show why filing totals should be read alongside geography, pending caseloads, dispositions, and clearance rates.
Contents
- Recent national filing trends
- 1980 state caseload benchmarks
- Comparing 1980 state measures
- Massachusetts court departments
- Texas filing trends
- California filing and processing measures
- How to read these statistics
Recent national filing trends
The NCSC reported approximately 671,000 small claims filings across its reporting jurisdictions in 2021. Its 2025 preliminary data showed nearly 1 million small claims filings across the reporting jurisdictions. These figures describe the jurisdictions included in the NCSC reporting, not a complete national census.
The NCSC also reported that four major civil case types, including small claims, accounted for approximately 80% of reported civil filings in the 2025 preliminary data. That percentage places small claims within the broader civil-court workload, but it does not identify what share of the 80% came from small claims alone.
The two NCSC filing totals are useful as recent reference points, but they should not be treated as a perfectly comparable nationwide time series. The 2025 figure is preliminary, and both figures cover reporting jurisdictions. The source also reported decreased clearance rates in its 2025 discussion, so filing volume and the ability to dispose of cases should be considered separately. Source: Early data signals increased civil filings, decreased clearance rates in 2025 (NCSC; 2021 and 2025 preliminary reporting periods).
1980 state caseload benchmarks
The Bureau of Justice Statistics archival table, State Court Caseload Statistics: Annual Report, 1980, provides an older benchmark for filings, dispositions, pending cases, and filings per 100,000 population. The table has incomplete reporting and state-specific case classifications, so these figures are historical reference points rather than current court conditions.
Alabama district courts reported 91,861 small claims filed in 1980 and disposed of 94,270. The courts ended that year with 30,888 small claims pending, and dispositions equaled 103% of filings. Hawaii district courts reported 2,136 filings, disposed of 1,775, and ended 1980 with 829 pending. Hawaii’s dispositions equaled 83% of filings, and its filing rate was 221 per 100,000 population.
Illinois circuit courts reported 183,036 small claims filings in 1980. They disposed of 177,991 cases and ended the year with 51,848 pending. Dispositions equaled 97% of filings, while the filing rate was 1,603 per 100,000 population.
Iowa district courts reported 112,087 filings and disposed of 111,912. The pending inventory at year-end was 14,397, dispositions equaled 100% of filings, and the filing rate was 3,848 per 100,000 population.
New Jersey county district courts reported 44,873 filings in 1980, disposed of 46,458, and ended the year with 6,730 pending. Dispositions equaled 104% of filings, and the filing rate was 609 per 100,000 population.
Oklahoma district courts reported 85,298 small claims filings and disposed of 86,415. The year-end pending caseload was 57,185. Dispositions equaled 101% of filings, and Oklahoma reported 2,820 filings per 100,000 population.
Vermont district courts reported 7,541 filings, disposed of 7,427, and ended 1980 with 1,931 pending. Dispositions equaled 98% of filings, while the filing rate was 1,476 per 100,000 population.
California reported 543,945 small claims filings statewide in 1980 and disposed of 395,417. Its dispositions equaled 73% of filings, and the state reported 2,298 filings per 100,000 population. The 1980 table’s state coverage and classifications differ from later California reports.
Source for all 1980 figures in this section: State Court Caseload Statistics: Annual Report, 1980 (Bureau of Justice Statistics archival benchmark; measurement year 1980).
Comparing 1980 state measures
The 1980 figures show how different measures answer different questions. Filings describe incoming workload, dispositions describe cases processed during the year, pending cases describe the inventory at year-end, and filings per 100,000 population provide a population-adjusted comparison.
| Jurisdiction and court | Filed | Disposed | Pending at year-end | Dispositions as share of filings | Filed per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama district courts | 91,861 | 94,270 | 30,888 | 103% | Not reported in supplied measure |
| Hawaii district courts | 2,136 | 1,775 | 829 | 83% | 221 |
| Illinois circuit courts | 183,036 | 177,991 | 51,848 | 97% | 1,603 |
| Iowa district courts | 112,087 | 111,912 | 14,397 | 100% | 3,848 |
| New Jersey county district courts | 44,873 | 46,458 | 6,730 | 104% | 609 |
| Oklahoma district courts | 85,298 | 86,415 | 57,185 | 101% | 2,820 |
| Vermont district courts | 7,541 | 7,427 | 1,931 | 98% | 1,476 |
| California statewide | 543,945 | 395,417 | Not reported in supplied measure | 73% | 2,298 |
For example, Iowa’s 3,848 filings per 100,000 population were higher than Illinois’s 1,603 and New Jersey’s 609, even though Illinois recorded more total filings than Iowa. That contrast illustrates why a raw filing total cannot stand in for filing intensity. The table also shows that dispositions can exceed filings in a year, as in Alabama and New Jersey, without meaning that every case filed that year was resolved during that same year; dispositions may include cases carried over from an earlier period.
Massachusetts court departments
Massachusetts reported 96,964 small claims filings across its Trial Court departments in FY2024. The District Court recorded 87,217 filings, Boston Municipal Court recorded 8,997, and Housing Court recorded 750.
| Massachusetts department | Small claims filings, FY2024 |
|---|---|
| District Court | 87,217 |
| Boston Municipal Court | 8,997 |
| Housing Court | 750 |
| Trial Court departments combined | 96,964 |
These figures are department-level fiscal-year reporting for Massachusetts. They show that the District Court accounted for the largest reported department total in the supplied FY2024 figures, while Boston Municipal Court and Housing Court recorded smaller totals. The numbers should not be interpreted as a national estimate or directly combined with the 1980 state table, which uses a different year, reporting framework, and case-classification context.
Source: FY2024 Annual Report of the Court System (Massachusetts Trial Court; FY2024).
Texas filing trends
Texas reported that small claims filings fell 1% from the prior year in its FY2024 annual report. The same report said filings increased 5% over the five years covered by the report, through FY2024. These are changes reported by the Texas judiciary, not a national trend estimate.
In the Texas FY2021 report, small claims represented 11% of Texas civil cases filed. That percentage describes the share of Texas civil filings in that fiscal-year report; it does not mean that small claims represented 11% of all court cases or 11% of civil cases in every state.
The two Texas sources measure different aspects of the caseload: the FY2024 report supplies year-over-year and five-year filing changes, while the FY2021 report supplies small claims’ share of Texas civil cases filed. Because the periods differ, the 11% share should not be presented as the FY2024 share.
Sources: Annual Statistical Report for the Texas Judiciary, Fiscal Year 2024 (FY2024 and five-year comparison); Annual Statistical Report, Fiscal Year 2021 (FY2021).
California filing and processing measures
California’s reports provide both a statewide filing benchmark and measures of case processing. The 2017 Court Statistics Report recorded 158,347 small claims cases filed statewide in FY2015-16. A separate 2018 report, covering FY2016-17 measures, recorded 63,829 small claims disposed of before trial and 96,099 disposed of after trial.
The same 2018 report gave California small claims a 98% caseload clearance rate. It also reported that 59% of small claims were resolved within 70 days and 70% were resolved within 90 days. These timing figures describe the cases and reporting period covered by that report; they are not current national processing estimates.
| California measure | Reported figure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Small claims filed statewide | 158,347 | FY2015-16 |
| Disposed before trial | 63,829 | FY2016-17 report |
| Disposed after trial | 96,099 | FY2016-17 report |
| Caseload clearance rate | 98% | FY2016-17 report |
| Resolved within 70 days | 59% | FY2016-17 report |
| Resolved within 90 days | 70% | FY2016-17 report |
The California filing total and processing measures come from separate fiscal-year reports and should not be treated as one identical annual series. The earlier statewide filing figure is from FY2015-16, while the processing statistics are from the FY2016-17 report. The reports also use different measures: filings count incoming cases, dispositions count processed cases, clearance compares workload resolution with incoming workload, and resolution-time percentages describe timing.
Sources: 2017 Court Statistics Report (FY2015-16 filing figure); 2018 Court Statistics Report Introduction (FY2016-17 processing and clearance figures).
How to read these statistics
Small claims court statistics are most useful when four details stay attached to every number: the jurisdiction, the measurement period, the case definition, and the measure itself. A filing total is not a disposition total. A pending count is not a count of new cases. A clearance rate is not the same as the percentage resolved within a specified number of days.
The available data also span preliminary national reporting, fiscal-year state reports, and an archival 1980 benchmark. The NCSC figures cover reporting jurisdictions and the 2025 figure is preliminary. The 1980 state table has incomplete reporting and state-specific classifications. Massachusetts and Texas figures are state-specific fiscal-year measures. California’s figures come from separate fiscal-year reports and should not be compared as identical national measures.
These are descriptive court-system statistics, not legal advice. A person evaluating a small claims dispute should use the rules, filing limits, procedures, and court information for the relevant jurisdiction.