Data / Rankings / Job destruction rate / Counties in Kentucky

Counties in Kentucky by job destruction rate

Lewis County had the highest job destruction rate of 120 counties in 2015, at 30.282%. Robertson County had the lowest, at 1.782%. The median was 9.828% and the figure for Kentucky was 9.778%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest30.282Lewis County
Lowest1.782Robertson County
Median9.828120 counties
Kentucky9.778History

Map of counties, 2015

Adair County: 8.741 %Allen County: 20.403 %Anderson County: 8.027 %Ballard County: 8.453 %Barren County: 8.158 %Bath County: 11.319 %Bell County: 8.99 %Boone County: 7.901 %Bourbon County: 10.173 %Boyd County: 9.422 %Boyle County: 8.16 %Bracken County: 10.289 %Breathitt County: 7.824 %Breckinridge County: 9.933 %Bullitt County: 10.255 %Butler County: 10.07 %Caldwell County: 9.808 %Calloway County: 7.989 %Campbell County: 8.675 %Carlisle County: 8.882 %Carroll County: 6.343 %Carter County: 7.746 %Casey County: 6.369 %Christian County: 10.231 %Clark County: 9.848 %Clay County: 5.482 %Clinton County: 6.352 %Crittenden County: 4.66 %Cumberland County: 13.379 %Daviess County: 8.679 %Edmonson County: 13.766 %Elliott County: 13.773 %Estill County: 7.367 %Fayette County: 8.943 %Fleming County: 7.303 %Floyd County: 13.357 %Franklin County: 8.579 %Fulton County: 14.93 %Gallatin County: 8.752 %Garrard County: 12.05 %Grant County: 9.547 %Graves County: 13.541 %Grayson County: 11.378 %Green County: 12.835 %Greenup County: 12.385 %Hancock County: 10.781 %Hardin County: 10.123 %Harlan County: 12.125 %Harrison County: 7.463 %Hart County: 5.463 %Henderson County: 7.312 %Henry County: 10.341 %Hickman County: 10.74 %Hopkins County: 10.637 %Jackson County: 5.551 %Jefferson County: 9.433 %Jessamine County: 10.292 %Johnson County: 12.686 %Kenton County: 10.706 %Knott County: 14.811 %Knox County: 7.68 %Larue County: 11.397 %Laurel County: 10.86 %Lawrence County: 23.439 %Lee County: 4.374 %Leslie County: 6.922 %Letcher County: 15.387 %Lewis County: 30.282 %Lincoln County: 8.202 %Livingston County: 9.626 %Logan County: 8.112 %Lyon County: 7.888 %McCracken County: 13.984 %McCreary County: 10.439 %McLean County: 16.34 %Madison County: 15.745 %Magoffin County: 19.434 %Marion County: 6.258 %Marshall County: 15.031 %Martin County: 17.429 %Mason County: 7.665 %Meade County: 11.571 %Menifee County: 6.638 %Mercer County: 4.956 %Metcalfe County: 5.49 %Monroe County: 10.885 %Montgomery County: 9.185 %Morgan County: 10.133 %Muhlenberg County: 13.244 %Nelson County: 8.44 %Nicholas County: 28.109 %Ohio County: 4.556 %Oldham County: 8.724 %Owen County: 6.447 %Owsley County: 13.274 %Pendleton County: 11.559 %Perry County: 12.85 %Pike County: 13.933 %Powell County: 10.88 %Pulaski County: 9.234 %Robertson County: 1.782 %Rockcastle County: 13.648 %Rowan County: 12.442 %Russell County: 20.601 %Scott County: 7.669 %Shelby County: 7.791 %Simpson County: 10.909 %Spencer County: 11.692 %Taylor County: 5.7 %Todd County: 14.309 %Trigg County: 12.241 %Trimble County: 5.598 %Union County: 10.602 %Warren County: 9.601 %Washington County: 7.816 %Wayne County: 5.783 %Webster County: 11.51 %Whitley County: 9.231 %Wolfe County: 8.215 %Woodford County: 9.003 %
  • Under 7.3
  • 7.3 to 8.4
  • 8.4 to 9.8
  • 9.8 to 11
  • 11 to 13
  • 13 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

Lewis County: 30.282 %Lewis County30.282Nicholas County: 28.109 %Nicholas County28.109Lawrence County: 23.439 %Lawrence County23.439Russell County: 20.601 %Russell County20.601Allen County: 20.403 %Allen County20.403Magoffin County: 19.434 %Magoffin County19.434Martin County: 17.429 %Martin County17.429McLean County: 16.34 %McLean County16.34Madison County: 15.745 %Madison County15.745Letcher County: 15.387 %Letcher County15.387Marshall County: 15.031 %Marshall County15.031Fulton County: 14.93 %Fulton County14.93Knott County: 14.811 %Knott County14.811Todd County: 14.309 %Todd County14.309McCracken County: 13.984 %McCracken County13.984Pike County: 13.933 %Pike County13.933Elliott County: 13.773 %Elliott County13.773Edmonson County: 13.766 %Edmonson County13.766Rockcastle County: 13.648 %Rockcastle County13.648Graves County: 13.541 %Graves County13.541Cumberland County: 13.379 %Cumberland County13.379Floyd County: 13.357 %Floyd County13.357Owsley County: 13.274 %Owsley County13.274Muhlenberg County: 13.244 %Muhlenberg County13.244Perry County: 12.85 %Perry County12.85Green County: 12.835 %Green County12.835Johnson County: 12.686 %Johnson County12.686Rowan County: 12.442 %Rowan County12.442Greenup County: 12.385 %Greenup County12.385Trigg County: 12.241 %Trigg County12.241Harlan County: 12.125 %Harlan County12.125Garrard County: 12.05 %Garrard County12.05Spencer County: 11.692 %Spencer County11.692Meade County: 11.571 %Meade County11.571Pendleton County: 11.559 %Pendleton County11.559Webster County: 11.51 %Webster County11.51Larue County: 11.397 %Larue County11.397Grayson County: 11.378 %Grayson County11.378Bath County: 11.319 %Bath County11.319Simpson County: 10.909 %Simpson County10.909Lewis County: 30.282 %Lewis County30.282Nicholas County: 28.109 %Nicholas County28.109Lawrence County: 23.439 %Lawrence County23.439Russell County: 20.601 %Russell County20.601Allen County: 20.403 %Allen County20.403Magoffin County: 19.434 %Magoffin County19.434Martin County: 17.429 %Martin County17.429McLean County: 16.34 %McLean County16.34Madison County: 15.745 %Madison County15.745Letcher County: 15.387 %Letcher County15.387Marshall County: 15.031 %Marshall County15.031Fulton County: 14.93 %Fulton County14.93Knott County: 14.811 %Knott County14.811Todd County: 14.309 %Todd County14.309McCracken County: 13.984 %McCracken County13.984Pike County: 13.933 %Pike County13.933Elliott County: 13.773 %Elliott County13.773Edmonson County: 13.766 %Edmonson County13.766Rockcastle County: 13.648 %Rockcastle County13.648Graves County: 13.541 %Graves County13.541Cumberland County: 13.379 %Cumberland County13.379Floyd County: 13.357 %Floyd County13.357Owsley County: 13.274 %Owsley County13.274Muhlenberg County: 13.244 %Muhlenberg County13.244Perry County: 12.85 %Perry County12.85Green County: 12.835 %Green County12.835Johnson County: 12.686 %Johnson County12.686Rowan County: 12.442 %Rowan County12.442Greenup County: 12.385 %Greenup County12.385Trigg County: 12.241 %Trigg County12.241Harlan County: 12.125 %Harlan County12.125Garrard County: 12.05 %Garrard County12.05Spencer County: 11.692 %Spencer County11.692Meade County: 11.571 %Meade County11.571Pendleton County: 11.559 %Pendleton County11.559Webster County: 11.51 %Webster County11.51Larue County: 11.397 %Larue County11.397Grayson County: 11.378 %Grayson County11.378Bath County: 11.319 %Bath County11.319Simpson County: 10.909 %Simpson County10.909
%. 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
1Lewis County30.282+20.86 pts
2Nicholas County28.109+18.2 pts
3Lawrence County23.439+11.67 pts
4Russell County20.601+12.02 pts
5Allen County20.403+12.58 pts
6Magoffin County19.434-2.7 pts
7Martin County17.429-14.16 pts
8McLean County16.34+9 pts
9Madison County15.745+6.16 pts
10Letcher County15.387-2.4 pts
11Marshall County15.031+5.6 pts
12Fulton County14.93+7 pts
13Knott County14.811+6.18 pts
14Todd County14.309+7.19 pts
15McCracken County13.984+0.37 pts
16Pike County13.933+0.39 pts
17Elliott County13.773+9.42 pts
18Edmonson County13.766-2.28 pts
19Rockcastle County13.648+6.02 pts
20Graves County13.541+5.39 pts
21Cumberland County13.379-6.07 pts
22Floyd County13.357+0.59 pts
23Owsley County13.274+3.48 pts
24Muhlenberg County13.244+2.4 pts
25Perry County12.85+5.07 pts
26Green County12.835+3.98 pts
27Johnson County12.686-1.55 pts
28Rowan County12.442+5.07 pts
29Greenup County12.385+3.04 pts
30Trigg County12.241-4.63 pts
31Harlan County12.125-9.81 pts
32Garrard County12.05+0.48 pts
33Spencer County11.692+1.01 pts
34Meade County11.571+1.21 pts
35Pendleton County11.559+1.12 pts
36Webster County11.51-1.12 pts
37Larue County11.397+3.17 pts
38Grayson County11.378+0.76 pts
39Bath County11.319+3.94 pts
40Simpson County10.909-0.01 pts
41Monroe County10.885-0.17 pts
42Powell County10.88-5.76 pts
43Laurel County10.86-1.13 pts
44Hancock County10.781+6.09 pts
45Hickman County10.74-7.25 pts
46Kenton County10.706-2.09 pts
47Hopkins County10.637+2.62 pts
48Union County10.602+0.08 pts
49McCreary County10.439+2.04 pts
50Henry County10.341-10.35 pts
51Jessamine County10.292+1.51 pts
52Bracken County10.289+2.94 pts
53Bullitt County10.255+3.2 pts
54Christian County10.231-1.86 pts
55Bourbon County10.173-5 pts
56Morgan County10.133+0.8 pts
57Hardin County10.123-4.07 pts
58Butler County10.07-1.19 pts
59Breckinridge County9.933-0.24 pts
60Clark County9.848-1.17 pts
61Caldwell County9.808+1.21 pts
62Livingston County9.626-2.31 pts
63Warren County9.601+0.32 pts
64Grant County9.547-7.61 pts
65Jefferson County9.433-2.41 pts
66Boyd County9.422-5.32 pts
67Pulaski County9.234-1.31 pts
68Whitley County9.231+0.29 pts
69Montgomery County9.185-0.18 pts
70Woodford County9.003+0.02 pts
71Bell County8.99-1.31 pts
72Fayette County8.943-3.9 pts
73Carlisle County8.882+3.65 pts
74Gallatin County8.752+2.64 pts
75Adair County8.741-1.27 pts
76Oldham County8.724-3.76 pts
77Daviess County8.679-1.18 pts
78Campbell County8.675-0.84 pts
79Franklin County8.579-0.03 pts
80Ballard County8.453-2.56 pts
81Nelson County8.44+2.39 pts
82Wolfe County8.215-6.77 pts
83Lincoln County8.202-7.94 pts
84Boyle County8.16+1.19 pts
85Barren County8.158-0.21 pts
86Logan County8.112-12.11 pts
87Anderson County8.027-2.22 pts
88Calloway County7.989-2.58 pts
89Boone County7.901-0.52 pts
90Lyon County7.888-3.31 pts
91Breathitt County7.824-8.53 pts
92Washington County7.816+0.72 pts
93Shelby County7.791-0.36 pts
94Carter County7.746-1.04 pts
95Knox County7.68-3.1 pts
96Scott County7.669-0.15 pts
97Mason County7.665+1.51 pts
98Harrison County7.463-4.8 pts
99Estill County7.367-13.73 pts
100Henderson County7.312-2.06 pts
101Fleming County7.303+0.13 pts
102Leslie County6.922-5.23 pts
103Menifee County6.638-9.15 pts
104Owen County6.447-5.2 pts
105Casey County6.369-4.52 pts
106Clinton County6.352-5.29 pts
107Carroll County6.343-3.81 pts
108Marion County6.258-2.41 pts
109Wayne County5.783-4.14 pts
110Taylor County5.7-1.92 pts
111Trimble County5.598-5.27 pts
112Jackson County5.551-2.99 pts
113Metcalfe County5.49-2.51 pts
114Clay County5.482-1.28 pts
115Hart County5.463-4.93 pts
116Mercer County4.956-11.55 pts
117Crittenden County4.66-6.36 pts
118Ohio County4.556-3.7 pts
119Lee County4.374-4.84 pts
120Robertson County1.782-0.28 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, 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 Kentucky 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/kentucky-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 Kentucky 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/kentucky-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 Kentucky 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/kentucky-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_kentucky_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 Kentucky 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/kentucky-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 Kentucky 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/kentucky-counties?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/kentucky-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?

Lewis County, with 30.282% in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Robertson County, with 1.782% 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 Kentucky: more rankings