Data / Rankings / Job destruction rate / Counties in Iowa

Counties in Iowa by job destruction rate

Cherokee County had the highest job destruction rate of 99 counties in 2015, at 18.789%. Marion County had the lowest, at 3.746%. The median was 8.295% and the figure for Iowa was 8.551%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest18.789Cherokee County
Lowest3.746Marion County
Median8.29599 counties
Iowa8.551History

Map of counties, 2015

Adair County: 10.507 %Adams County: 7.453 %Allamakee County: 5.564 %Appanoose County: 12.089 %Audubon County: 9.774 %Benton County: 11.511 %Black Hawk County: 8.587 %Boone County: 6.2 %Bremer County: 6.995 %Buchanan County: 7.826 %Buena Vista County: 4.452 %Butler County: 6.983 %Calhoun County: 7.298 %Carroll County: 8.957 %Cass County: 8.981 %Cedar County: 17.491 %Cerro Gordo County: 15.011 %Cherokee County: 18.789 %Chickasaw County: 11.204 %Clarke County: 8.44 %Clay County: 9.691 %Clayton County: 6.944 %Clinton County: 12.55 %Crawford County: 7.943 %Dallas County: 7.253 %Davis County: 13.957 %Decatur County: 11.166 %Delaware County: 6.234 %Des Moines County: 7.394 %Dickinson County: 9.277 %Dubuque County: 9.047 %Emmet County: 11.94 %Fayette County: 8.422 %Floyd County: 14.936 %Franklin County: 12.395 %Fremont County: 7.79 %Greene County: 8.76 %Grundy County: 15.214 %Guthrie County: 10.017 %Hamilton County: 7.194 %Hancock County: 4.647 %Hardin County: 7.318 %Harrison County: 9.958 %Henry County: 6.566 %Howard County: 5.436 %Humboldt County: 7.65 %Ida County: 5.966 %Iowa County: 10.305 %Jackson County: 9.4 %Jasper County: 11.885 %Jefferson County: 11.088 %Johnson County: 8.63 %Jones County: 9.974 %Keokuk County: 17.366 %Kossuth County: 6.062 %Lee County: 7.704 %Linn County: 7.63 %Louisa County: 5.637 %Lucas County: 3.955 %Lyon County: 10.287 %Madison County: 12.63 %Mahaska County: 6.688 %Marion County: 3.746 %Marshall County: 7.402 %Mills County: 13.37 %Mitchell County: 7.134 %Monona County: 7.884 %Monroe County: 7.865 %Montgomery County: 8.275 %Muscatine County: 5.519 %O'Brien County: 7.496 %Osceola County: 7.98 %Page County: 6.052 %Palo Alto County: 5.746 %Plymouth County: 8.295 %Pocahontas County: 9.293 %Polk County: 8.252 %Pottawattamie County: 9.984 %Poweshiek County: 6.436 %Ringgold County: 12.215 %Sac County: 10.832 %Scott County: 9.329 %Shelby County: 5.893 %Sioux County: 5.574 %Story County: 10.211 %Tama County: 8.648 %Taylor County: 5.159 %Union County: 7.265 %Van Buren County: 17.461 %Wapello County: 7.403 %Warren County: 8.326 %Washington County: 8.578 %Wayne County: 10.011 %Webster County: 6.293 %Winnebago County: 7.017 %Winneshiek County: 5.93 %Woodbury County: 12.715 %Worth County: 12.796 %Wright County: 7.6 %
  • Under 6.2
  • 6.2 to 7.4
  • 7.4 to 8.3
  • 8.3 to 9.7
  • 9.7 to 12
  • 12 and over
%, 2015. 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, 2015

Cherokee County: 18.789 %Cherokee County18.789Cedar County: 17.491 %Cedar County17.491Van Buren County: 17.461 %Van Buren County17.461Keokuk County: 17.366 %Keokuk County17.366Grundy County: 15.214 %Grundy County15.214Cerro Gordo County: 15.011 %Cerro Gordo County15.011Floyd County: 14.936 %Floyd County14.936Davis County: 13.957 %Davis County13.957Mills County: 13.37 %Mills County13.37Worth County: 12.796 %Worth County12.796Woodbury County: 12.715 %Woodbury County12.715Madison County: 12.63 %Madison County12.63Clinton County: 12.55 %Clinton County12.55Franklin County: 12.395 %Franklin County12.395Ringgold County: 12.215 %Ringgold County12.215Appanoose County: 12.089 %Appanoose County12.089Emmet County: 11.94 %Emmet County11.94Jasper County: 11.885 %Jasper County11.885Benton County: 11.511 %Benton County11.511Chickasaw County: 11.204 %Chickasaw County11.204Decatur County: 11.166 %Decatur County11.166Jefferson County: 11.088 %Jefferson County11.088Sac County: 10.832 %Sac County10.832Adair County: 10.507 %Adair County10.507Iowa County: 10.305 %Iowa County10.305Lyon County: 10.287 %Lyon County10.287Story County: 10.211 %Story County10.211Guthrie County: 10.017 %Guthrie County10.017Wayne County: 10.011 %Wayne County10.011Pottawattamie County: 9.984 %Pottawattamie County9.984Jones County: 9.974 %Jones County9.974Harrison County: 9.958 %Harrison County9.958Audubon County: 9.774 %Audubon County9.774Clay County: 9.691 %Clay County9.691Jackson County: 9.4 %Jackson County9.4Scott County: 9.329 %Scott County9.329Pocahontas County: 9.293 %Pocahontas County9.293Dickinson County: 9.277 %Dickinson County9.277Dubuque County: 9.047 %Dubuque County9.047Cass County: 8.981 %Cass County8.981Cherokee County: 18.789 %Cherokee County18.789Cedar County: 17.491 %Cedar County17.491Van Buren County: 17.461 %Van Buren County17.461Keokuk County: 17.366 %Keokuk County17.366Grundy County: 15.214 %Grundy County15.214Cerro Gordo County: 15.011 %Cerro Gordo County15.011Floyd County: 14.936 %Floyd County14.936Davis County: 13.957 %Davis County13.957Mills County: 13.37 %Mills County13.37Worth County: 12.796 %Worth County12.796Woodbury County: 12.715 %Woodbury County12.715Madison County: 12.63 %Madison County12.63Clinton County: 12.55 %Clinton County12.55Franklin County: 12.395 %Franklin County12.395Ringgold County: 12.215 %Ringgold County12.215Appanoose County: 12.089 %Appanoose County12.089Emmet County: 11.94 %Emmet County11.94Jasper County: 11.885 %Jasper County11.885Benton County: 11.511 %Benton County11.511Chickasaw County: 11.204 %Chickasaw County11.204Decatur County: 11.166 %Decatur County11.166Jefferson County: 11.088 %Jefferson County11.088Sac County: 10.832 %Sac County10.832Adair County: 10.507 %Adair County10.507Iowa County: 10.305 %Iowa County10.305Lyon County: 10.287 %Lyon County10.287Story County: 10.211 %Story County10.211Guthrie County: 10.017 %Guthrie County10.017Wayne County: 10.011 %Wayne County10.011Pottawattamie County: 9.984 %Pottawattamie County9.984Jones County: 9.974 %Jones County9.974Harrison County: 9.958 %Harrison County9.958Audubon County: 9.774 %Audubon County9.774Clay County: 9.691 %Clay County9.691Jackson County: 9.4 %Jackson County9.4Scott County: 9.329 %Scott County9.329Pocahontas County: 9.293 %Pocahontas County9.293Dickinson County: 9.277 %Dickinson County9.277Dubuque County: 9.047 %Dubuque County9.047Cass County: 8.981 %Cass County8.981
%. 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

RankCounties2015 (%)Change on 2014
1Cherokee County18.789+9.96 pts
2Cedar County17.491+10.29 pts
3Van Buren County17.461-0.15 pts
4Keokuk County17.366+11.32 pts
5Grundy County15.214+2.3 pts
6Cerro Gordo County15.011+6.98 pts
7Floyd County14.936+7.67 pts
8Davis County13.957+6.23 pts
9Mills County13.37+3.91 pts
10Worth County12.796+5.12 pts
11Woodbury County12.715+2.82 pts
12Madison County12.63+1.63 pts
13Clinton County12.55+4.23 pts
14Franklin County12.395+4.54 pts
15Ringgold County12.215+2.22 pts
16Appanoose County12.089+3.93 pts
17Emmet County11.94-3.92 pts
18Jasper County11.885+4.25 pts
19Benton County11.511+3.24 pts
20Chickasaw County11.204+1.89 pts
21Decatur County11.166+4.27 pts
22Jefferson County11.088+0.88 pts
23Sac County10.832+1.07 pts
24Adair County10.507+0.3 pts
25Iowa County10.305+4.02 pts
26Lyon County10.287+2.19 pts
27Story County10.211-4 pts
28Guthrie County10.017-4.17 pts
29Wayne County10.011-0.51 pts
30Pottawattamie County9.984+0.87 pts
31Jones County9.974-2.39 pts
32Harrison County9.958-0.58 pts
33Audubon County9.774-0.14 pts
34Clay County9.691+0.75 pts
35Jackson County9.4-0.94 pts
36Scott County9.329-0.97 pts
37Pocahontas County9.293-2.4 pts
38Dickinson County9.277-1.66 pts
39Dubuque County9.047+2.87 pts
40Cass County8.981-0.63 pts
41Carroll County8.957-8.47 pts
42Greene County8.76-2.19 pts
43Tama County8.648+0.08 pts
44Johnson County8.63-0.08 pts
45Black Hawk County8.587+1.36 pts
46Washington County8.578-0.2 pts
47Clarke County8.44-2.74 pts
48Fayette County8.422-1.7 pts
49Warren County8.326-1.58 pts
50Plymouth County8.295+1.09 pts
51Montgomery County8.275+3.05 pts
52Polk County8.252-0.68 pts
53Osceola County7.98-2.36 pts
54Crawford County7.943-9.89 pts
55Monona County7.884-1.89 pts
56Monroe County7.865-0.89 pts
57Buchanan County7.826+0.32 pts
58Fremont County7.79-7.22 pts
59Lee County7.704-1.47 pts
60Humboldt County7.65-1.91 pts
61Linn County7.63-1.29 pts
62Wright County7.6+0.47 pts
63O'Brien County7.496+1.49 pts
64Adams County7.453-0.58 pts
65Wapello County7.403-0.49 pts
66Marshall County7.402-0.39 pts
67Des Moines County7.394-0.01 pts
68Hardin County7.318+0.18 pts
69Calhoun County7.298-1.65 pts
70Union County7.265+0.18 pts
71Dallas County7.253-4 pts
72Hamilton County7.194-0.74 pts
73Mitchell County7.134-1.15 pts
74Winnebago County7.017+2.11 pts
75Bremer County6.995-3.24 pts
76Butler County6.983-2.67 pts
77Clayton County6.944-1.85 pts
78Mahaska County6.688-3.16 pts
79Henry County6.566+1.14 pts
80Poweshiek County6.436-2.38 pts
81Webster County6.293-2.58 pts
82Delaware County6.234-2.02 pts
83Boone County6.2-0.77 pts
84Kossuth County6.062-0.42 pts
85Page County6.052-2.55 pts
86Ida County5.966+0.46 pts
87Winneshiek County5.93-0.18 pts
88Shelby County5.893-1.76 pts
89Palo Alto County5.746-0.75 pts
90Louisa County5.637+0.14 pts
91Sioux County5.574-1.26 pts
92Allamakee County5.564-6.66 pts
93Muscatine County5.519-3.96 pts
94Howard County5.436-0.61 pts
95Taylor County5.159-14.53 pts
96Hancock County4.647-4.13 pts
97Buena Vista County4.452-1.27 pts
98Lucas County3.955-0.75 pts
99Marion County3.746-4.35 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 Iowa by job destruction rate, 2015) [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 Iowa by job destruction rate, 2015. 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/iowa-counties?period=2015. 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 Iowa by job destruction rate, 2015. 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/iowa-counties?period=2015.

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 Iowa by job destruction rate, 2015 [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/iowa-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_iowa_by_2015,
  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 Iowa by job destruction rate, 2015}},
  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/iowa-counties?period=2015. 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 Iowa by job destruction rate, 2015
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/iowa-counties?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/iowa-counties?period=2015.
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?

Cherokee County, with 18.789% in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Marion County, with 3.746% in 2015.

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 Iowa: more rankings