Counties in Maine by job destruction rate

Lincoln County had the highest job destruction rate of 16 counties in 2018, at 13.231%. Sagadahoc County had the lowest, at 5.965%. The median was 10.207% and the figure for Maine was 10.427%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest13.231Lincoln County
Lowest5.965Sagadahoc County
Median10.20716 counties
Maine10.427History

Map of counties, 2018

Androscoggin County: 9.828 %Aroostook County: 10.931 %Cumberland County: 10.628 %Franklin County: 11.048 %Hancock County: 12.17 %Kennebec County: 10.036 %Knox County: 9.958 %Lincoln County: 13.231 %Oxford County: 10.308 %Penobscot County: 10.106 %Piscataquis County: 9.021 %Sagadahoc County: 5.965 %Somerset County: 13.065 %Waldo County: 12.781 %Washington County: 9.31 %York County: 9.982 %
  • Under 9.8
  • 9.8 to 10
  • 10 to 11
  • 11 to 12
  • 12 and over
%, 2018. 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, 2018

Lincoln County: 13.231 %Lincoln County13.231Somerset County: 13.065 %Somerset County13.065Waldo County: 12.781 %Waldo County12.781Hancock County: 12.17 %Hancock County12.17Franklin County: 11.048 %Franklin County11.048Aroostook County: 10.931 %Aroostook County10.931Cumberland County: 10.628 %Cumberland County10.628Oxford County: 10.308 %Oxford County10.308Penobscot County: 10.106 %Penobscot County10.106Kennebec County: 10.036 %Kennebec County10.036York County: 9.982 %York County9.982Knox County: 9.958 %Knox County9.958Androscoggin County: 9.828 %Androscoggin County9.828Washington County: 9.31 %Washington County9.31Piscataquis County: 9.021 %Piscataquis County9.021Sagadahoc County: 5.965 %Sagadahoc County5.965Lincoln County: 13.231 %Lincoln County13.231Somerset County: 13.065 %Somerset County13.065Waldo County: 12.781 %Waldo County12.781Hancock County: 12.17 %Hancock County12.17Franklin County: 11.048 %Franklin County11.048Aroostook County: 10.931 %Aroostook County10.931Cumberland County: 10.628 %Cumberland County10.628Oxford County: 10.308 %Oxford County10.308Penobscot County: 10.106 %Penobscot County10.106Kennebec County: 10.036 %Kennebec County10.036York County: 9.982 %York County9.982Knox County: 9.958 %Knox County9.958Androscoggin County: 9.828 %Androscoggin County9.828Washington County: 9.31 %Washington County9.31Piscataquis County: 9.021 %Piscataquis County9.021Sagadahoc County: 5.965 %Sagadahoc County5.965
%. 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

RankCounties2018 (%)Change on 2017
1Lincoln County13.231+1.48 pts
2Somerset County13.065-1.76 pts
3Waldo County12.781+1.64 pts
4Hancock County12.17+1.7 pts
5Franklin County11.048+3.55 pts
6Aroostook County10.931+0.44 pts
7Cumberland County10.628-0.27 pts
8Oxford County10.308+0.37 pts
9Penobscot County10.106-1.67 pts
10Kennebec County10.036+1.03 pts
11York County9.982-2.43 pts
12Knox County9.958-1.22 pts
13Androscoggin County9.828-0.96 pts
14Washington County9.31-1.15 pts
15Piscataquis County9.021-0.09 pts
16Sagadahoc County5.965-2.74 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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

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, 2018 [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=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_maine_by_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/maine-counties?period=2018.
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?

Lincoln County, with 13.231% in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Sagadahoc County, with 5.965% in 2018.

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