Data / Rankings / Establishment exit rate / Counties in Kentucky

Counties in Kentucky by establishment exit rate

Robertson County had the highest establishment exit rate of 119 counties in 2019, at 15.385%. Washington County had the lowest, at 4.11%. The median was 7.353% and the figure for Kentucky was 7.355%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest15.385Robertson County
Lowest4.11Washington County
Median7.353119 counties
Kentucky7.355History

Map of counties, 2019

Adair County: 4.921 %Allen County: 6.604 %Anderson County: 8.138 %Ballard County: 7.438 %Barren County: 7.474 %Bath County: 6.78 %Bell County: 7.001 %Boone County: 6.666 %Bourbon County: 7.51 %Boyd County: 7.424 %Boyle County: 6.479 %Bracken County: 7.229 %Breathitt County: 8.383 %Breckinridge County: 9.94 %Bullitt County: 7.66 %Butler County: 4.142 %Caldwell County: 6.154 %Calloway County: 6.599 %Campbell County: 7.86 %Carlisle County: 12.5 %Carroll County: 4.762 %Carter County: 7.557 %Casey County: 9.36 %Christian County: 6.902 %Clark County: 4.286 %Clay County: 9.217 %Clinton County: 5.848 %Crittenden County: 10.256 %Cumberland County: 7.843 %Daviess County: 6.508 %Edmonson County: 10.471 %Elliott County: 12.5 %Estill County: 6.647 %Fayette County: 7.728 %Fleming County: 10.353 %Floyd County: 7.951 %Franklin County: 5.814 %Fulton County: 6.202 %Gallatin County: 9.091 %Garrard County: 11.587 %Grant County: 11.077 %Graves County: 6.846 %Grayson County: 7.353 %Green County: 6.25 %Greenup County: 10.602 %Hancock County: 4.145 %Hardin County: 7.018 %Harlan County: 5.413 %Harrison County: 6.362 %Hart County: 7.188 %Henderson County: 5.806 %Henry County: 12.346 %Hopkins County: 6.836 %Jackson County: 5.882 %Jefferson County: 7.818 %Jessamine County: 6.926 %Johnson County: 8.235 %Kenton County: 7.814 %Knott County: 7.869 %Knox County: 8.091 %Larue County: 6.718 %Laurel County: 7.689 %Lawrence County: 6.566 %Lee County: 5.376 %Leslie County: 9.524 %Letcher County: 12.121 %Lewis County: 5.217 %Lincoln County: 8.379 %Livingston County: 13.74 %Logan County: 5.027 %Lyon County: 7.668 %McCracken County: 6.173 %McCreary County: 10.067 %McLean County: 8.1 %Madison County: 7.365 %Magoffin County: 7.942 %Marion County: 8.157 %Marshall County: 5.586 %Martin County: 7.229 %Mason County: 5.721 %Meade County: 6.281 %Menifee County: 6.186 %Mercer County: 8.931 %Metcalfe County: 4.808 %Monroe County: 4.675 %Montgomery County: 6.862 %Morgan County: 9.722 %Muhlenberg County: 8.309 %Nelson County: 8.005 %Nicholas County: 8.759 %Ohio County: 9.44 %Oldham County: 7.674 %Owen County: 6.278 %Owsley County: 6.977 %Pendleton County: 7.947 %Perry County: 5.604 %Pike County: 6.691 %Powell County: 11.409 %Pulaski County: 6.072 %Robertson County: 15.385 %Rockcastle County: 8.046 %Rowan County: 8.27 %Russell County: 7.937 %Scott County: 7.155 %Shelby County: 5.613 %Simpson County: 7.171 %Spencer County: 9.819 %Taylor County: 6.084 %Todd County: 8.399 %Trigg County: 7.459 %Trimble County: 10.37 %Union County: 6.074 %Warren County: 7.178 %Washington County: 4.11 %Wayne County: 5.469 %Webster County: 9.424 %Whitley County: 6.05 %Wolfe County: 5.882 %Woodford County: 5.088 %
  • Under 5.8
  • 5.8 to 6.6
  • 6.6 to 7.4
  • 7.4 to 7.9
  • 7.9 to 9.4
  • 9.4 and over
  • No data
%, 2019. Hatched areas have no value for this period. 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, 2019

Robertson County: 15.385 %Robertson County15.385Livingston County: 13.74 %Livingston County13.74Carlisle County: 12.5 %Carlisle County12.5Elliott County: 12.5 %Elliott County12.5Henry County: 12.346 %Henry County12.346Letcher County: 12.121 %Letcher County12.121Garrard County: 11.587 %Garrard County11.587Powell County: 11.409 %Powell County11.409Grant County: 11.077 %Grant County11.077Greenup County: 10.602 %Greenup County10.602Edmonson County: 10.471 %Edmonson County10.471Trimble County: 10.37 %Trimble County10.37Fleming County: 10.353 %Fleming County10.353Crittenden County: 10.256 %Crittenden County10.256McCreary County: 10.067 %McCreary County10.067Breckinridge County: 9.94 %Breckinridge County9.94Spencer County: 9.819 %Spencer County9.819Morgan County: 9.722 %Morgan County9.722Leslie County: 9.524 %Leslie County9.524Ohio County: 9.44 %Ohio County9.44Webster County: 9.424 %Webster County9.424Casey County: 9.36 %Casey County9.36Clay County: 9.217 %Clay County9.217Gallatin County: 9.091 %Gallatin County9.091Mercer County: 8.931 %Mercer County8.931Nicholas County: 8.759 %Nicholas County8.759Todd County: 8.399 %Todd County8.399Breathitt County: 8.383 %Breathitt County8.383Lincoln County: 8.379 %Lincoln County8.379Muhlenberg County: 8.309 %Muhlenberg County8.309Rowan County: 8.27 %Rowan County8.27Johnson County: 8.235 %Johnson County8.235Marion County: 8.157 %Marion County8.157Anderson County: 8.138 %Anderson County8.138McLean County: 8.1 %McLean County8.1Knox County: 8.091 %Knox County8.091Rockcastle County: 8.046 %Rockcastle County8.046Nelson County: 8.005 %Nelson County8.005Floyd County: 7.951 %Floyd County7.951Pendleton County: 7.947 %Pendleton County7.947Robertson County: 15.385 %Robertson County15.385Livingston County: 13.74 %Livingston County13.74Carlisle County: 12.5 %Carlisle County12.5Elliott County: 12.5 %Elliott County12.5Henry County: 12.346 %Henry County12.346Letcher County: 12.121 %Letcher County12.121Garrard County: 11.587 %Garrard County11.587Powell County: 11.409 %Powell County11.409Grant County: 11.077 %Grant County11.077Greenup County: 10.602 %Greenup County10.602Edmonson County: 10.471 %Edmonson County10.471Trimble County: 10.37 %Trimble County10.37Fleming County: 10.353 %Fleming County10.353Crittenden County: 10.256 %Crittenden County10.256McCreary County: 10.067 %McCreary County10.067Breckinridge County: 9.94 %Breckinridge County9.94Spencer County: 9.819 %Spencer County9.819Morgan County: 9.722 %Morgan County9.722Leslie County: 9.524 %Leslie County9.524Ohio County: 9.44 %Ohio County9.44Webster County: 9.424 %Webster County9.424Casey County: 9.36 %Casey County9.36Clay County: 9.217 %Clay County9.217Gallatin County: 9.091 %Gallatin County9.091Mercer County: 8.931 %Mercer County8.931Nicholas County: 8.759 %Nicholas County8.759Todd County: 8.399 %Todd County8.399Breathitt County: 8.383 %Breathitt County8.383Lincoln County: 8.379 %Lincoln County8.379Muhlenberg County: 8.309 %Muhlenberg County8.309Rowan County: 8.27 %Rowan County8.27Johnson County: 8.235 %Johnson County8.235Marion County: 8.157 %Marion County8.157Anderson County: 8.138 %Anderson County8.138McLean County: 8.1 %McLean County8.1Knox County: 8.091 %Knox County8.091Rockcastle County: 8.046 %Rockcastle County8.046Nelson County: 8.005 %Nelson County8.005Floyd County: 7.951 %Floyd County7.951Pendleton County: 7.947 %Pendleton County7.947
%. 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

RankCounties2019 (%)Change on 2018
1Robertson County15.385n/a
2Livingston County13.74+7.05 pts
3Carlisle County12.5+0.23 pts
3Elliott County12.50 pts
5Henry County12.346+4.94 pts
6Letcher County12.121+4.43 pts
7Garrard County11.587+1.51 pts
8Powell County11.409+4.05 pts
9Grant County11.077-0.67 pts
10Greenup County10.602+3.69 pts
11Edmonson County10.471-11.97 pts
12Trimble County10.37-3.37 pts
13Fleming County10.353+3.36 pts
14Crittenden County10.256+3.91 pts
15McCreary County10.067-0.36 pts
16Breckinridge County9.94+1.66 pts
17Spencer County9.819-3.79 pts
18Morgan County9.722+0.97 pts
19Leslie County9.524-2.91 pts
20Ohio County9.44-2.59 pts
21Webster County9.424-1.83 pts
22Casey County9.36-3.26 pts
23Clay County9.217+1.42 pts
24Gallatin County9.091-4.1 pts
25Mercer County8.931-0.65 pts
26Nicholas County8.759+1.24 pts
27Todd County8.399+3.6 pts
28Breathitt County8.383-3.69 pts
29Lincoln County8.379+0.11 pts
30Muhlenberg County8.309+0.73 pts
31Rowan County8.27+3.67 pts
32Johnson County8.235+0.12 pts
33Marion County8.157+2.57 pts
34Anderson County8.138+0.93 pts
35McLean County8.1+1.98 pts
36Knox County8.091+2.52 pts
37Rockcastle County8.046+2.38 pts
38Nelson County8.005+1.5 pts
39Floyd County7.951-1.03 pts
40Pendleton County7.947-2.58 pts
41Magoffin County7.942-0.88 pts
42Russell County7.937+1.63 pts
43Knott County7.869+4.58 pts
44Campbell County7.86+0.33 pts
45Cumberland County7.843+0.04 pts
46Jefferson County7.818-0.39 pts
47Kenton County7.814+1.01 pts
48Fayette County7.728-0.6 pts
49Laurel County7.689+1.96 pts
50Oldham County7.674-0.97 pts
51Lyon County7.668-0.77 pts
52Bullitt County7.66+0.67 pts
53Carter County7.557+0.61 pts
54Bourbon County7.51-2.41 pts
55Barren County7.474-4.73 pts
56Trigg County7.459+0.38 pts
57Ballard County7.438+2.44 pts
58Boyd County7.424+1.55 pts
59Madison County7.365+0.96 pts
60Grayson County7.353-0.37 pts
61Bracken County7.229-2.53 pts
61Martin County7.229-2.85 pts
63Hart County7.188-7.73 pts
64Warren County7.178-6.72 pts
65Simpson County7.171-5.49 pts
66Scott County7.155-1.03 pts
67Hardin County7.018-0.25 pts
68Bell County7.001-1.53 pts
69Owsley County6.977n/a
70Jessamine County6.926-0.19 pts
71Christian County6.902-1.87 pts
72Montgomery County6.862-1.56 pts
73Graves County6.846-1.63 pts
74Hopkins County6.836-1.25 pts
75Bath County6.78-0.15 pts
76Larue County6.718-1.07 pts
77Pike County6.691-0.46 pts
78Boone County6.666-0.7 pts
79Estill County6.647+2.98 pts
80Allen County6.604-6.61 pts
81Calloway County6.599-0.16 pts
82Lawrence County6.566-2.69 pts
83Daviess County6.508-0.62 pts
84Boyle County6.479-0.04 pts
85Harrison County6.362-0.79 pts
86Meade County6.281-0.72 pts
87Owen County6.278+1.83 pts
88Green County6.25+1.85 pts
89Fulton County6.202-0.67 pts
90Menifee County6.1860 pts
91McCracken County6.173-1.38 pts
92Caldwell County6.154-5.92 pts
93Taylor County6.084-2.33 pts
94Union County6.074-2.08 pts
95Pulaski County6.072-0.68 pts
96Whitley County6.05-1.11 pts
97Jackson County5.882-3.31 pts
97Wolfe County5.882n/a
99Clinton County5.848-1.58 pts
100Franklin County5.814-0.35 pts
101Henderson County5.806-1.47 pts
102Mason County5.721+0.22 pts
103Shelby County5.613-0.22 pts
104Perry County5.604-1.09 pts
105Marshall County5.586-0.44 pts
106Wayne County5.469-0.37 pts
107Harlan County5.413-4.28 pts
108Lee County5.376+2.06 pts
109Lewis County5.217-2.54 pts
110Woodford County5.088-4.18 pts
111Logan County5.027-5.73 pts
112Adair County4.921-1.94 pts
113Metcalfe County4.808-5.52 pts
114Carroll County4.762-3.77 pts
115Monroe County4.675-4.18 pts
116Clark County4.286-3.82 pts
117Hancock County4.145-7.68 pts
118Butler County4.142-5.95 pts
119Washington County4.11-1.45 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. 1 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2019 and are left out rather than filled from another source. 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 Kentucky by establishment exit rate, 2019) [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 Kentucky by establishment exit rate, 2019. 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/kentucky-counties?period=2019. 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 Kentucky by establishment exit rate, 2019. 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/kentucky-counties?period=2019.

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 Kentucky by establishment exit rate, 2019 [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/kentucky-counties?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_kentucky_by_2019,
  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 Kentucky by establishment exit rate, 2019}},
  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/kentucky-counties?period=2019. 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 Kentucky by establishment exit rate, 2019
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/kentucky-counties?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-exit-rate/kentucky-counties?period=2019.
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?

Robertson County, with 15.385% in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest establishment exit rate?

Washington County, with 4.11% in 2019.

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. 1 counties have no value for 2019 and are not ranked.

Establishment exit rate: other rankings

Counties in Kentucky: more rankings