Data / Rankings / Job destruction rate / Counties in Illinois

Counties in Illinois by job destruction rate

Pulaski County had the highest job destruction rate of 102 counties in 2016, at 41.728%. Brown County had the lowest, at 3.001%. The median was 9.676% and the figure for Illinois was 11.323%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest41.728Pulaski County
Lowest3.001Brown County
Median9.676102 counties
Illinois11.323History

Map of counties, 2016

Adams County: 8.495 %Alexander County: 11.661 %Bond County: 6.894 %Boone County: 5.864 %Brown County: 3.001 %Bureau County: 7.718 %Calhoun County: 13.481 %Carroll County: 12.503 %Cass County: 4.492 %Champaign County: 9.652 %Christian County: 12.911 %Clark County: 10.667 %Clay County: 8.579 %Clinton County: 9.039 %Coles County: 12 %Cook County: 10.197 %Crawford County: 7.225 %Cumberland County: 7.771 %DeKalb County: 9.7 %De Witt County: 13.116 %Douglas County: 6.444 %DuPage County: 13.057 %Edgar County: 7.766 %Edwards County: 10.185 %Effingham County: 8.741 %Fayette County: 17.263 %Ford County: 8.242 %Franklin County: 11.598 %Fulton County: 13.406 %Gallatin County: 15.901 %Greene County: 13.205 %Grundy County: 6.707 %Hamilton County: 29.854 %Hancock County: 11.124 %Hardin County: 7.425 %Henderson County: 9.61 %Henry County: 7.539 %Iroquois County: 9.011 %Jackson County: 13.728 %Jasper County: 11.907 %Jefferson County: 5.226 %Jersey County: 13.322 %Jo Daviess County: 13.699 %Johnson County: 14.094 %Kane County: 9.4 %Kankakee County: 10.395 %Kendall County: 12.407 %Knox County: 8.125 %Lake County: 10.948 %LaSalle County: 9.958 %Lawrence County: 10.228 %Lee County: 8.487 %Livingston County: 8.332 %Logan County: 9.474 %McDonough County: 8.217 %McHenry County: 11.022 %McLean County: 14.174 %Macon County: 8.702 %Macoupin County: 7.857 %Madison County: 10.848 %Marion County: 11.876 %Marshall County: 14.538 %Mason County: 13.257 %Massac County: 7.507 %Menard County: 11.769 %Mercer County: 10.799 %Monroe County: 8.507 %Montgomery County: 10.242 %Morgan County: 8.212 %Moultrie County: 9.265 %Ogle County: 6.889 %Peoria County: 16.813 %Perry County: 10.926 %Piatt County: 6.697 %Pike County: 11.798 %Pope County: 9.458 %Pulaski County: 41.728 %Putnam County: 9.083 %Randolph County: 6.698 %Richland County: 7.372 %Rock Island County: 8.32 %St. Clair County: 10.103 %Saline County: 21.642 %Sangamon County: 9.81 %Schuyler County: 17.12 %Scott County: 8.514 %Shelby County: 9.06 %Stark County: 11.566 %Stephenson County: 6.916 %Tazewell County: 13.298 %Union County: 8.492 %Vermilion County: 9.304 %Wabash County: 7.649 %Warren County: 4.441 %Washington County: 4.608 %Wayne County: 14.777 %White County: 11.396 %Whiteside County: 9.391 %Will County: 12.239 %Williamson County: 9.597 %Winnebago County: 9.202 %Woodford County: 11.575 %
  • Under 7.5
  • 7.5 to 8.6
  • 8.6 to 9.7
  • 9.7 to 11
  • 11 to 13
  • 13 and over
%, 2016. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Top 40 counties, 2016

Pulaski County: 41.728 %Pulaski County41.728Hamilton County: 29.854 %Hamilton County29.854Saline County: 21.642 %Saline County21.642Fayette County: 17.263 %Fayette County17.263Schuyler County: 17.12 %Schuyler County17.12Peoria County: 16.813 %Peoria County16.813Gallatin County: 15.901 %Gallatin County15.901Wayne County: 14.777 %Wayne County14.777Marshall County: 14.538 %Marshall County14.538McLean County: 14.174 %McLean County14.174Johnson County: 14.094 %Johnson County14.094Jackson County: 13.728 %Jackson County13.728Jo Daviess County: 13.699 %Jo Daviess County13.699Calhoun County: 13.481 %Calhoun County13.481Fulton County: 13.406 %Fulton County13.406Jersey County: 13.322 %Jersey County13.322Tazewell County: 13.298 %Tazewell County13.298Mason County: 13.257 %Mason County13.257Greene County: 13.205 %Greene County13.205De Witt County: 13.116 %De Witt County13.116DuPage County: 13.057 %DuPage County13.057Christian County: 12.911 %Christian County12.911Carroll County: 12.503 %Carroll County12.503Kendall County: 12.407 %Kendall County12.407Will County: 12.239 %Will County12.239Coles County: 12 %Coles County12Jasper County: 11.907 %Jasper County11.907Marion County: 11.876 %Marion County11.876Pike County: 11.798 %Pike County11.798Menard County: 11.769 %Menard County11.769Alexander County: 11.661 %Alexander County11.661Franklin County: 11.598 %Franklin County11.598Woodford County: 11.575 %Woodford County11.575Stark County: 11.566 %Stark County11.566White County: 11.396 %White County11.396Hancock County: 11.124 %Hancock County11.124McHenry County: 11.022 %McHenry County11.022Lake County: 10.948 %Lake County10.948Perry County: 10.926 %Perry County10.926Madison County: 10.848 %Madison County10.848Pulaski County: 41.728 %Pulaski County41.728Hamilton County: 29.854 %Hamilton County29.854Saline County: 21.642 %Saline County21.642Fayette County: 17.263 %Fayette County17.263Schuyler County: 17.12 %Schuyler County17.12Peoria County: 16.813 %Peoria County16.813Gallatin County: 15.901 %Gallatin County15.901Wayne County: 14.777 %Wayne County14.777Marshall County: 14.538 %Marshall County14.538McLean County: 14.174 %McLean County14.174Johnson County: 14.094 %Johnson County14.094Jackson County: 13.728 %Jackson County13.728Jo Daviess County: 13.699 %Jo Daviess County13.699Calhoun County: 13.481 %Calhoun County13.481Fulton County: 13.406 %Fulton County13.406Jersey County: 13.322 %Jersey County13.322Tazewell County: 13.298 %Tazewell County13.298Mason County: 13.257 %Mason County13.257Greene County: 13.205 %Greene County13.205De Witt County: 13.116 %De Witt County13.116DuPage County: 13.057 %DuPage County13.057Christian County: 12.911 %Christian County12.911Carroll County: 12.503 %Carroll County12.503Kendall County: 12.407 %Kendall County12.407Will County: 12.239 %Will County12.239Coles County: 12 %Coles County12Jasper County: 11.907 %Jasper County11.907Marion County: 11.876 %Marion County11.876Pike County: 11.798 %Pike County11.798Menard County: 11.769 %Menard County11.769Alexander County: 11.661 %Alexander County11.661Franklin County: 11.598 %Franklin County11.598Woodford County: 11.575 %Woodford County11.575Stark County: 11.566 %Stark County11.566White County: 11.396 %White County11.396Hancock County: 11.124 %Hancock County11.124McHenry County: 11.022 %McHenry County11.022Lake County: 10.948 %Lake County10.948Perry County: 10.926 %Perry County10.926Madison County: 10.848 %Madison County10.848
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2016 (%)Change on 2015
1Pulaski County41.728+31.28 pts
2Hamilton County29.854+22.35 pts
3Saline County21.642+13.36 pts
4Fayette County17.263+8 pts
5Schuyler County17.12+10.68 pts
6Peoria County16.813+9.2 pts
7Gallatin County15.901+1.34 pts
8Wayne County14.777+4.22 pts
9Marshall County14.538+2.79 pts
10McLean County14.174+6.06 pts
11Johnson County14.094+6.58 pts
12Jackson County13.728+4.22 pts
13Jo Daviess County13.699+4.42 pts
14Calhoun County13.481+2.24 pts
15Fulton County13.406+4.55 pts
16Jersey County13.322+2.01 pts
17Tazewell County13.298+0.26 pts
18Mason County13.257+5.19 pts
19Greene County13.205+0.51 pts
20De Witt County13.116+6.49 pts
21DuPage County13.057+1.02 pts
22Christian County12.911+4.97 pts
23Carroll County12.503+2.42 pts
24Kendall County12.407-0.2 pts
25Will County12.239-0.1 pts
26Coles County12+4.18 pts
27Jasper County11.907-4.85 pts
28Marion County11.876+4.47 pts
29Pike County11.798+2.82 pts
30Menard County11.769-0.47 pts
31Alexander County11.661-1.79 pts
32Franklin County11.598-10.28 pts
33Woodford County11.575+3.41 pts
34Stark County11.566-1.42 pts
35White County11.396+2.29 pts
36Hancock County11.124+0.5 pts
37McHenry County11.022-3.77 pts
38Lake County10.948-1.7 pts
39Perry County10.926+1.64 pts
40Madison County10.848+0.81 pts
41Mercer County10.799-6.12 pts
42Clark County10.667-0.96 pts
43Kankakee County10.395-0.06 pts
44Montgomery County10.242+1.78 pts
45Lawrence County10.228-4.56 pts
46Cook County10.197-2.03 pts
47Edwards County10.185+4.34 pts
48St. Clair County10.103+0.13 pts
49LaSalle County9.958-0.09 pts
50Sangamon County9.81+0.69 pts
51DeKalb County9.7+0.21 pts
52Champaign County9.652-0.35 pts
53Henderson County9.61-14.52 pts
54Williamson County9.597+2.08 pts
55Logan County9.474+1.7 pts
56Pope County9.458-7.13 pts
57Kane County9.4-3.57 pts
58Whiteside County9.391+3.17 pts
59Vermilion County9.304+1.63 pts
60Moultrie County9.265+1.37 pts
61Winnebago County9.202+1.03 pts
62Putnam County9.083+1.45 pts
63Shelby County9.06+1.3 pts
64Clinton County9.039-0.43 pts
65Iroquois County9.011-3.93 pts
66Effingham County8.741+0.2 pts
67Macon County8.702-1.61 pts
68Clay County8.579+2.15 pts
69Scott County8.514+2.05 pts
70Monroe County8.507-3.79 pts
71Adams County8.495+0.88 pts
72Union County8.492-2.92 pts
73Lee County8.487-2.01 pts
74Livingston County8.332-0.6 pts
75Rock Island County8.32-3.26 pts
76Ford County8.242-1.55 pts
77McDonough County8.217-0.07 pts
78Morgan County8.212-0.43 pts
79Knox County8.125-0.79 pts
80Macoupin County7.857-3.47 pts
81Cumberland County7.771-0.53 pts
82Edgar County7.766-1.91 pts
83Bureau County7.718-1.12 pts
84Wabash County7.649-2.08 pts
85Henry County7.539-0.08 pts
86Massac County7.507-1 pts
87Hardin County7.425-7.7 pts
88Richland County7.372+0.42 pts
89Crawford County7.225-3.04 pts
90Stephenson County6.916-3.89 pts
91Bond County6.894-0.14 pts
92Ogle County6.889-4.2 pts
93Grundy County6.707-2.62 pts
94Randolph County6.698-0.07 pts
95Piatt County6.697-1.79 pts
96Douglas County6.444-3.52 pts
97Boone County5.864+0.03 pts
98Jefferson County5.226-1.66 pts
99Washington County4.608+0.66 pts
100Cass County4.492-0.84 pts
101Warren County4.441-5.02 pts
102Brown County3.001-0.29 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Jobs lost at closing and shrinking establishments during the year, as a percentage of average employment in the two years. United States: Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics.

A gross flow: jobs added elsewhere are not subtracted, so the net change is job_creation_rate minus this rate. Not a layoff rate: it counts positions lost at establishments, not people who lost a job. 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: job destruction 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: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010 (Counties in Illinois by job destruction rate, 2016) [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: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, Counties in Illinois by job destruction rate, 2016. 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/job-destruction-rate/illinois-counties?period=2016. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Counties in Illinois by job destruction rate, 2016. 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/job-destruction-rate/illinois-counties?period=2016.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, Counties in Illinois by job destruction rate, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st_cty.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/illinois-counties?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_illinois_by_2016,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: Counties in Illinois by job destruction rate, 2016}},
  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/job-destruction-rate/illinois-counties?period=2016. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction 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: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: Counties in Illinois by job destruction rate, 2016
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/job-destruction-rate/illinois-counties?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/illinois-counties?period=2016.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction 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 job destruction rate?

Pulaski County, with 41.728% in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Brown County, with 3.001% in 2016.

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: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Job destruction rate: other rankings

Counties in Illinois: more rankings