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 2022, at 28.358%. Trimble County had the lowest, at 4.428%. The median was 10.439% and the figure for Kentucky was 11.917%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest28.358Lewis County
Lowest4.428Trimble County
Median10.439120 counties
Kentucky11.917History

Map of counties, 2022

Adair County: 9.777 %Allen County: 10.32 %Anderson County: 10.103 %Ballard County: 13.758 %Barren County: 10.737 %Bath County: 12.924 %Bell County: 7.517 %Boone County: 10.186 %Bourbon County: 14.546 %Boyd County: 11.103 %Boyle County: 13.007 %Bracken County: 6.423 %Breathitt County: 9.06 %Breckinridge County: 10.26 %Bullitt County: 11.255 %Butler County: 14.12 %Caldwell County: 12.638 %Calloway County: 8.267 %Campbell County: 11.083 %Carlisle County: 10.7 %Carroll County: 11.354 %Carter County: 12.807 %Casey County: 5.875 %Christian County: 14.234 %Clark County: 10.273 %Clay County: 9.084 %Clinton County: 9.284 %Crittenden County: 10.781 %Cumberland County: 7.985 %Daviess County: 10.196 %Edmonson County: 10.45 %Elliott County: 16.582 %Estill County: 9.367 %Fayette County: 10.333 %Fleming County: 10.98 %Floyd County: 8.783 %Franklin County: 10.27 %Fulton County: 5.352 %Gallatin County: 5.744 %Garrard County: 15.331 %Grant County: 7.937 %Graves County: 11.8 %Grayson County: 16.513 %Green County: 7.105 %Greenup County: 12.477 %Hancock County: 5.301 %Hardin County: 14.092 %Harlan County: 9.155 %Harrison County: 7.137 %Hart County: 10.904 %Henderson County: 11.146 %Henry County: 13.256 %Hickman County: 8.321 %Hopkins County: 9.692 %Jackson County: 20.686 %Jefferson County: 14.181 %Jessamine County: 11.636 %Johnson County: 11.528 %Kenton County: 10.336 %Knott County: 25.31 %Knox County: 10.089 %Larue County: 12.482 %Laurel County: 17.509 %Lawrence County: 6.332 %Lee County: 7.914 %Leslie County: 10.238 %Letcher County: 8.62 %Lewis County: 28.358 %Lincoln County: 8.97 %Livingston County: 13.095 %Logan County: 9.917 %Lyon County: 12.081 %McCracken County: 9.227 %McCreary County: 17.217 %McLean County: 17.913 %Madison County: 10.429 %Magoffin County: 11.157 %Marion County: 7.286 %Marshall County: 9.082 %Martin County: 20.326 %Mason County: 9.565 %Meade County: 9.529 %Menifee County: 22.449 %Mercer County: 7.073 %Metcalfe County: 10.582 %Monroe County: 7.376 %Montgomery County: 10.402 %Morgan County: 10.693 %Muhlenberg County: 10.127 %Nelson County: 6.585 %Nicholas County: 14.652 %Ohio County: 12.692 %Oldham County: 14.917 %Owen County: 12.38 %Owsley County: 9.079 %Pendleton County: 10.669 %Perry County: 10.869 %Pike County: 11.707 %Powell County: 8.212 %Pulaski County: 9.318 %Robertson County: 15.972 %Rockcastle County: 17.843 %Rowan County: 8.109 %Russell County: 7.733 %Scott County: 9.78 %Shelby County: 9.037 %Simpson County: 8.823 %Spencer County: 16.101 %Taylor County: 15.434 %Todd County: 10.387 %Trigg County: 12.1 %Trimble County: 4.428 %Union County: 12.359 %Warren County: 12.536 %Washington County: 7.966 %Wayne County: 17.183 %Webster County: 13.046 %Whitley County: 11.394 %Wolfe County: 8.795 %Woodford County: 9.871 %
  • Under 8.2
  • 8.2 to 9.6
  • 9.6 to 10
  • 10 to 12
  • 12 to 14
  • 14 and over
%, 2022. 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, 2022

Lewis County: 28.358 %Lewis County28.358Knott County: 25.31 %Knott County25.31Menifee County: 22.449 %Menifee County22.449Jackson County: 20.686 %Jackson County20.686Martin County: 20.326 %Martin County20.326McLean County: 17.913 %McLean County17.913Rockcastle County: 17.843 %Rockcastle County17.843Laurel County: 17.509 %Laurel County17.509McCreary County: 17.217 %McCreary County17.217Wayne County: 17.183 %Wayne County17.183Elliott County: 16.582 %Elliott County16.582Grayson County: 16.513 %Grayson County16.513Spencer County: 16.101 %Spencer County16.101Robertson County: 15.972 %Robertson County15.972Taylor County: 15.434 %Taylor County15.434Garrard County: 15.331 %Garrard County15.331Oldham County: 14.917 %Oldham County14.917Nicholas County: 14.652 %Nicholas County14.652Bourbon County: 14.546 %Bourbon County14.546Christian County: 14.234 %Christian County14.234Jefferson County: 14.181 %Jefferson County14.181Butler County: 14.12 %Butler County14.12Hardin County: 14.092 %Hardin County14.092Ballard County: 13.758 %Ballard County13.758Henry County: 13.256 %Henry County13.256Livingston County: 13.095 %Livingston County13.095Webster County: 13.046 %Webster County13.046Boyle County: 13.007 %Boyle County13.007Bath County: 12.924 %Bath County12.924Carter County: 12.807 %Carter County12.807Ohio County: 12.692 %Ohio County12.692Caldwell County: 12.638 %Caldwell County12.638Warren County: 12.536 %Warren County12.536Larue County: 12.482 %Larue County12.482Greenup County: 12.477 %Greenup County12.477Owen County: 12.38 %Owen County12.38Union County: 12.359 %Union County12.359Trigg County: 12.1 %Trigg County12.1Lyon County: 12.081 %Lyon County12.081Graves County: 11.8 %Graves County11.8Lewis County: 28.358 %Lewis County28.358Knott County: 25.31 %Knott County25.31Menifee County: 22.449 %Menifee County22.449Jackson County: 20.686 %Jackson County20.686Martin County: 20.326 %Martin County20.326McLean County: 17.913 %McLean County17.913Rockcastle County: 17.843 %Rockcastle County17.843Laurel County: 17.509 %Laurel County17.509McCreary County: 17.217 %McCreary County17.217Wayne County: 17.183 %Wayne County17.183Elliott County: 16.582 %Elliott County16.582Grayson County: 16.513 %Grayson County16.513Spencer County: 16.101 %Spencer County16.101Robertson County: 15.972 %Robertson County15.972Taylor County: 15.434 %Taylor County15.434Garrard County: 15.331 %Garrard County15.331Oldham County: 14.917 %Oldham County14.917Nicholas County: 14.652 %Nicholas County14.652Bourbon County: 14.546 %Bourbon County14.546Christian County: 14.234 %Christian County14.234Jefferson County: 14.181 %Jefferson County14.181Butler County: 14.12 %Butler County14.12Hardin County: 14.092 %Hardin County14.092Ballard County: 13.758 %Ballard County13.758Henry County: 13.256 %Henry County13.256Livingston County: 13.095 %Livingston County13.095Webster County: 13.046 %Webster County13.046Boyle County: 13.007 %Boyle County13.007Bath County: 12.924 %Bath County12.924Carter County: 12.807 %Carter County12.807Ohio County: 12.692 %Ohio County12.692Caldwell County: 12.638 %Caldwell County12.638Warren County: 12.536 %Warren County12.536Larue County: 12.482 %Larue County12.482Greenup County: 12.477 %Greenup County12.477Owen County: 12.38 %Owen County12.38Union County: 12.359 %Union County12.359Trigg County: 12.1 %Trigg County12.1Lyon County: 12.081 %Lyon County12.081Graves County: 11.8 %Graves County11.8
%. 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

RankCounties2022 (%)Change on 2021
1Lewis County28.358+17.67 pts
2Knott County25.31+14.16 pts
3Menifee County22.449+8.93 pts
4Jackson County20.686+9.87 pts
5Martin County20.326-2.04 pts
6McLean County17.913-10.92 pts
7Rockcastle County17.843+4.97 pts
8Laurel County17.509+7.48 pts
9McCreary County17.217+3.68 pts
10Wayne County17.183+8.77 pts
11Elliott County16.582-3.11 pts
12Grayson County16.513+2.86 pts
13Spencer County16.101+1.85 pts
14Robertson County15.972-11.91 pts
15Taylor County15.434+5.52 pts
16Garrard County15.331+4.4 pts
17Oldham County14.917+0.58 pts
18Nicholas County14.652-3.64 pts
19Bourbon County14.546+5.23 pts
20Christian County14.234+0.82 pts
21Jefferson County14.181+0.56 pts
22Butler County14.12-1.49 pts
23Hardin County14.092-0.48 pts
24Ballard County13.758+3.94 pts
25Henry County13.256+1.06 pts
26Livingston County13.095-2.13 pts
27Webster County13.046+2.48 pts
28Boyle County13.007+0.07 pts
29Bath County12.924-2.98 pts
30Carter County12.807-0.77 pts
31Ohio County12.692-5.25 pts
32Caldwell County12.638+4.48 pts
33Warren County12.536-0.6 pts
34Larue County12.482+1.21 pts
35Greenup County12.477-25.99 pts
36Owen County12.38-0.69 pts
37Union County12.359+2.23 pts
38Trigg County12.1-10.15 pts
39Lyon County12.081-0.36 pts
40Graves County11.8-2.96 pts
41Pike County11.707-3.82 pts
42Jessamine County11.636+0.91 pts
43Johnson County11.528-1.79 pts
44Whitley County11.394-6.45 pts
45Carroll County11.354+1.66 pts
46Bullitt County11.255+0.73 pts
47Magoffin County11.157+2.76 pts
48Henderson County11.146+0.54 pts
49Boyd County11.103-1.87 pts
50Campbell County11.083-6.41 pts
51Fleming County10.98+1.4 pts
52Hart County10.904+1.62 pts
53Perry County10.869-4.37 pts
54Crittenden County10.781-0.73 pts
55Barren County10.737-9.77 pts
56Carlisle County10.7-0.75 pts
57Morgan County10.693+1.25 pts
58Pendleton County10.669-0.03 pts
59Metcalfe County10.582+0.18 pts
60Edmonson County10.45-5.93 pts
61Madison County10.429-1.97 pts
62Montgomery County10.402-5.18 pts
63Todd County10.387-1.7 pts
64Kenton County10.336-3.53 pts
65Fayette County10.333-6.86 pts
66Allen County10.32+0.31 pts
67Clark County10.273-6.91 pts
68Franklin County10.27-3.67 pts
69Breckinridge County10.26+1.76 pts
70Leslie County10.238-1.17 pts
71Daviess County10.196-0.1 pts
72Boone County10.186-2.8 pts
73Muhlenberg County10.127-6.3 pts
74Anderson County10.103-0.78 pts
75Knox County10.089-5.75 pts
76Logan County9.917-18.73 pts
77Woodford County9.871-11.17 pts
78Scott County9.78+2.36 pts
79Adair County9.777-1.06 pts
80Hopkins County9.692-2.18 pts
81Mason County9.565-3.8 pts
82Meade County9.529-8.47 pts
83Estill County9.367-6.35 pts
84Pulaski County9.318-1.9 pts
85Clinton County9.284+1.19 pts
86McCracken County9.227-7.6 pts
87Harlan County9.155-9.78 pts
88Clay County9.084-0.31 pts
89Marshall County9.082-4.73 pts
90Owsley County9.079-5.21 pts
91Breathitt County9.06+0.3 pts
92Shelby County9.037-4.61 pts
93Lincoln County8.97-4.7 pts
94Simpson County8.823-0.7 pts
95Wolfe County8.795-3.58 pts
96Floyd County8.783-12.59 pts
97Letcher County8.62-3.39 pts
98Hickman County8.321-6.11 pts
99Calloway County8.267-1.24 pts
100Powell County8.212-2.76 pts
101Rowan County8.109-2.57 pts
102Cumberland County7.985-4.83 pts
103Washington County7.966-5.56 pts
104Grant County7.937-4.12 pts
105Lee County7.914-1.87 pts
106Russell County7.733-6.47 pts
107Bell County7.517-4.78 pts
108Monroe County7.376-2.46 pts
109Marion County7.286-10.45 pts
110Harrison County7.137-4.52 pts
111Green County7.105-7.31 pts
112Mercer County7.073-1.98 pts
113Nelson County6.585-4.2 pts
114Bracken County6.423-4.7 pts
115Lawrence County6.332-10.82 pts
116Casey County5.875-14.07 pts
117Gallatin County5.744+0.87 pts
118Fulton County5.352-3.67 pts
119Hancock County5.301-0.42 pts
120Trimble County4.428-5.51 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, 2022) [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, 2022. 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=2022. 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, 2022. 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=2022.

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, 2022 [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=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_kentucky_by_2022,
  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, 2022}},
  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=2022. 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, 2022
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=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/kentucky-counties?period=2022.
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 28.358% in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Trimble County, with 4.428% in 2022.

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