Data / Rankings / Job destruction rate / Counties in Iowa

Counties in Iowa by job destruction rate

Adams County had the highest job destruction rate of 99 counties in 2021, at 18.628%. Decatur County had the lowest, at 5.41%. The median was 11.103% and the figure for Iowa was 12.251%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest18.628Adams County
Lowest5.41Decatur County
Median11.10399 counties
Iowa12.251History

Map of counties, 2021

Adair County: 8.652 %Adams County: 18.628 %Allamakee County: 11.429 %Appanoose County: 12.394 %Audubon County: 11.128 %Benton County: 10.57 %Black Hawk County: 11.316 %Boone County: 9.69 %Bremer County: 9.492 %Buchanan County: 11.103 %Buena Vista County: 8.856 %Butler County: 11.142 %Calhoun County: 11.268 %Carroll County: 8.74 %Cass County: 10.626 %Cedar County: 14.332 %Cerro Gordo County: 10.551 %Cherokee County: 7.493 %Chickasaw County: 8.027 %Clarke County: 11.505 %Clay County: 9.317 %Clayton County: 13.053 %Clinton County: 10.004 %Crawford County: 10.414 %Dallas County: 10.243 %Davis County: 10.464 %Decatur County: 5.41 %Delaware County: 16.113 %Des Moines County: 14.375 %Dickinson County: 10.375 %Dubuque County: 11.752 %Emmet County: 15.474 %Fayette County: 13.991 %Floyd County: 7.434 %Franklin County: 11.373 %Fremont County: 7.234 %Greene County: 12.525 %Grundy County: 18.489 %Guthrie County: 9.162 %Hamilton County: 9.387 %Hancock County: 7.723 %Hardin County: 11.404 %Harrison County: 11.381 %Henry County: 9.03 %Howard County: 8.234 %Humboldt County: 10.978 %Ida County: 9.079 %Iowa County: 10.26 %Jackson County: 17.434 %Jasper County: 16.466 %Jefferson County: 12.122 %Johnson County: 16.68 %Jones County: 11.186 %Keokuk County: 15.939 %Kossuth County: 10.997 %Lee County: 13.353 %Linn County: 13.093 %Louisa County: 7.248 %Lucas County: 11.079 %Lyon County: 8.534 %Madison County: 14.679 %Mahaska County: 8.584 %Marion County: 6.415 %Marshall County: 11.404 %Mills County: 11.847 %Mitchell County: 8.562 %Monona County: 9.58 %Monroe County: 13.915 %Montgomery County: 9.814 %Muscatine County: 10.8 %O'Brien County: 10.522 %Osceola County: 8.146 %Page County: 12.071 %Palo Alto County: 13.696 %Plymouth County: 8.964 %Pocahontas County: 8.446 %Polk County: 14.435 %Pottawattamie County: 11.547 %Poweshiek County: 15.339 %Ringgold County: 15.071 %Sac County: 16.083 %Scott County: 12.57 %Shelby County: 10.176 %Sioux County: 11.141 %Story County: 13.24 %Tama County: 8.475 %Taylor County: 6.685 %Union County: 10.261 %Van Buren County: 16.173 %Wapello County: 8.821 %Warren County: 13.986 %Washington County: 11.868 %Wayne County: 7.712 %Webster County: 12.562 %Winnebago County: 5.949 %Winneshiek County: 10.488 %Woodbury County: 11.363 %Worth County: 16.501 %Wright County: 14.5 %
  • Under 8.6
  • 8.6 to 10
  • 10 to 11
  • 11 to 12
  • 12 to 14
  • 14 and over
%, 2021. 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, 2021

Adams County: 18.628 %Adams County18.628Grundy County: 18.489 %Grundy County18.489Jackson County: 17.434 %Jackson County17.434Johnson County: 16.68 %Johnson County16.68Worth County: 16.501 %Worth County16.501Jasper County: 16.466 %Jasper County16.466Van Buren County: 16.173 %Van Buren County16.173Delaware County: 16.113 %Delaware County16.113Sac County: 16.083 %Sac County16.083Keokuk County: 15.939 %Keokuk County15.939Emmet County: 15.474 %Emmet County15.474Poweshiek County: 15.339 %Poweshiek County15.339Ringgold County: 15.071 %Ringgold County15.071Madison County: 14.679 %Madison County14.679Wright County: 14.5 %Wright County14.5Polk County: 14.435 %Polk County14.435Des Moines County: 14.375 %Des Moines County14.375Cedar County: 14.332 %Cedar County14.332Fayette County: 13.991 %Fayette County13.991Warren County: 13.986 %Warren County13.986Monroe County: 13.915 %Monroe County13.915Palo Alto County: 13.696 %Palo Alto County13.696Lee County: 13.353 %Lee County13.353Story County: 13.24 %Story County13.24Linn County: 13.093 %Linn County13.093Clayton County: 13.053 %Clayton County13.053Scott County: 12.57 %Scott County12.57Webster County: 12.562 %Webster County12.562Greene County: 12.525 %Greene County12.525Appanoose County: 12.394 %Appanoose County12.394Jefferson County: 12.122 %Jefferson County12.122Page County: 12.071 %Page County12.071Washington County: 11.868 %Washington County11.868Mills County: 11.847 %Mills County11.847Dubuque County: 11.752 %Dubuque County11.752Pottawattamie County: 11.547 %Pottawattamie County11.547Clarke County: 11.505 %Clarke County11.505Allamakee County: 11.429 %Allamakee County11.429Hardin County: 11.404 %Hardin County11.404Marshall County: 11.404 %Marshall County11.404Adams County: 18.628 %Adams County18.628Grundy County: 18.489 %Grundy County18.489Jackson County: 17.434 %Jackson County17.434Johnson County: 16.68 %Johnson County16.68Worth County: 16.501 %Worth County16.501Jasper County: 16.466 %Jasper County16.466Van Buren County: 16.173 %Van Buren County16.173Delaware County: 16.113 %Delaware County16.113Sac County: 16.083 %Sac County16.083Keokuk County: 15.939 %Keokuk County15.939Emmet County: 15.474 %Emmet County15.474Poweshiek County: 15.339 %Poweshiek County15.339Ringgold County: 15.071 %Ringgold County15.071Madison County: 14.679 %Madison County14.679Wright County: 14.5 %Wright County14.5Polk County: 14.435 %Polk County14.435Des Moines County: 14.375 %Des Moines County14.375Cedar County: 14.332 %Cedar County14.332Fayette County: 13.991 %Fayette County13.991Warren County: 13.986 %Warren County13.986Monroe County: 13.915 %Monroe County13.915Palo Alto County: 13.696 %Palo Alto County13.696Lee County: 13.353 %Lee County13.353Story County: 13.24 %Story County13.24Linn County: 13.093 %Linn County13.093Clayton County: 13.053 %Clayton County13.053Scott County: 12.57 %Scott County12.57Webster County: 12.562 %Webster County12.562Greene County: 12.525 %Greene County12.525Appanoose County: 12.394 %Appanoose County12.394Jefferson County: 12.122 %Jefferson County12.122Page County: 12.071 %Page County12.071Washington County: 11.868 %Washington County11.868Mills County: 11.847 %Mills County11.847Dubuque County: 11.752 %Dubuque County11.752Pottawattamie County: 11.547 %Pottawattamie County11.547Clarke County: 11.505 %Clarke County11.505Allamakee County: 11.429 %Allamakee County11.429Hardin County: 11.404 %Hardin County11.404Marshall County: 11.404 %Marshall County11.404
%. 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

RankCounties2021 (%)Change on 2020
1Adams County18.628+8.43 pts
2Grundy County18.489+9.2 pts
3Jackson County17.434+7.25 pts
4Johnson County16.68+8.35 pts
5Worth County16.501+8.75 pts
6Jasper County16.466+1.29 pts
7Van Buren County16.173+7.65 pts
8Delaware County16.113+6.08 pts
9Sac County16.083+8 pts
10Keokuk County15.939+4.59 pts
11Emmet County15.474+4.4 pts
12Poweshiek County15.339+7.2 pts
13Ringgold County15.071+0.4 pts
14Madison County14.679-2.77 pts
15Wright County14.5+6.1 pts
16Polk County14.435+5.33 pts
17Des Moines County14.375+6.09 pts
18Cedar County14.332+3.47 pts
19Fayette County13.991-0.44 pts
20Warren County13.986+2 pts
21Monroe County13.915+4.94 pts
22Palo Alto County13.696-0.39 pts
23Lee County13.353+6.36 pts
24Story County13.24+4.64 pts
25Linn County13.093+3.47 pts
26Clayton County13.053+0.96 pts
27Scott County12.57+1.04 pts
28Webster County12.562+2.94 pts
29Greene County12.525+2.31 pts
30Appanoose County12.394+4.46 pts
31Jefferson County12.122+4.07 pts
32Page County12.071+0.32 pts
33Washington County11.868+3.37 pts
34Mills County11.847-18.43 pts
35Dubuque County11.752+3.21 pts
36Pottawattamie County11.547+2.5 pts
37Clarke County11.505+3.75 pts
38Allamakee County11.429-0.11 pts
39Hardin County11.404-0.03 pts
39Marshall County11.404+5.93 pts
41Harrison County11.381+0.77 pts
42Franklin County11.373+0.02 pts
43Woodbury County11.363+1.74 pts
44Black Hawk County11.316+2.25 pts
45Calhoun County11.268-4.4 pts
46Jones County11.186-0.28 pts
47Butler County11.142+1.69 pts
48Sioux County11.141+2.21 pts
49Audubon County11.128-1.63 pts
50Buchanan County11.103+2.49 pts
51Lucas County11.079+7.28 pts
52Kossuth County10.997-1.52 pts
53Humboldt County10.978+2.14 pts
54Muscatine County10.8+2.51 pts
55Cass County10.626+1.8 pts
56Benton County10.57+2.68 pts
57Cerro Gordo County10.551+2.62 pts
58O'Brien County10.522+2.44 pts
59Winneshiek County10.488+3.34 pts
60Davis County10.464-3.74 pts
61Crawford County10.414+4.07 pts
62Dickinson County10.375-2.86 pts
63Union County10.261-0.45 pts
64Iowa County10.26-0.37 pts
65Dallas County10.243+0.48 pts
66Shelby County10.176-0.75 pts
67Clinton County10.004+1.16 pts
68Montgomery County9.814-3.38 pts
69Boone County9.69+0.82 pts
70Monona County9.58+1.48 pts
71Bremer County9.492+2.39 pts
72Hamilton County9.387+0.19 pts
73Clay County9.317+0.32 pts
74Guthrie County9.162-5.05 pts
75Ida County9.079+0.37 pts
76Henry County9.03-1.08 pts
77Plymouth County8.964+2.85 pts
78Buena Vista County8.856+3.25 pts
79Wapello County8.821-6.09 pts
80Carroll County8.74-0.4 pts
81Adair County8.652-1.29 pts
82Mahaska County8.584+2.46 pts
83Mitchell County8.562+2.42 pts
84Lyon County8.534+0.9 pts
85Tama County8.475+0.5 pts
86Pocahontas County8.446-1.14 pts
87Howard County8.234-11.74 pts
88Osceola County8.146+1.07 pts
89Chickasaw County8.027-6.33 pts
90Hancock County7.723+0.07 pts
91Wayne County7.712-2.52 pts
92Cherokee County7.493-2.3 pts
93Floyd County7.434-10.23 pts
94Louisa County7.248+2.61 pts
95Fremont County7.234-2.08 pts
96Taylor County6.685-14.54 pts
97Marion County6.415-1.59 pts
98Winnebago County5.949-9.96 pts
99Decatur County5.41-2.85 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, 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: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, Counties in Iowa by job destruction 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/job-destruction-rate/iowa-counties?period=2021. 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, 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/job-destruction-rate/iowa-counties?period=2021.

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, 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/job-destruction-rate/iowa-counties?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_iowa_by_2021,
  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, 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/job-destruction-rate/iowa-counties?period=2021. 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, 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/job-destruction-rate/iowa-counties?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/iowa-counties?period=2021.
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?

Adams County, with 18.628% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Decatur County, with 5.41% 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: 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