Data / Rankings / Job destruction rate / Counties in Tennessee

Counties in Tennessee by job destruction rate, 2023

Clay County had the highest job destruction rate of 95 counties in 2023, at 32.383%. Moore County had the lowest, at 3.917%. The median was 10.519% and the figure for Tennessee was 11.187%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest32.383Clay County
Lowest3.917Moore County
Median10.51995 counties
Tennessee11.187History

Map of counties, 2023

Anderson County: 8.444 %Bedford County: 7.377 %Benton County: 12.414 %Bledsoe County: 10.973 %Blount County: 6.977 %Bradley County: 11.764 %Campbell County: 8.983 %Cannon County: 11.57 %Carroll County: 10.933 %Carter County: 12.284 %Cheatham County: 10.539 %Chester County: 6.889 %Claiborne County: 26.667 %Clay County: 32.383 %Cocke County: 10.134 %Coffee County: 7.837 %Crockett County: 10.45 %Cumberland County: 8.337 %Davidson County: 11.117 %Decatur County: 6.396 %DeKalb County: 10.669 %Dickson County: 8.436 %Dyer County: 12.079 %Fayette County: 8.263 %Fentress County: 9.584 %Franklin County: 9.39 %Gibson County: 12.082 %Giles County: 8.73 %Grainger County: 19.002 %Greene County: 13.026 %Grundy County: 13.928 %Hamblen County: 6.435 %Hamilton County: 10.278 %Hancock County: 9.281 %Hardeman County: 20.779 %Hardin County: 8.902 %Hawkins County: 8.905 %Haywood County: 13.692 %Henderson County: 14.652 %Henry County: 7.925 %Hickman County: 10.136 %Houston County: 14.641 %Humphreys County: 12.446 %Jackson County: 13.537 %Jefferson County: 12.868 %Johnson County: 8.764 %Knox County: 9.419 %Lake County: 10.951 %Lauderdale County: 13.04 %Lawrence County: 10.09 %Lewis County: 15.991 %Lincoln County: 9.449 %Loudon County: 11.366 %McMinn County: 7.922 %McNairy County: 9.788 %Macon County: 12.628 %Madison County: 10.29 %Marion County: 8.164 %Marshall County: 12.381 %Maury County: 11.611 %Meigs County: 14.897 %Monroe County: 9.54 %Montgomery County: 9.135 %Moore County: 3.917 %Morgan County: 10.066 %Obion County: 9.856 %Overton County: 14.639 %Perry County: 6.702 %Pickett County: 14.984 %Polk County: 14.029 %Putnam County: 9.754 %Rhea County: 7.046 %Roane County: 10.86 %Robertson County: 9.856 %Rutherford County: 11.688 %Scott County: 7.867 %Sequatchie County: 10.519 %Sevier County: 12.217 %Shelby County: 12.362 %Smith County: 9.896 %Stewart County: 7.925 %Sullivan County: 10.279 %Sumner County: 12.147 %Tipton County: 9.89 %Trousdale County: 13.381 %Unicoi County: 6.745 %Union County: 14.319 %Van Buren County: 10.663 %Warren County: 10.59 %Washington County: 10.704 %Wayne County: 10.658 %Weakley County: 9.943 %White County: 7.847 %Williamson County: 12.683 %Wilson County: 13.651 %
  • Under 8.2
  • 8.2 to 9.6
  • 9.6 to 11
  • 11 to 12
  • 12 to 13
  • 13 and over
%, 2023. 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, 2023

Clay County: 32.383 %Clay County32.383Claiborne County: 26.667 %Claiborne County26.667Hardeman County: 20.779 %Hardeman County20.779Grainger County: 19.002 %Grainger County19.002Lewis County: 15.991 %Lewis County15.991Pickett County: 14.984 %Pickett County14.984Meigs County: 14.897 %Meigs County14.897Henderson County: 14.652 %Henderson County14.652Houston County: 14.641 %Houston County14.641Overton County: 14.639 %Overton County14.639Union County: 14.319 %Union County14.319Polk County: 14.029 %Polk County14.029Grundy County: 13.928 %Grundy County13.928Haywood County: 13.692 %Haywood County13.692Wilson County: 13.651 %Wilson County13.651Jackson County: 13.537 %Jackson County13.537Trousdale County: 13.381 %Trousdale County13.381Lauderdale County: 13.04 %Lauderdale County13.04Greene County: 13.026 %Greene County13.026Jefferson County: 12.868 %Jefferson County12.868Williamson County: 12.683 %Williamson County12.683Macon County: 12.628 %Macon County12.628Humphreys County: 12.446 %Humphreys County12.446Benton County: 12.414 %Benton County12.414Marshall County: 12.381 %Marshall County12.381Shelby County: 12.362 %Shelby County12.362Carter County: 12.284 %Carter County12.284Sevier County: 12.217 %Sevier County12.217Sumner County: 12.147 %Sumner County12.147Gibson County: 12.082 %Gibson County12.082Dyer County: 12.079 %Dyer County12.079Bradley County: 11.764 %Bradley County11.764Rutherford County: 11.688 %Rutherford County11.688Maury County: 11.611 %Maury County11.611Cannon County: 11.57 %Cannon County11.57Loudon County: 11.366 %Loudon County11.366Davidson County: 11.117 %Davidson County11.117Bledsoe County: 10.973 %Bledsoe County10.973Lake County: 10.951 %Lake County10.951Carroll County: 10.933 %Carroll County10.933Clay County: 32.383 %Clay County32.383Claiborne County: 26.667 %Claiborne County26.667Hardeman County: 20.779 %Hardeman County20.779Grainger County: 19.002 %Grainger County19.002Lewis County: 15.991 %Lewis County15.991Pickett County: 14.984 %Pickett County14.984Meigs County: 14.897 %Meigs County14.897Henderson County: 14.652 %Henderson County14.652Houston County: 14.641 %Houston County14.641Overton County: 14.639 %Overton County14.639Union County: 14.319 %Union County14.319Polk County: 14.029 %Polk County14.029Grundy County: 13.928 %Grundy County13.928Haywood County: 13.692 %Haywood County13.692Wilson County: 13.651 %Wilson County13.651Jackson County: 13.537 %Jackson County13.537Trousdale County: 13.381 %Trousdale County13.381Lauderdale County: 13.04 %Lauderdale County13.04Greene County: 13.026 %Greene County13.026Jefferson County: 12.868 %Jefferson County12.868Williamson County: 12.683 %Williamson County12.683Macon County: 12.628 %Macon County12.628Humphreys County: 12.446 %Humphreys County12.446Benton County: 12.414 %Benton County12.414Marshall County: 12.381 %Marshall County12.381Shelby County: 12.362 %Shelby County12.362Carter County: 12.284 %Carter County12.284Sevier County: 12.217 %Sevier County12.217Sumner County: 12.147 %Sumner County12.147Gibson County: 12.082 %Gibson County12.082Dyer County: 12.079 %Dyer County12.079Bradley County: 11.764 %Bradley County11.764Rutherford County: 11.688 %Rutherford County11.688Maury County: 11.611 %Maury County11.611Cannon County: 11.57 %Cannon County11.57Loudon County: 11.366 %Loudon County11.366Davidson County: 11.117 %Davidson County11.117Bledsoe County: 10.973 %Bledsoe County10.973Lake County: 10.951 %Lake County10.951Carroll County: 10.933 %Carroll County10.933
%. 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

RankCounties2023 (%)Change on 2022
1Clay County32.383+15.21 pts
2Claiborne County26.667+19.27 pts
3Hardeman County20.779+5.14 pts
4Grainger County19.002+9.88 pts
5Lewis County15.991+0.9 pts
6Pickett County14.984+1.19 pts
7Meigs County14.897+10.95 pts
8Henderson County14.652+5.46 pts
9Houston County14.641-1.71 pts
10Overton County14.639+6.4 pts
11Union County14.319+5.59 pts
12Polk County14.029-3.36 pts
13Grundy County13.928-6.44 pts
14Haywood County13.692+2.75 pts
15Wilson County13.651+4.02 pts
16Jackson County13.537+2.98 pts
17Trousdale County13.381+5.7 pts
18Lauderdale County13.04+1.5 pts
19Greene County13.026+4.27 pts
20Jefferson County12.868+1.63 pts
21Williamson County12.683-0.35 pts
22Macon County12.628+3.24 pts
23Humphreys County12.446-0.59 pts
24Benton County12.414+1.68 pts
25Marshall County12.381-1.37 pts
26Shelby County12.362-0.44 pts
27Carter County12.284-0.6 pts
28Sevier County12.217+0.2 pts
29Sumner County12.147+2.16 pts
30Gibson County12.082+1.42 pts
31Dyer County12.079+1.48 pts
32Bradley County11.764+1.95 pts
33Rutherford County11.688-0.08 pts
34Maury County11.611+2.01 pts
35Cannon County11.57-0.73 pts
36Loudon County11.366+3.57 pts
37Davidson County11.117+1.21 pts
38Bledsoe County10.973-6.66 pts
39Lake County10.951-5.33 pts
40Carroll County10.933-5.03 pts
41Roane County10.86-0 pts
42Washington County10.704+0.65 pts
43DeKalb County10.669-0.61 pts
44Van Buren County10.663-2.07 pts
45Wayne County10.658-2.25 pts
46Warren County10.59-7.09 pts
47Cheatham County10.539-1.1 pts
48Sequatchie County10.519+2.63 pts
49Crockett County10.45+1.33 pts
50Madison County10.29-0.83 pts
51Sullivan County10.279-0.09 pts
52Hamilton County10.278-0.71 pts
53Hickman County10.136-1.91 pts
54Cocke County10.134-5.87 pts
55Lawrence County10.09-0.58 pts
56Morgan County10.066-1.71 pts
57Weakley County9.943-1.46 pts
58Smith County9.896+0.14 pts
59Tipton County9.89-3.18 pts
60Obion County9.856-1.45 pts
60Robertson County9.856+0.16 pts
62McNairy County9.788-6.25 pts
63Putnam County9.754+2.4 pts
64Fentress County9.584-3.22 pts
65Monroe County9.54+0.23 pts
66Lincoln County9.449-4.32 pts
67Knox County9.419-1.48 pts
68Franklin County9.39+0.1 pts
69Hancock County9.281-4.17 pts
70Montgomery County9.135-0.36 pts
71Campbell County8.983-1.74 pts
72Hawkins County8.905-2.92 pts
73Hardin County8.902-3.4 pts
74Johnson County8.764+0.27 pts
75Giles County8.73-1.54 pts
76Anderson County8.444-1.02 pts
77Dickson County8.436-2.9 pts
78Cumberland County8.337-1.46 pts
79Fayette County8.263-7.4 pts
80Marion County8.164-1.44 pts
81Henry County7.925-5.41 pts
81Stewart County7.925-2.37 pts
83McMinn County7.922-0.62 pts
84Scott County7.867-5.18 pts
85White County7.847-4.25 pts
86Coffee County7.837-1.2 pts
87Bedford County7.377-5.75 pts
88Rhea County7.046-2.39 pts
89Blount County6.977-2.15 pts
90Chester County6.889-5.93 pts
91Unicoi County6.745-1.93 pts
92Perry County6.702-7.95 pts
93Hamblen County6.435-0.56 pts
94Decatur County6.396-21 pts
95Moore County3.917-4.15 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 Tennessee by job destruction rate, 2023) [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 Tennessee by job destruction rate, 2023. 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/tennessee-counties. 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 Tennessee by job destruction rate, 2023. 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/tennessee-counties.

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 Tennessee by job destruction rate, 2023 [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/tennessee-counties (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_tennessee_by_2023,
  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 Tennessee by job destruction rate, 2023}},
  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/tennessee-counties. 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 Tennessee by job destruction rate, 2023
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/tennessee-counties
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/tennessee-counties.
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?

Clay County, with 32.383% in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Moore County, with 3.917% in 2023.

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 Tennessee: more rankings