Counties in Maine by job destruction rate

Waldo County had the highest job destruction rate of 16 counties in 2015, at 17.674%. Sagadahoc County had the lowest, at 6.519%. The median was 9.989% and the figure for Maine was 9.983%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest17.674Waldo County
Lowest6.519Sagadahoc County
Median9.98916 counties
Maine9.983History

Map of counties, 2015

Androscoggin County: 7.739 %Aroostook County: 9.308 %Cumberland County: 9.073 %Franklin County: 8.497 %Hancock County: 9.86 %Kennebec County: 12.735 %Knox County: 10.512 %Lincoln County: 10.822 %Oxford County: 10.117 %Penobscot County: 11.011 %Piscataquis County: 7.67 %Sagadahoc County: 6.519 %Somerset County: 14.409 %Waldo County: 17.674 %Washington County: 12.722 %York County: 9.587 %
  • Under 8.5
  • 8.5 to 9.6
  • 9.6 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.

All counties, 2015

Waldo County: 17.674 %Waldo County17.674Somerset County: 14.409 %Somerset County14.409Kennebec County: 12.735 %Kennebec County12.735Washington County: 12.722 %Washington County12.722Penobscot County: 11.011 %Penobscot County11.011Lincoln County: 10.822 %Lincoln County10.822Knox County: 10.512 %Knox County10.512Oxford County: 10.117 %Oxford County10.117Hancock County: 9.86 %Hancock County9.86York County: 9.587 %York County9.587Aroostook County: 9.308 %Aroostook County9.308Cumberland County: 9.073 %Cumberland County9.073Franklin County: 8.497 %Franklin County8.497Androscoggin County: 7.739 %Androscoggin County7.739Piscataquis County: 7.67 %Piscataquis County7.67Sagadahoc County: 6.519 %Sagadahoc County6.519Waldo County: 17.674 %Waldo County17.674Somerset County: 14.409 %Somerset County14.409Kennebec County: 12.735 %Kennebec County12.735Washington County: 12.722 %Washington County12.722Penobscot County: 11.011 %Penobscot County11.011Lincoln County: 10.822 %Lincoln County10.822Knox County: 10.512 %Knox County10.512Oxford County: 10.117 %Oxford County10.117Hancock County: 9.86 %Hancock County9.86York County: 9.587 %York County9.587Aroostook County: 9.308 %Aroostook County9.308Cumberland County: 9.073 %Cumberland County9.073Franklin County: 8.497 %Franklin County8.497Androscoggin County: 7.739 %Androscoggin County7.739Piscataquis County: 7.67 %Piscataquis County7.67Sagadahoc County: 6.519 %Sagadahoc County6.519
%. 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
1Waldo County17.674-5.81 pts
2Somerset County14.409+5.15 pts
3Kennebec County12.735+2.14 pts
4Washington County12.722-0.67 pts
5Penobscot County11.011+0.14 pts
6Lincoln County10.822-1.35 pts
7Knox County10.512+1.07 pts
8Oxford County10.117-0.22 pts
9Hancock County9.86+0.19 pts
10York County9.587+0.92 pts
11Aroostook County9.308-1.04 pts
12Cumberland County9.073-0.9 pts
13Franklin County8.497-1.27 pts
14Androscoggin County7.739-2.49 pts
15Piscataquis County7.67-2.27 pts
16Sagadahoc County6.519+0.69 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 Maine 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 Maine 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/maine-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 Maine 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/maine-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 Maine 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/maine-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

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

Waldo County, with 17.674% in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Sagadahoc County, with 6.519% 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 Maine: more rankings