Data / Rankings / Establishment exit rate / Counties in North Carolina

Counties in North Carolina by establishment exit rate, 2023

Swain County had the highest establishment exit rate of 100 counties in 2023, at 14.265%. Tyrrell County had the lowest, at 4.317%. The median was 8.884% and the figure for North Carolina was 9.073%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest14.265Swain County
Lowest4.317Tyrrell County
Median8.884100 counties
North Carolina9.073History

Top 40 counties, 2023

Swain County: 14.265 %Swain County14.265Graham County: 14.085 %Graham County14.085Hoke County: 13.601 %Hoke County13.601Camden County: 12.785 %Camden County12.785Montgomery County: 11.591 %Montgomery County11.591Alleghany County: 11.514 %Alleghany County11.514Polk County: 11.459 %Polk County11.459Ashe County: 11.423 %Ashe County11.423Onslow County: 10.755 %Onslow County10.755Yancey County: 10.494 %Yancey County10.494Perquimans County: 10.303 %Perquimans County10.303Madison County: 10.3 %Madison County10.3Mecklenburg County: 10.188 %Mecklenburg County10.188Anson County: 10.112 %Anson County10.112Bertie County: 10.108 %Bertie County10.108Edgecombe County: 10.084 %Edgecombe County10.084Union County: 10.009 %Union County10.009Cabarrus County: 9.86 %Cabarrus County9.86Haywood County: 9.826 %Haywood County9.826Wake County: 9.733 %Wake County9.733Duplin County: 9.524 %Duplin County9.524Greene County: 9.506 %Greene County9.506Buncombe County: 9.486 %Buncombe County9.486Davie County: 9.482 %Davie County9.482Hertford County: 9.445 %Hertford County9.445McDowell County: 9.412 %McDowell County9.412Sampson County: 9.372 %Sampson County9.372Rockingham County: 9.351 %Rockingham County9.351Cleveland County: 9.348 %Cleveland County9.348Franklin County: 9.342 %Franklin County9.342Lincoln County: 9.337 %Lincoln County9.337Iredell County: 9.309 %Iredell County9.309Chatham County: 9.307 %Chatham County9.307Pamlico County: 9.292 %Pamlico County9.292Pender County: 9.291 %Pender County9.291Cumberland County: 9.181 %Cumberland County9.181Columbus County: 9.121 %Columbus County9.121Pasquotank County: 9.118 %Pasquotank County9.118Orange County: 9.075 %Orange County9.075Stanly County: 9.05 %Stanly County9.05
%. 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

RankCounties2023 (%)Change on 2022
1Swain County14.265+4.63 pts
2Graham County14.085+1.63 pts
3Hoke County13.601+2.22 pts
4Camden County12.785+3.86 pts
5Montgomery County11.591+4.99 pts
6Alleghany County11.514+3.32 pts
7Polk County11.459+4.59 pts
8Ashe County11.423+2.85 pts
9Onslow County10.755+1.72 pts
10Yancey County10.494+3.17 pts
11Perquimans County10.303+1.71 pts
12Madison County10.3+0.23 pts
13Mecklenburg County10.188-0.01 pts
14Anson County10.112+4.28 pts
15Bertie County10.108+4.37 pts
16Edgecombe County10.084+0.18 pts
17Union County10.009+0.76 pts
18Cabarrus County9.86+0.25 pts
19Haywood County9.826+1.3 pts
20Wake County9.733-0.01 pts
21Duplin County9.524+1.03 pts
22Greene County9.506-5.36 pts
23Buncombe County9.486+0.29 pts
24Davie County9.482+2.47 pts
25Hertford County9.445+4.33 pts
26McDowell County9.412+1.16 pts
27Sampson County9.372+0.32 pts
28Rockingham County9.351+2.9 pts
29Cleveland County9.348+2.38 pts
30Franklin County9.342-1.54 pts
31Lincoln County9.337+1.74 pts
32Iredell County9.309+0.16 pts
33Chatham County9.307+1.22 pts
34Pamlico County9.292+1.58 pts
35Pender County9.291+0.31 pts
36Cumberland County9.181-0.68 pts
37Columbus County9.121+0.53 pts
38Pasquotank County9.118-0.03 pts
39Orange County9.075-0.04 pts
40Stanly County9.05+2.01 pts
41Harnett County8.998+0.46 pts
42Guilford County8.988-0.27 pts
43Henderson County8.985-0.41 pts
43Randolph County8.985+1.13 pts
45Wilson County8.95+0.38 pts
46Gates County8.929+2.65 pts
47Durham County8.917-0.58 pts
48Gaston County8.893+0.39 pts
49Craven County8.891-0.73 pts
50Jones County8.889-5.77 pts
51Northampton County8.879-1.16 pts
51Washington County8.879+3.64 pts
53Robeson County8.795-0.69 pts
54Brunswick County8.77-1.39 pts
55Cherokee County8.696+1.02 pts
56Avery County8.562+3.36 pts
57Transylvania County8.477-0.95 pts
58Currituck County8.444-0.22 pts
59Rowan County8.425+1.35 pts
60New Hanover County8.41-0.38 pts
61Stokes County8.396-2.49 pts
62Watauga County8.349+0.99 pts
63Caldwell County8.343+2.08 pts
64Forsyth County8.295-0.51 pts
65Granville County8.265-0.71 pts
66Alamance County8.213+1.1 pts
67Rutherford County8.116+0.48 pts
68Moore County8.088-1.31 pts
69Catawba County8.085+0.5 pts
70Mitchell County8.084+0.97 pts
71Macon County8.028+0.82 pts
72Lee County7.997+0.02 pts
73Nash County7.909-1.08 pts
74Wayne County7.865-0.89 pts
75Davidson County7.858-0.2 pts
76Pitt County7.803-2.44 pts
77Bladen County7.79+0.34 pts
78Clay County7.71+1.56 pts
79Richmond County7.682-0.07 pts
80Johnston County7.679-1.09 pts
81Martin County7.654-3.46 pts
82Carteret County7.577+0.42 pts
83Lenoir County7.534-0.44 pts
84Burke County7.46-1.85 pts
85Dare County7.383+0.46 pts
86Scotland County7.357+2.24 pts
87Halifax County7.164-1.86 pts
88Person County7.154-0.87 pts
89Surry County7.143-0.66 pts
90Jackson County6.945-2.36 pts
91Hyde County6.767-1.66 pts
92Beaufort County6.731-0.66 pts
93Wilkes County6.629-2.13 pts
94Chowan County6.405-1.06 pts
95Alexander County6.367-0.63 pts
96Yadkin County6.325-1.06 pts
97Caswell County6.306-2.05 pts
98Vance County6.277-1.21 pts
99Warren County5.674-3.87 pts
100Tyrrell County4.317-1.7 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 North Carolina by establishment exit rate, 2023) [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 North Carolina by establishment exit rate, 2023. 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/north-carolina-counties. 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 North Carolina by establishment exit rate, 2023. 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/north-carolina-counties.

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 North Carolina by establishment exit rate, 2023 [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/north-carolina-counties (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_north_carolina_2023,
  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 North Carolina by establishment exit rate, 2023}},
  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/north-carolina-counties. 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 North Carolina by establishment exit rate, 2023
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/north-carolina-counties
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-exit-rate/north-carolina-counties.
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  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in North Carolina by establishment exit rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"establishment_exit_rate","level":"province","within":"North Carolina","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=establishment_exit_rate&level=province&within=North%20Carolina&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which county has the highest establishment exit rate?

Swain County, with 14.265% in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest establishment exit rate?

Tyrrell County, with 4.317% in 2023.

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 North Carolina: more rankings