Data / Rankings / Establishment exit rate / Counties in Tennessee

Counties in Tennessee by establishment exit rate

Van Buren County had the highest establishment exit rate of 93 counties in 2021, at 19.048%. Jackson County had the lowest, at 3.81%. The median was 8.25% and the figure for Tennessee was 8.609%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest19.048Van Buren County
Lowest3.81Jackson County
Median8.2593 counties
Tennessee8.609History

Map of counties, 2021

Anderson County: 6.566 %Bedford County: 6.431 %Benton County: 8.712 %Bledsoe County: 9.302 %Blount County: 7.523 %Bradley County: 7.291 %Campbell County: 8.373 %Cannon County: 10.243 %Carroll County: 9.768 %Carter County: 6.533 %Cheatham County: 9.159 %Chester County: 9.17 %Claiborne County: 4.136 %Clay County: 6.977 %Cocke County: 7.774 %Coffee County: 5.983 %Crockett County: 9.029 %Cumberland County: 7.542 %Davidson County: 9.906 %Decatur County: 10.579 %DeKalb County: 7.445 %Dickson County: 7.996 %Dyer County: 6.689 %Fayette County: 9.944 %Fentress County: 8.114 %Franklin County: 7.716 %Gibson County: 9.027 %Giles County: 8.071 %Grainger County: 7.529 %Greene County: 6.486 %Grundy County: 8.397 %Hamblen County: 7.286 %Hamilton County: 8.375 %Hardeman County: 10.287 %Hardin County: 6.424 %Hawkins County: 7.795 %Haywood County: 9.756 %Henderson County: 7.735 %Henry County: 8.481 %Hickman County: 10.87 %Houston County: 12.245 %Humphreys County: 10.081 %Jackson County: 3.81 %Jefferson County: 9.272 %Johnson County: 7.042 %Knox County: 8.296 %Lake County: 9.677 %Lauderdale County: 12.386 %Lawrence County: 7.365 %Lewis County: 6.326 %Lincoln County: 8.103 %Loudon County: 7.947 %McMinn County: 6.853 %McNairy County: 6.842 %Macon County: 9.168 %Madison County: 7.889 %Marion County: 8.168 %Marshall County: 6.352 %Maury County: 7.668 %Meigs County: 8.889 %Monroe County: 8.154 %Montgomery County: 9.201 %Morgan County: 8.664 %Obion County: 8.212 %Overton County: 8.571 %Perry County: 6.863 %Pickett County: 12.329 %Polk County: 12.407 %Putnam County: 7.173 %Rhea County: 8.658 %Roane County: 8.802 %Robertson County: 8.25 %Rutherford County: 8.588 %Scott County: 5.203 %Sequatchie County: 8.475 %Sevier County: 8.25 %Shelby County: 8.807 %Smith County: 9.747 %Stewart County: 7.742 %Sullivan County: 9.318 %Sumner County: 8.266 %Tipton County: 10.456 %Trousdale County: 10.811 %Unicoi County: 6.726 %Union County: 6.452 %Van Buren County: 19.048 %Warren County: 6.945 %Washington County: 9.131 %Wayne County: 7.692 %Weakley County: 9.266 %White County: 7.99 %Williamson County: 9.809 %Wilson County: 8.991 %
  • Under 6.9
  • 6.9 to 7.7
  • 7.7 to 8.3
  • 8.3 to 8.9
  • 8.9 to 9.8
  • 9.8 and over
  • No data
%, 2021. 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, 2021

Van Buren County: 19.048 %Van Buren County19.048Polk County: 12.407 %Polk County12.407Lauderdale County: 12.386 %Lauderdale County12.386Pickett County: 12.329 %Pickett County12.329Houston County: 12.245 %Houston County12.245Hickman County: 10.87 %Hickman County10.87Trousdale County: 10.811 %Trousdale County10.811Decatur County: 10.579 %Decatur County10.579Tipton County: 10.456 %Tipton County10.456Hardeman County: 10.287 %Hardeman County10.287Cannon County: 10.243 %Cannon County10.243Humphreys County: 10.081 %Humphreys County10.081Fayette County: 9.944 %Fayette County9.944Davidson County: 9.906 %Davidson County9.906Williamson County: 9.809 %Williamson County9.809Carroll County: 9.768 %Carroll County9.768Haywood County: 9.756 %Haywood County9.756Smith County: 9.747 %Smith County9.747Lake County: 9.677 %Lake County9.677Sullivan County: 9.318 %Sullivan County9.318Bledsoe County: 9.302 %Bledsoe County9.302Jefferson County: 9.272 %Jefferson County9.272Weakley County: 9.266 %Weakley County9.266Montgomery County: 9.201 %Montgomery County9.201Chester County: 9.17 %Chester County9.17Macon County: 9.168 %Macon County9.168Cheatham County: 9.159 %Cheatham County9.159Washington County: 9.131 %Washington County9.131Crockett County: 9.029 %Crockett County9.029Gibson County: 9.027 %Gibson County9.027Wilson County: 8.991 %Wilson County8.991Meigs County: 8.889 %Meigs County8.889Shelby County: 8.807 %Shelby County8.807Roane County: 8.802 %Roane County8.802Benton County: 8.712 %Benton County8.712Morgan County: 8.664 %Morgan County8.664Rhea County: 8.658 %Rhea County8.658Rutherford County: 8.588 %Rutherford County8.588Overton County: 8.571 %Overton County8.571Henry County: 8.481 %Henry County8.481Van Buren County: 19.048 %Van Buren County19.048Polk County: 12.407 %Polk County12.407Lauderdale County: 12.386 %Lauderdale County12.386Pickett County: 12.329 %Pickett County12.329Houston County: 12.245 %Houston County12.245Hickman County: 10.87 %Hickman County10.87Trousdale County: 10.811 %Trousdale County10.811Decatur County: 10.579 %Decatur County10.579Tipton County: 10.456 %Tipton County10.456Hardeman County: 10.287 %Hardeman County10.287Cannon County: 10.243 %Cannon County10.243Humphreys County: 10.081 %Humphreys County10.081Fayette County: 9.944 %Fayette County9.944Davidson County: 9.906 %Davidson County9.906Williamson County: 9.809 %Williamson County9.809Carroll County: 9.768 %Carroll County9.768Haywood County: 9.756 %Haywood County9.756Smith County: 9.747 %Smith County9.747Lake County: 9.677 %Lake County9.677Sullivan County: 9.318 %Sullivan County9.318Bledsoe County: 9.302 %Bledsoe County9.302Jefferson County: 9.272 %Jefferson County9.272Weakley County: 9.266 %Weakley County9.266Montgomery County: 9.201 %Montgomery County9.201Chester County: 9.17 %Chester County9.17Macon County: 9.168 %Macon County9.168Cheatham County: 9.159 %Cheatham County9.159Washington County: 9.131 %Washington County9.131Crockett County: 9.029 %Crockett County9.029Gibson County: 9.027 %Gibson County9.027Wilson County: 8.991 %Wilson County8.991Meigs County: 8.889 %Meigs County8.889Shelby County: 8.807 %Shelby County8.807Roane County: 8.802 %Roane County8.802Benton County: 8.712 %Benton County8.712Morgan County: 8.664 %Morgan County8.664Rhea County: 8.658 %Rhea County8.658Rutherford County: 8.588 %Rutherford County8.588Overton County: 8.571 %Overton County8.571Henry County: 8.481 %Henry County8.481
%. 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

RankCounties2021 (%)Change on 2020
1Van Buren County19.048-3.94 pts
2Polk County12.407+7.3 pts
3Lauderdale County12.386+4.68 pts
4Pickett County12.329+4.17 pts
5Houston County12.245+5.21 pts
6Hickman County10.87+1.6 pts
7Trousdale County10.811+4.33 pts
8Decatur County10.579+2.14 pts
9Tipton County10.456+0.35 pts
10Hardeman County10.287+2.94 pts
11Cannon County10.243+0.64 pts
12Humphreys County10.081+3.78 pts
13Fayette County9.944+3.34 pts
14Davidson County9.906+0.7 pts
15Williamson County9.809+0.13 pts
16Carroll County9.768+2.69 pts
17Haywood County9.756-0.87 pts
18Smith County9.747+1.92 pts
19Lake County9.677-2.73 pts
20Sullivan County9.318+1.16 pts
21Bledsoe County9.302n/a
22Jefferson County9.272+3.01 pts
23Weakley County9.266+2.2 pts
24Montgomery County9.201+0.43 pts
25Chester County9.17+0.61 pts
26Macon County9.168+1.37 pts
27Cheatham County9.159-0.38 pts
28Washington County9.131+2.05 pts
29Crockett County9.029+3.5 pts
30Gibson County9.027+0.38 pts
31Wilson County8.991+0.59 pts
32Meigs County8.889+1.11 pts
33Shelby County8.807+0.53 pts
34Roane County8.802+0.8 pts
35Benton County8.712+1.26 pts
36Morgan County8.664+2.12 pts
37Rhea County8.658-0.34 pts
38Rutherford County8.588+0.36 pts
39Overton County8.571+1.87 pts
40Henry County8.481-0.48 pts
41Sequatchie County8.475+3.92 pts
42Grundy County8.3970 pts
43Hamilton County8.375+0.36 pts
44Campbell County8.373-0.06 pts
45Knox County8.296+0.17 pts
46Sumner County8.266-0.89 pts
47Robertson County8.25+0.13 pts
47Sevier County8.25+0.46 pts
49Obion County8.212-0.1 pts
50Marion County8.168-0.56 pts
51Monroe County8.154+0.86 pts
52Fentress County8.114+1.1 pts
53Lincoln County8.103+1.58 pts
54Giles County8.071-0.68 pts
55Dickson County7.996+2.42 pts
56White County7.99-0.02 pts
57Loudon County7.947+0.07 pts
58Madison County7.889-0.06 pts
59Hawkins County7.795-0.67 pts
60Cocke County7.774-2.33 pts
61Stewart County7.742-2.09 pts
62Henderson County7.735-1.93 pts
63Franklin County7.716-0.7 pts
64Wayne County7.692-1.25 pts
65Maury County7.668-0.67 pts
66Cumberland County7.542-2.28 pts
67Grainger County7.529+1.7 pts
68Blount County7.523+0.06 pts
69DeKalb County7.445-0.53 pts
70Lawrence County7.365-0.7 pts
71Bradley County7.291-0.15 pts
72Hamblen County7.286-0.02 pts
73Putnam County7.173-0.75 pts
74Johnson County7.042-2.48 pts
75Clay County6.977-7.39 pts
76Warren County6.945+0.84 pts
77Perry County6.8630 pts
78McMinn County6.853-0.54 pts
79McNairy County6.842-1.87 pts
80Unicoi County6.726-0.06 pts
81Dyer County6.689-2.42 pts
82Anderson County6.566-0.81 pts
83Carter County6.533-0.83 pts
84Greene County6.486-0.91 pts
85Union County6.452-1.59 pts
86Bedford County6.431-1.51 pts
87Hardin County6.424+0.72 pts
88Marshall County6.352-2.17 pts
89Lewis County6.326+0.85 pts
90Coffee County5.983-0.86 pts
91Scott County5.203-1.97 pts
92Claiborne County4.136-4.12 pts
93Jackson County3.81-3.33 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. 2 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2021 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 Tennessee by establishment exit rate, 2021) [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 Tennessee by establishment exit rate, 2021. 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/tennessee-counties?period=2021. 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 Tennessee by establishment exit rate, 2021. 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/tennessee-counties?period=2021.

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 Tennessee by establishment exit rate, 2021 [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/tennessee-counties?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_tennessee_by_2021,
  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 Tennessee by establishment exit rate, 2021}},
  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/tennessee-counties?period=2021. 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 Tennessee by establishment exit rate, 2021
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/tennessee-counties?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/establishment-exit-rate/tennessee-counties?period=2021.
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?

Van Buren County, with 19.048% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest establishment exit rate?

Jackson County, with 3.81% in 2021.

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. 2 counties have no value for 2021 and are not ranked.

Establishment exit rate: other rankings

Counties in Tennessee: more rankings