Data / Rankings / Job destruction rate / Counties in Kentucky

Counties in Kentucky by job destruction rate

Knott County had the highest job destruction rate of 120 counties in 2012, at 31.499%. Hancock County had the lowest, at 4.506%. The median was 11.345% and the figure for Kentucky was 11.304%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest31.499Knott County
Lowest4.506Hancock County
Median11.345120 counties
Kentucky11.304History

Map of counties, 2012

Adair County: 9.618 %Allen County: 15.779 %Anderson County: 9.66 %Ballard County: 9.393 %Barren County: 10.028 %Bath County: 14.039 %Bell County: 12.022 %Boone County: 9.358 %Bourbon County: 11.762 %Boyd County: 9.758 %Boyle County: 12.285 %Bracken County: 8.559 %Breathitt County: 5.509 %Breckinridge County: 8.992 %Bullitt County: 14.391 %Butler County: 10.484 %Caldwell County: 9.705 %Calloway County: 7.964 %Campbell County: 11.057 %Carlisle County: 11.405 %Carroll County: 7.56 %Carter County: 15.953 %Casey County: 5.282 %Christian County: 17.245 %Clark County: 12.112 %Clay County: 7.976 %Clinton County: 5.736 %Crittenden County: 6.621 %Cumberland County: 15.035 %Daviess County: 9.369 %Edmonson County: 7.407 %Elliott County: 9.105 %Estill County: 21.483 %Fayette County: 9.693 %Fleming County: 9.793 %Floyd County: 14.648 %Franklin County: 12.724 %Fulton County: 18.89 %Gallatin County: 7.656 %Garrard County: 19.117 %Grant County: 16.859 %Graves County: 9.955 %Grayson County: 11.019 %Green County: 12.688 %Greenup County: 9.004 %Hancock County: 4.506 %Hardin County: 11.782 %Harlan County: 15.182 %Harrison County: 6.77 %Hart County: 7.36 %Henderson County: 8.961 %Henry County: 11.559 %Hickman County: 25.175 %Hopkins County: 8.677 %Jackson County: 10.304 %Jefferson County: 11.707 %Jessamine County: 11.609 %Johnson County: 13.965 %Kenton County: 10.991 %Knott County: 31.499 %Knox County: 10.955 %Larue County: 22.356 %Laurel County: 15.444 %Lawrence County: 21.015 %Lee County: 11.862 %Leslie County: 28.545 %Letcher County: 15.84 %Lewis County: 15.6 %Lincoln County: 24.064 %Livingston County: 12.748 %Logan County: 8.864 %Lyon County: 13.436 %McCracken County: 14.316 %McCreary County: 13.003 %McLean County: 15.35 %Madison County: 10.789 %Magoffin County: 11.439 %Marion County: 7.432 %Marshall County: 7.689 %Martin County: 6.05 %Mason County: 11.417 %Meade County: 11.265 %Menifee County: 11.285 %Mercer County: 7.812 %Metcalfe County: 10.776 %Monroe County: 13.256 %Montgomery County: 6.25 %Morgan County: 14.262 %Muhlenberg County: 19.504 %Nelson County: 12.223 %Nicholas County: 12.921 %Ohio County: 15.116 %Oldham County: 13.386 %Owen County: 10.268 %Owsley County: 16 %Pendleton County: 10.381 %Perry County: 14.406 %Pike County: 11.917 %Powell County: 18.182 %Pulaski County: 11.78 %Robertson County: 5.985 %Rockcastle County: 10.989 %Rowan County: 11.853 %Russell County: 7.009 %Scott County: 9.154 %Shelby County: 13.52 %Simpson County: 7.859 %Spencer County: 11.776 %Taylor County: 7.137 %Todd County: 9.621 %Trigg County: 10.814 %Trimble County: 11.628 %Union County: 8.801 %Warren County: 10.065 %Washington County: 8.441 %Wayne County: 10.614 %Webster County: 11.174 %Whitley County: 15.4 %Wolfe County: 16.334 %Woodford County: 12.622 %
  • Under 8
  • 8 to 9.8
  • 9.8 to 11
  • 11 to 13
  • 13 to 15
  • 15 and over
%, 2012. 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, 2012

Knott County: 31.499 %Knott County31.499Leslie County: 28.545 %Leslie County28.545Hickman County: 25.175 %Hickman County25.175Lincoln County: 24.064 %Lincoln County24.064Larue County: 22.356 %Larue County22.356Estill County: 21.483 %Estill County21.483Lawrence County: 21.015 %Lawrence County21.015Muhlenberg County: 19.504 %Muhlenberg County19.504Garrard County: 19.117 %Garrard County19.117Fulton County: 18.89 %Fulton County18.89Powell County: 18.182 %Powell County18.182Christian County: 17.245 %Christian County17.245Grant County: 16.859 %Grant County16.859Wolfe County: 16.334 %Wolfe County16.334Owsley County: 16 %Owsley County16Carter County: 15.953 %Carter County15.953Letcher County: 15.84 %Letcher County15.84Allen County: 15.779 %Allen County15.779Lewis County: 15.6 %Lewis County15.6Laurel County: 15.444 %Laurel County15.444Whitley County: 15.4 %Whitley County15.4McLean County: 15.35 %McLean County15.35Harlan County: 15.182 %Harlan County15.182Ohio County: 15.116 %Ohio County15.116Cumberland County: 15.035 %Cumberland County15.035Floyd County: 14.648 %Floyd County14.648Perry County: 14.406 %Perry County14.406Bullitt County: 14.391 %Bullitt County14.391McCracken County: 14.316 %McCracken County14.316Morgan County: 14.262 %Morgan County14.262Bath County: 14.039 %Bath County14.039Johnson County: 13.965 %Johnson County13.965Shelby County: 13.52 %Shelby County13.52Lyon County: 13.436 %Lyon County13.436Oldham County: 13.386 %Oldham County13.386Monroe County: 13.256 %Monroe County13.256McCreary County: 13.003 %McCreary County13.003Nicholas County: 12.921 %Nicholas County12.921Livingston County: 12.748 %Livingston County12.748Franklin County: 12.724 %Franklin County12.724Knott County: 31.499 %Knott County31.499Leslie County: 28.545 %Leslie County28.545Hickman County: 25.175 %Hickman County25.175Lincoln County: 24.064 %Lincoln County24.064Larue County: 22.356 %Larue County22.356Estill County: 21.483 %Estill County21.483Lawrence County: 21.015 %Lawrence County21.015Muhlenberg County: 19.504 %Muhlenberg County19.504Garrard County: 19.117 %Garrard County19.117Fulton County: 18.89 %Fulton County18.89Powell County: 18.182 %Powell County18.182Christian County: 17.245 %Christian County17.245Grant County: 16.859 %Grant County16.859Wolfe County: 16.334 %Wolfe County16.334Owsley County: 16 %Owsley County16Carter County: 15.953 %Carter County15.953Letcher County: 15.84 %Letcher County15.84Allen County: 15.779 %Allen County15.779Lewis County: 15.6 %Lewis County15.6Laurel County: 15.444 %Laurel County15.444Whitley County: 15.4 %Whitley County15.4McLean County: 15.35 %McLean County15.35Harlan County: 15.182 %Harlan County15.182Ohio County: 15.116 %Ohio County15.116Cumberland County: 15.035 %Cumberland County15.035Floyd County: 14.648 %Floyd County14.648Perry County: 14.406 %Perry County14.406Bullitt County: 14.391 %Bullitt County14.391McCracken County: 14.316 %McCracken County14.316Morgan County: 14.262 %Morgan County14.262Bath County: 14.039 %Bath County14.039Johnson County: 13.965 %Johnson County13.965Shelby County: 13.52 %Shelby County13.52Lyon County: 13.436 %Lyon County13.436Oldham County: 13.386 %Oldham County13.386Monroe County: 13.256 %Monroe County13.256McCreary County: 13.003 %McCreary County13.003Nicholas County: 12.921 %Nicholas County12.921Livingston County: 12.748 %Livingston County12.748Franklin County: 12.724 %Franklin County12.724
%. 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

RankCounties2012 (%)Change on 2011
1Knott County31.499+16.61 pts
2Leslie County28.545+10.52 pts
3Hickman County25.175+9.17 pts
4Lincoln County24.064+15.12 pts
5Larue County22.356+10.89 pts
6Estill County21.483+11.68 pts
7Lawrence County21.015+11.18 pts
8Muhlenberg County19.504+6.7 pts
9Garrard County19.117+6.48 pts
10Fulton County18.89+11.29 pts
11Powell County18.182+3.39 pts
12Christian County17.245+1.09 pts
13Grant County16.859+5.88 pts
14Wolfe County16.334-0.71 pts
15Owsley County16+4.46 pts
16Carter County15.953+5.18 pts
17Letcher County15.84+3.56 pts
18Allen County15.779+7.63 pts
19Lewis County15.6+3.4 pts
20Laurel County15.444-1.91 pts
21Whitley County15.4+6.68 pts
22McLean County15.35+4.07 pts
23Harlan County15.182+6.17 pts
24Ohio County15.116+8.92 pts
25Cumberland County15.035+5.95 pts
26Floyd County14.648+3 pts
27Perry County14.406+3.21 pts
28Bullitt County14.391+1.7 pts
29McCracken County14.316+3.69 pts
30Morgan County14.262+2.06 pts
31Bath County14.039+2.09 pts
32Johnson County13.965-1.52 pts
33Shelby County13.52+1.07 pts
34Lyon County13.436+2.91 pts
35Oldham County13.386+0.11 pts
36Monroe County13.256-0.1 pts
37McCreary County13.003-1.1 pts
38Nicholas County12.921-16.49 pts
39Livingston County12.748-0.27 pts
40Franklin County12.724+3.37 pts
41Green County12.688+2.36 pts
42Woodford County12.622+0.99 pts
43Boyle County12.285+1.33 pts
44Nelson County12.223+2.02 pts
45Clark County12.112+1.32 pts
46Bell County12.022-0.9 pts
47Pike County11.917-0.02 pts
48Lee County11.862-0.28 pts
49Rowan County11.853+4.87 pts
50Hardin County11.782+3.19 pts
51Pulaski County11.78+0.86 pts
52Spencer County11.776-8.28 pts
53Bourbon County11.762+0.93 pts
54Jefferson County11.707+0.69 pts
55Trimble County11.628-0.98 pts
56Jessamine County11.609-1.31 pts
57Henry County11.559+1.69 pts
58Magoffin County11.439-0.91 pts
59Mason County11.417+2.94 pts
60Carlisle County11.405-7.86 pts
61Menifee County11.285-1.81 pts
62Meade County11.265-0.2 pts
63Webster County11.174-2.39 pts
64Campbell County11.057-0.41 pts
65Grayson County11.019+1.55 pts
66Kenton County10.991+0.98 pts
67Rockcastle County10.989-7.25 pts
68Knox County10.955+2.8 pts
69Trigg County10.814-8.96 pts
70Madison County10.789-4.47 pts
71Metcalfe County10.776-1.53 pts
72Wayne County10.614-2.76 pts
73Butler County10.484-4.19 pts
74Pendleton County10.381-1.55 pts
75Jackson County10.304-2.2 pts
76Owen County10.268+4.5 pts
77Warren County10.065-0.74 pts
78Barren County10.028+0.78 pts
79Graves County9.955+1.45 pts
80Fleming County9.793-0.67 pts
81Boyd County9.758-1.74 pts
82Caldwell County9.705+1.5 pts
83Fayette County9.693-3.49 pts
84Anderson County9.66-2.47 pts
85Todd County9.621+0.83 pts
86Adair County9.618-3.35 pts
87Ballard County9.393-27.83 pts
88Daviess County9.369-0.86 pts
89Boone County9.358-3.21 pts
90Scott County9.154+2.5 pts
91Elliott County9.105+0.37 pts
92Greenup County9.004-1.62 pts
93Breckinridge County8.992-2.16 pts
94Henderson County8.961+0.59 pts
95Logan County8.864-17.15 pts
96Union County8.801-1.26 pts
97Hopkins County8.677-0.88 pts
98Bracken County8.559-4.77 pts
99Washington County8.441-4.57 pts
100Clay County7.976-4.17 pts
101Calloway County7.964-0.63 pts
102Simpson County7.859-9.65 pts
103Mercer County7.812-3.95 pts
104Marshall County7.689-1.7 pts
105Gallatin County7.656+1.84 pts
106Carroll County7.56-3.7 pts
107Marion County7.432-1.46 pts
108Edmonson County7.407-4.85 pts
109Hart County7.36+0.92 pts
110Taylor County7.137-0.41 pts
111Russell County7.009-0.51 pts
112Harrison County6.77-2.05 pts
113Crittenden County6.621-9.73 pts
114Montgomery County6.25-6.6 pts
115Martin County6.05-5.51 pts
116Robertson County5.985-18.63 pts
117Clinton County5.736-1.07 pts
118Breathitt County5.509-2.78 pts
119Casey County5.282-5.47 pts
120Hancock County4.506-0.13 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 Kentucky by job destruction rate, 2012) [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 Kentucky by job destruction rate, 2012. 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/kentucky-counties?period=2012. 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 Kentucky by job destruction rate, 2012. 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/kentucky-counties?period=2012.

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 Kentucky by job destruction rate, 2012 [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/kentucky-counties?period=2012 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_kentucky_by_2012,
  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 Kentucky by job destruction rate, 2012}},
  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/kentucky-counties?period=2012. 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 Kentucky by job destruction rate, 2012
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/kentucky-counties?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/kentucky-counties?period=2012.
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?

Knott County, with 31.499% in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Hancock County, with 4.506% in 2012.

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 Kentucky: more rankings