Data / Rankings / Job destruction rate / Counties in Massachusetts

Counties in Massachusetts by job destruction rate

Nantucket County had the highest job destruction rate of 14 counties in 2015, at 20.637%. Hampshire County had the lowest, at 7.847%. The median was 9.387% and the figure for Massachusetts was 9.313%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest20.637Nantucket County
Lowest7.847Hampshire County
Median9.38714 counties
Massachusetts9.313History

Map of counties, 2015

Barnstable County: 10.188 %Berkshire County: 9.663 %Bristol County: 9.317 %Dukes County: 13.473 %Essex County: 10.49 %Franklin County: 8.011 %Hampden County: 8.713 %Hampshire County: 7.847 %Middlesex County: 9.156 %Nantucket County: 20.637 %Norfolk County: 9.402 %Plymouth County: 9.93 %Suffolk County: 9.371 %Worcester County: 8.892 %
  • Under 8.8
  • 8.8 to 9.3
  • 9.3 to 9.6
  • 9.6 to 10
  • 10 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

Nantucket County: 20.637 %Nantucket County20.637Dukes County: 13.473 %Dukes County13.473Essex County: 10.49 %Essex County10.49Barnstable County: 10.188 %Barnstable County10.188Plymouth County: 9.93 %Plymouth County9.93Berkshire County: 9.663 %Berkshire County9.663Norfolk County: 9.402 %Norfolk County9.402Suffolk County: 9.371 %Suffolk County9.371Bristol County: 9.317 %Bristol County9.317Middlesex County: 9.156 %Middlesex County9.156Worcester County: 8.892 %Worcester County8.892Hampden County: 8.713 %Hampden County8.713Franklin County: 8.011 %Franklin County8.011Hampshire County: 7.847 %Hampshire County7.847Nantucket County: 20.637 %Nantucket County20.637Dukes County: 13.473 %Dukes County13.473Essex County: 10.49 %Essex County10.49Barnstable County: 10.188 %Barnstable County10.188Plymouth County: 9.93 %Plymouth County9.93Berkshire County: 9.663 %Berkshire County9.663Norfolk County: 9.402 %Norfolk County9.402Suffolk County: 9.371 %Suffolk County9.371Bristol County: 9.317 %Bristol County9.317Middlesex County: 9.156 %Middlesex County9.156Worcester County: 8.892 %Worcester County8.892Hampden County: 8.713 %Hampden County8.713Franklin County: 8.011 %Franklin County8.011Hampshire County: 7.847 %Hampshire County7.847
%. 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
1Nantucket County20.637+1.65 pts
2Dukes County13.473-1.41 pts
3Essex County10.49+1.48 pts
4Barnstable County10.188+0.53 pts
5Plymouth County9.93+0.24 pts
6Berkshire County9.663+0.11 pts
7Norfolk County9.402+0.11 pts
8Suffolk County9.371-5.03 pts
9Bristol County9.317-0.82 pts
10Middlesex County9.156-0.79 pts
11Worcester County8.892+0.44 pts
12Hampden County8.713-0.12 pts
13Franklin County8.011-1.25 pts
14Hampshire County7.847-1.16 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 Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-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 Massachusetts 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/massachusetts-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

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

Nantucket County, with 20.637% in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Hampshire County, with 7.847% 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 Massachusetts: more rankings