Data / Rankings / Establishment exit rate / Counties in Iowa

Counties in Iowa by establishment exit rate

Wayne County had the highest establishment exit rate of 99 counties in 2018, at 13.333%. Decatur County had the lowest, at 3.636%. The median was 6.965% and the figure for Iowa was 7.007%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest13.333Wayne County
Lowest3.636Decatur County
Median6.96599 counties
Iowa7.007History

Map of counties, 2018

Adair County: 6.295 %Adams County: 5.051 %Allamakee County: 5.09 %Appanoose County: 10.989 %Audubon County: 11.144 %Benton County: 7.89 %Black Hawk County: 6.978 %Boone County: 6.298 %Bremer County: 6.463 %Buchanan County: 7.425 %Buena Vista County: 6.68 %Butler County: 8.21 %Calhoun County: 5.416 %Carroll County: 6.944 %Cass County: 5.556 %Cedar County: 7.925 %Cerro Gordo County: 7.018 %Cherokee County: 7.11 %Chickasaw County: 6.188 %Clarke County: 9.063 %Clay County: 5.654 %Clayton County: 11.6 %Clinton County: 7.911 %Crawford County: 6.995 %Dallas County: 7.465 %Davis County: 6.49 %Decatur County: 3.636 %Delaware County: 6.935 %Des Moines County: 6.72 %Dickinson County: 8.254 %Dubuque County: 6.591 %Emmet County: 7.076 %Fayette County: 7.51 %Floyd County: 9.421 %Franklin County: 6.323 %Fremont County: 9.091 %Greene County: 7.585 %Grundy County: 8.425 %Guthrie County: 6.827 %Hamilton County: 7.386 %Hancock County: 6.985 %Hardin County: 6.965 %Harrison County: 5.405 %Henry County: 6.161 %Howard County: 4.835 %Humboldt County: 8.541 %Ida County: 5.983 %Iowa County: 7.086 %Jackson County: 8.193 %Jasper County: 5.848 %Jefferson County: 7.72 %Johnson County: 6.898 %Jones County: 7.564 %Keokuk County: 7.5 %Kossuth County: 3.827 %Lee County: 8.559 %Linn County: 6.478 %Louisa County: 7.407 %Lucas County: 4.819 %Lyon County: 4.823 %Madison County: 6.506 %Mahaska County: 7.823 %Marion County: 5.812 %Marshall County: 6.139 %Mills County: 6.093 %Mitchell County: 4.878 %Monona County: 8 %Monroe County: 8.26 %Montgomery County: 9.336 %Muscatine County: 6.133 %O'Brien County: 6.73 %Osceola County: 3.878 %Page County: 5.905 %Palo Alto County: 8.318 %Plymouth County: 8.1 %Pocahontas County: 6.771 %Polk County: 7.511 %Pottawattamie County: 8.31 %Poweshiek County: 7.083 %Ringgold County: 6.957 %Sac County: 7.155 %Scott County: 7.035 %Shelby County: 6.461 %Sioux County: 5.412 %Story County: 6.543 %Tama County: 6.738 %Taylor County: 7.722 %Union County: 3.768 %Van Buren County: 9.42 %Wapello County: 7.908 %Warren County: 7.813 %Washington County: 5.839 %Wayne County: 13.333 %Webster County: 7.444 %Winnebago County: 6.091 %Winneshiek County: 7.401 %Woodbury County: 6.073 %Worth County: 5.97 %Wright County: 6.805 %
  • Under 5.8
  • 5.8 to 6.5
  • 6.5 to 7
  • 7 to 7.5
  • 7.5 to 8.2
  • 8.2 and over
%, 2018. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment exit rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2018

Wayne County: 13.333 %Wayne County13.333Clayton County: 11.6 %Clayton County11.6Audubon County: 11.144 %Audubon County11.144Appanoose County: 10.989 %Appanoose County10.989Floyd County: 9.421 %Floyd County9.421Van Buren County: 9.42 %Van Buren County9.42Montgomery County: 9.336 %Montgomery County9.336Fremont County: 9.091 %Fremont County9.091Clarke County: 9.063 %Clarke County9.063Lee County: 8.559 %Lee County8.559Humboldt County: 8.541 %Humboldt County8.541Grundy County: 8.425 %Grundy County8.425Palo Alto County: 8.318 %Palo Alto County8.318Pottawattamie County: 8.31 %Pottawattamie County8.31Monroe County: 8.26 %Monroe County8.26Dickinson County: 8.254 %Dickinson County8.254Butler County: 8.21 %Butler County8.21Jackson County: 8.193 %Jackson County8.193Plymouth County: 8.1 %Plymouth County8.1Monona County: 8 %Monona County8Cedar County: 7.925 %Cedar County7.925Clinton County: 7.911 %Clinton County7.911Wapello County: 7.908 %Wapello County7.908Benton County: 7.89 %Benton County7.89Mahaska County: 7.823 %Mahaska County7.823Warren County: 7.813 %Warren County7.813Taylor County: 7.722 %Taylor County7.722Jefferson County: 7.72 %Jefferson County7.72Greene County: 7.585 %Greene County7.585Jones County: 7.564 %Jones County7.564Polk County: 7.511 %Polk County7.511Fayette County: 7.51 %Fayette County7.51Keokuk County: 7.5 %Keokuk County7.5Dallas County: 7.465 %Dallas County7.465Webster County: 7.444 %Webster County7.444Buchanan County: 7.425 %Buchanan County7.425Louisa County: 7.407 %Louisa County7.407Winneshiek County: 7.401 %Winneshiek County7.401Hamilton County: 7.386 %Hamilton County7.386Sac County: 7.155 %Sac County7.155Wayne County: 13.333 %Wayne County13.333Clayton County: 11.6 %Clayton County11.6Audubon County: 11.144 %Audubon County11.144Appanoose County: 10.989 %Appanoose County10.989Floyd County: 9.421 %Floyd County9.421Van Buren County: 9.42 %Van Buren County9.42Montgomery County: 9.336 %Montgomery County9.336Fremont County: 9.091 %Fremont County9.091Clarke County: 9.063 %Clarke County9.063Lee County: 8.559 %Lee County8.559Humboldt County: 8.541 %Humboldt County8.541Grundy County: 8.425 %Grundy County8.425Palo Alto County: 8.318 %Palo Alto County8.318Pottawattamie County: 8.31 %Pottawattamie County8.31Monroe County: 8.26 %Monroe County8.26Dickinson County: 8.254 %Dickinson County8.254Butler County: 8.21 %Butler County8.21Jackson County: 8.193 %Jackson County8.193Plymouth County: 8.1 %Plymouth County8.1Monona County: 8 %Monona County8Cedar County: 7.925 %Cedar County7.925Clinton County: 7.911 %Clinton County7.911Wapello County: 7.908 %Wapello County7.908Benton County: 7.89 %Benton County7.89Mahaska County: 7.823 %Mahaska County7.823Warren County: 7.813 %Warren County7.813Taylor County: 7.722 %Taylor County7.722Jefferson County: 7.72 %Jefferson County7.72Greene County: 7.585 %Greene County7.585Jones County: 7.564 %Jones County7.564Polk County: 7.511 %Polk County7.511Fayette County: 7.51 %Fayette County7.51Keokuk County: 7.5 %Keokuk County7.5Dallas County: 7.465 %Dallas County7.465Webster County: 7.444 %Webster County7.444Buchanan County: 7.425 %Buchanan County7.425Louisa County: 7.407 %Louisa County7.407Winneshiek County: 7.401 %Winneshiek County7.401Hamilton County: 7.386 %Hamilton County7.386Sac County: 7.155 %Sac County7.155
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment exit rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2018 (%)Change on 2017
1Wayne County13.333+5.52 pts
2Clayton County11.6+4.66 pts
3Audubon County11.144+5.91 pts
4Appanoose County10.989+3 pts
5Floyd County9.421+1.96 pts
6Van Buren County9.42+2.83 pts
7Montgomery County9.336+0.52 pts
8Fremont County9.091+0.16 pts
9Clarke County9.063+1.94 pts
10Lee County8.559-0.94 pts
11Humboldt County8.541+3.56 pts
12Grundy County8.425+2.66 pts
13Palo Alto County8.318-0.02 pts
14Pottawattamie County8.31-0.09 pts
15Monroe County8.26+1.18 pts
16Dickinson County8.254+1.16 pts
17Butler County8.21+2.96 pts
18Jackson County8.193+0.5 pts
19Plymouth County8.1+0.75 pts
20Monona County8-0.28 pts
21Cedar County7.925-0.59 pts
22Clinton County7.911+0.98 pts
23Wapello County7.908+1.7 pts
24Benton County7.89-1.39 pts
25Mahaska County7.823-1.15 pts
26Warren County7.813+1.85 pts
27Taylor County7.722-2.28 pts
28Jefferson County7.72-1.27 pts
29Greene County7.585-0.72 pts
30Jones County7.564+2.81 pts
31Polk County7.511-0.75 pts
32Fayette County7.51+1.78 pts
33Keokuk County7.5-0.92 pts
34Dallas County7.465-1.04 pts
35Webster County7.444-0.11 pts
36Buchanan County7.425+0.55 pts
37Louisa County7.407+0.14 pts
38Winneshiek County7.401+1.56 pts
39Hamilton County7.386+0.74 pts
40Sac County7.155+3.04 pts
41Cherokee County7.11+2.8 pts
42Iowa County7.086+1.29 pts
43Poweshiek County7.083-1.29 pts
44Emmet County7.076-1.23 pts
45Scott County7.035+0.18 pts
46Cerro Gordo County7.018-2.4 pts
47Crawford County6.995-1.2 pts
48Hancock County6.985-1.49 pts
49Black Hawk County6.978-1.61 pts
50Hardin County6.965-2.06 pts
51Ringgold County6.957-1.74 pts
52Carroll County6.944+1.12 pts
53Delaware County6.935-0.99 pts
54Johnson County6.898-1.39 pts
55Guthrie County6.827-0.08 pts
56Wright County6.805-3.14 pts
57Pocahontas County6.771-1.37 pts
58Tama County6.738-1.35 pts
59O'Brien County6.73-0.75 pts
60Des Moines County6.72+1.06 pts
61Buena Vista County6.68-0.99 pts
62Dubuque County6.591+0.2 pts
63Story County6.543+0.03 pts
64Madison County6.506-2.77 pts
65Davis County6.49-0.74 pts
66Linn County6.478-0.83 pts
67Bremer County6.463+0.03 pts
68Shelby County6.461-2.38 pts
69Franklin County6.323-5.06 pts
70Boone County6.298-3.47 pts
71Adair County6.295-0.99 pts
72Chickasaw County6.188-0.46 pts
73Henry County6.161-2.5 pts
74Marshall County6.139-2.85 pts
75Muscatine County6.133+1.13 pts
76Mills County6.093-0.73 pts
77Winnebago County6.091-2 pts
78Woodbury County6.073-1.71 pts
79Ida County5.983-3.38 pts
80Worth County5.97-0.05 pts
81Page County5.905-1.2 pts
82Jasper County5.848-3.41 pts
83Washington County5.839-2.76 pts
84Marion County5.812-2.33 pts
85Clay County5.654-1.45 pts
86Cass County5.556-2.61 pts
87Calhoun County5.416-0.02 pts
88Sioux County5.412+0.52 pts
89Harrison County5.405-4.35 pts
90Allamakee County5.09-4.97 pts
91Adams County5.051-0.16 pts
92Mitchell County4.878-4.38 pts
93Howard County4.835-3.98 pts
94Lyon County4.823-1.17 pts
95Lucas County4.819-2.43 pts
96Osceola County3.878-1.24 pts
97Kossuth County3.827-2.02 pts
98Union County3.768-4.79 pts
99Decatur County3.636-4.45 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Establishments that closed during the year (employees a year earlier and none in March of the year), as a percentage of the average number of establishments in the two years. United States: Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics.

Counts closed locations, including branches of firms that keep operating elsewhere, so it is not a firm failure rate. Not comparable with enterprise_death_rate, which counts enterprise deaths in Europe. The year is the twelve months to March: 2023 compares March 2022 with March 2023.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment exit rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2025). Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment exit rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010 (Counties in Iowa by establishment exit rate, 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv

MLA 9

Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment exit rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, Counties in Iowa by establishment exit rate, 2018. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 Sept. 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-exit-rate/iowa-counties?period=2018. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment exit rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Counties in Iowa by establishment exit rate, 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-exit-rate/iowa-counties?period=2018.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment exit rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, Counties in Iowa by establishment exit rate, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-exit-rate/iowa-counties?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_iowa_by_2018,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment exit rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: Counties in Iowa by establishment exit rate, 2018}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-exit-rate/iowa-counties?period=2018. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment exit rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023\_st\_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment exit rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: Counties in Iowa by establishment exit rate, 2018
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/09/25
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-exit-rate/iowa-counties?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-exit-rate/iowa-counties?period=2018.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment exit rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which county has the highest establishment exit rate?

Wayne County, with 13.333% in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest establishment exit rate?

Decatur County, with 3.636% in 2018.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: establishment exit rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Establishment exit rate: other rankings

Counties in Iowa: more rankings