Data / Rankings / Job destruction rate / Counties in North Carolina

Counties in North Carolina by job destruction rate

Graham County had the highest job destruction rate of 100 counties in 2020, at 22.344%. Gates County had the lowest, at 5.924%. The median was 10.787% and the figure for North Carolina was 10.722%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest22.344Graham County
Lowest5.924Gates County
Median10.787100 counties
North Carolina10.722History

Map of counties, 2020

Alamance County: 12.528 %Alexander County: 15.386 %Alleghany County: 10.723 %Anson County: 13.42 %Ashe County: 8.686 %Avery County: 8.099 %Beaufort County: 9.35 %Bertie County: 9.79 %Bladen County: 7.513 %Brunswick County: 11.178 %Buncombe County: 10.493 %Burke County: 8.175 %Cabarrus County: 10.308 %Caldwell County: 8.829 %Camden County: 12.781 %Carteret County: 12.716 %Caswell County: 17.446 %Catawba County: 8.198 %Chatham County: 12.193 %Cherokee County: 10.33 %Chowan County: 6.776 %Clay County: 14.575 %Cleveland County: 9.538 %Columbus County: 14.08 %Craven County: 10.081 %Cumberland County: 10.437 %Currituck County: 11.233 %Dare County: 11.37 %Davidson County: 11.477 %Davie County: 10.789 %Duplin County: 8.082 %Durham County: 7.829 %Edgecombe County: 9.54 %Forsyth County: 8.223 %Franklin County: 13.423 %Gaston County: 14.437 %Gates County: 5.924 %Graham County: 22.344 %Granville County: 6.797 %Greene County: 12.007 %Guilford County: 11.622 %Halifax County: 18.49 %Harnett County: 11.923 %Haywood County: 12.004 %Henderson County: 10.8 %Hertford County: 8.278 %Hoke County: 8.445 %Hyde County: 21.465 %Iredell County: 10.361 %Jackson County: 10.293 %Johnston County: 9.088 %Jones County: 13.239 %Lee County: 8.363 %Lenoir County: 8.794 %Lincoln County: 9.521 %McDowell County: 11.533 %Macon County: 15.123 %Madison County: 7.014 %Martin County: 9.047 %Mecklenburg County: 11.393 %Mitchell County: 11.335 %Montgomery County: 11.064 %Moore County: 9.65 %Nash County: 8.734 %New Hanover County: 10.3 %Northampton County: 17.844 %Onslow County: 14.022 %Orange County: 10.205 %Pamlico County: 13.426 %Pasquotank County: 10.639 %Pender County: 10.829 %Perquimans County: 8.911 %Person County: 13.498 %Pitt County: 9.503 %Polk County: 7.284 %Randolph County: 10.945 %Richmond County: 9.456 %Robeson County: 11.652 %Rockingham County: 12.472 %Rowan County: 13.363 %Rutherford County: 10.941 %Sampson County: 10.384 %Scotland County: 10.475 %Stanly County: 11.456 %Stokes County: 11.537 %Surry County: 8.732 %Swain County: 13.096 %Transylvania County: 14.948 %Tyrrell County: 12.031 %Union County: 9.793 %Vance County: 7.909 %Wake County: 10.785 %Warren County: 12.977 %Washington County: 16.54 %Watauga County: 10.809 %Wayne County: 9.251 %Wilkes County: 16.115 %Wilson County: 8.544 %Yadkin County: 15.175 %Yancey County: 6.767 %
  • Under 8.5
  • 8.5 to 9.7
  • 9.7 to 11
  • 11 to 12
  • 12 to 13
  • 13 and over
%, 2020. 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, 2020

Graham County: 22.344 %Graham County22.344Hyde County: 21.465 %Hyde County21.465Halifax County: 18.49 %Halifax County18.49Northampton County: 17.844 %Northampton County17.844Caswell County: 17.446 %Caswell County17.446Washington County: 16.54 %Washington County16.54Wilkes County: 16.115 %Wilkes County16.115Alexander County: 15.386 %Alexander County15.386Yadkin County: 15.175 %Yadkin County15.175Macon County: 15.123 %Macon County15.123Transylvania County: 14.948 %Transylvania County14.948Clay County: 14.575 %Clay County14.575Gaston County: 14.437 %Gaston County14.437Columbus County: 14.08 %Columbus County14.08Onslow County: 14.022 %Onslow County14.022Person County: 13.498 %Person County13.498Pamlico County: 13.426 %Pamlico County13.426Franklin County: 13.423 %Franklin County13.423Anson County: 13.42 %Anson County13.42Rowan County: 13.363 %Rowan County13.363Jones County: 13.239 %Jones County13.239Swain County: 13.096 %Swain County13.096Warren County: 12.977 %Warren County12.977Camden County: 12.781 %Camden County12.781Carteret County: 12.716 %Carteret County12.716Alamance County: 12.528 %Alamance County12.528Rockingham County: 12.472 %Rockingham County12.472Chatham County: 12.193 %Chatham County12.193Tyrrell County: 12.031 %Tyrrell County12.031Greene County: 12.007 %Greene County12.007Haywood County: 12.004 %Haywood County12.004Harnett County: 11.923 %Harnett County11.923Robeson County: 11.652 %Robeson County11.652Guilford County: 11.622 %Guilford County11.622Stokes County: 11.537 %Stokes County11.537McDowell County: 11.533 %McDowell County11.533Davidson County: 11.477 %Davidson County11.477Stanly County: 11.456 %Stanly County11.456Mecklenburg County: 11.393 %Mecklenburg County11.393Dare County: 11.37 %Dare County11.37Graham County: 22.344 %Graham County22.344Hyde County: 21.465 %Hyde County21.465Halifax County: 18.49 %Halifax County18.49Northampton County: 17.844 %Northampton County17.844Caswell County: 17.446 %Caswell County17.446Washington County: 16.54 %Washington County16.54Wilkes County: 16.115 %Wilkes County16.115Alexander County: 15.386 %Alexander County15.386Yadkin County: 15.175 %Yadkin County15.175Macon County: 15.123 %Macon County15.123Transylvania County: 14.948 %Transylvania County14.948Clay County: 14.575 %Clay County14.575Gaston County: 14.437 %Gaston County14.437Columbus County: 14.08 %Columbus County14.08Onslow County: 14.022 %Onslow County14.022Person County: 13.498 %Person County13.498Pamlico County: 13.426 %Pamlico County13.426Franklin County: 13.423 %Franklin County13.423Anson County: 13.42 %Anson County13.42Rowan County: 13.363 %Rowan County13.363Jones County: 13.239 %Jones County13.239Swain County: 13.096 %Swain County13.096Warren County: 12.977 %Warren County12.977Camden County: 12.781 %Camden County12.781Carteret County: 12.716 %Carteret County12.716Alamance County: 12.528 %Alamance County12.528Rockingham County: 12.472 %Rockingham County12.472Chatham County: 12.193 %Chatham County12.193Tyrrell County: 12.031 %Tyrrell County12.031Greene County: 12.007 %Greene County12.007Haywood County: 12.004 %Haywood County12.004Harnett County: 11.923 %Harnett County11.923Robeson County: 11.652 %Robeson County11.652Guilford County: 11.622 %Guilford County11.622Stokes County: 11.537 %Stokes County11.537McDowell County: 11.533 %McDowell County11.533Davidson County: 11.477 %Davidson County11.477Stanly County: 11.456 %Stanly County11.456Mecklenburg County: 11.393 %Mecklenburg County11.393Dare County: 11.37 %Dare County11.37
%. 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

RankCounties2020 (%)Change on 2019
1Graham County22.344+5.47 pts
2Hyde County21.465+6.47 pts
3Halifax County18.49+7.91 pts
4Northampton County17.844+13.29 pts
5Caswell County17.446-1.33 pts
6Washington County16.54+5.74 pts
7Wilkes County16.115+5.62 pts
8Alexander County15.386+9.34 pts
9Yadkin County15.175-1.93 pts
10Macon County15.123+2.79 pts
11Transylvania County14.948+2.02 pts
12Clay County14.575+5.46 pts
13Gaston County14.437+5.14 pts
14Columbus County14.08+4.97 pts
15Onslow County14.022+0.51 pts
16Person County13.498+1.18 pts
17Pamlico County13.426+1.69 pts
18Franklin County13.423+5.11 pts
19Anson County13.42-1.25 pts
20Rowan County13.363+5.91 pts
21Jones County13.239-14.13 pts
22Swain County13.096+3.01 pts
23Warren County12.977+0.97 pts
24Camden County12.781+0.77 pts
25Carteret County12.716+1.11 pts
26Alamance County12.528+3.1 pts
27Rockingham County12.472-1.68 pts
28Chatham County12.193+1.45 pts
29Tyrrell County12.031-13.83 pts
30Greene County12.007-1.75 pts
31Haywood County12.004+2.37 pts
32Harnett County11.923+1.56 pts
33Robeson County11.652+3.23 pts
34Guilford County11.622+0.85 pts
35Stokes County11.537+2.9 pts
36McDowell County11.533+1.32 pts
37Davidson County11.477+0.2 pts
38Stanly County11.456+1.58 pts
39Mecklenburg County11.393+1.59 pts
40Dare County11.37+0.89 pts
41Mitchell County11.335-1.19 pts
42Currituck County11.233-0.5 pts
43Brunswick County11.178+1.17 pts
44Montgomery County11.064+3.32 pts
45Randolph County10.945+2.39 pts
46Rutherford County10.941-3.34 pts
47Pender County10.829-1.41 pts
48Watauga County10.809+3.1 pts
49Henderson County10.8+0.76 pts
50Davie County10.789+1.22 pts
51Wake County10.785+1.19 pts
52Alleghany County10.723+1.61 pts
53Pasquotank County10.639-1.09 pts
54Buncombe County10.493-6.29 pts
55Scotland County10.475-0.97 pts
56Cumberland County10.437+0.93 pts
57Sampson County10.384-1.16 pts
58Iredell County10.361+1.27 pts
59Cherokee County10.33+2.34 pts
60Cabarrus County10.308-0.02 pts
61New Hanover County10.3+0.02 pts
62Jackson County10.293+2.15 pts
63Orange County10.205+0.68 pts
64Craven County10.081+0.89 pts
65Union County9.793-1.33 pts
66Bertie County9.79+3.7 pts
67Moore County9.65+0.08 pts
68Edgecombe County9.54-1.75 pts
69Cleveland County9.538+0.75 pts
70Lincoln County9.521+0.94 pts
71Pitt County9.503+0.09 pts
72Richmond County9.456+0.33 pts
73Beaufort County9.35-1.87 pts
74Wayne County9.251-0.51 pts
75Johnston County9.088-1.3 pts
76Martin County9.047-5.92 pts
77Perquimans County8.911-1.47 pts
78Caldwell County8.829-6.05 pts
79Lenoir County8.794+0.17 pts
80Nash County8.734-0.73 pts
81Surry County8.732+0.07 pts
82Ashe County8.686+0.24 pts
83Wilson County8.544+0.06 pts
84Hoke County8.445+0.39 pts
85Lee County8.363-3.22 pts
86Hertford County8.278+1.86 pts
87Forsyth County8.223-6.56 pts
88Catawba County8.198+0.13 pts
89Burke County8.175-3.13 pts
90Avery County8.099-2.45 pts
91Duplin County8.082-0.18 pts
92Vance County7.909-1.48 pts
93Durham County7.829+1.2 pts
94Bladen County7.513+1.18 pts
95Polk County7.284-3.11 pts
96Madison County7.014-2.84 pts
97Granville County6.797-1.62 pts
98Chowan County6.776-3.22 pts
99Yancey County6.767-2.46 pts
100Gates County5.924-2.87 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 North Carolina by job destruction rate, 2020) [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 North Carolina by job destruction rate, 2020. 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/north-carolina-counties?period=2020. 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 North Carolina by job destruction rate, 2020. 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/north-carolina-counties?period=2020.

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 North Carolina by job destruction rate, 2020 [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/north-carolina-counties?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_north_carolina_2020,
  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 North Carolina by job destruction rate, 2020}},
  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/north-carolina-counties?period=2020. 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 North Carolina by job destruction rate, 2020
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/north-carolina-counties?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/north-carolina-counties?period=2020.
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?

Graham County, with 22.344% in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Gates County, with 5.924% in 2020.

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 North Carolina: more rankings