Data / Rankings / Job destruction rate / Counties in Tennessee

Counties in Tennessee by job destruction rate

Lincoln County had the highest job destruction rate of 95 counties in 2020, at 41.314%. Johnson County had the lowest, at 5.077%. The median was 10.243% and the figure for Tennessee was 10.775%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest41.314Lincoln County
Lowest5.077Johnson County
Median10.24395 counties
Tennessee10.775History

Map of counties, 2020

Anderson County: 6.128 %Bedford County: 9.973 %Benton County: 11.286 %Bledsoe County: 5.189 %Blount County: 9.758 %Bradley County: 10.368 %Campbell County: 11.766 %Cannon County: 14.465 %Carroll County: 10.208 %Carter County: 9.741 %Cheatham County: 12.149 %Chester County: 7.703 %Claiborne County: 6.693 %Clay County: 12.705 %Cocke County: 15.095 %Coffee County: 9.345 %Crockett County: 5.334 %Cumberland County: 14.502 %Davidson County: 11.36 %Decatur County: 8.736 %DeKalb County: 13.586 %Dickson County: 10.424 %Dyer County: 14.665 %Fayette County: 8.826 %Fentress County: 9.754 %Franklin County: 8.683 %Gibson County: 11.082 %Giles County: 25.294 %Grainger County: 5.313 %Greene County: 11.823 %Grundy County: 9.809 %Hamblen County: 9.648 %Hamilton County: 10.479 %Hancock County: 6.78 %Hardeman County: 10.39 %Hardin County: 7.549 %Hawkins County: 15.22 %Haywood County: 8.918 %Henderson County: 9.272 %Henry County: 10.232 %Hickman County: 10.334 %Houston County: 11.81 %Humphreys County: 12.79 %Jackson County: 9.966 %Jefferson County: 11.433 %Johnson County: 5.077 %Knox County: 9.502 %Lake County: 17.581 %Lauderdale County: 8.574 %Lawrence County: 12.848 %Lewis County: 6.483 %Lincoln County: 41.314 %Loudon County: 10.123 %McMinn County: 7.205 %McNairy County: 15.976 %Macon County: 10.243 %Madison County: 7.542 %Marion County: 20.882 %Marshall County: 10.413 %Maury County: 10.004 %Meigs County: 18.388 %Monroe County: 9.152 %Montgomery County: 11.87 %Moore County: 19.19 %Morgan County: 10.343 %Obion County: 9.617 %Overton County: 8.985 %Perry County: 10.095 %Pickett County: 16.006 %Polk County: 11.073 %Putnam County: 8.346 %Rhea County: 9.647 %Roane County: 15.902 %Robertson County: 9.743 %Rutherford County: 10.29 %Scott County: 13.034 %Sequatchie County: 6.431 %Sevier County: 10.716 %Shelby County: 10.524 %Smith County: 7.879 %Stewart County: 15.263 %Sullivan County: 11.371 %Sumner County: 10.664 %Tipton County: 11.772 %Trousdale County: 10.023 %Unicoi County: 5.871 %Union County: 8.954 %Van Buren County: 22.727 %Warren County: 9.221 %Washington County: 10.477 %Wayne County: 9.702 %Weakley County: 10.729 %White County: 10.21 %Williamson County: 13.424 %Wilson County: 9.64 %
  • Under 8.5
  • 8.5 to 9.7
  • 9.7 to 10
  • 10 to 11
  • 11 to 14
  • 14 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

Lincoln County: 41.314 %Lincoln County41.314Giles County: 25.294 %Giles County25.294Van Buren County: 22.727 %Van Buren County22.727Marion County: 20.882 %Marion County20.882Moore County: 19.19 %Moore County19.19Meigs County: 18.388 %Meigs County18.388Lake County: 17.581 %Lake County17.581Pickett County: 16.006 %Pickett County16.006McNairy County: 15.976 %McNairy County15.976Roane County: 15.902 %Roane County15.902Stewart County: 15.263 %Stewart County15.263Hawkins County: 15.22 %Hawkins County15.22Cocke County: 15.095 %Cocke County15.095Dyer County: 14.665 %Dyer County14.665Cumberland County: 14.502 %Cumberland County14.502Cannon County: 14.465 %Cannon County14.465DeKalb County: 13.586 %DeKalb County13.586Williamson County: 13.424 %Williamson County13.424Scott County: 13.034 %Scott County13.034Lawrence County: 12.848 %Lawrence County12.848Humphreys County: 12.79 %Humphreys County12.79Clay County: 12.705 %Clay County12.705Cheatham County: 12.149 %Cheatham County12.149Montgomery County: 11.87 %Montgomery County11.87Greene County: 11.823 %Greene County11.823Houston County: 11.81 %Houston County11.81Tipton County: 11.772 %Tipton County11.772Campbell County: 11.766 %Campbell County11.766Jefferson County: 11.433 %Jefferson County11.433Sullivan County: 11.371 %Sullivan County11.371Davidson County: 11.36 %Davidson County11.36Benton County: 11.286 %Benton County11.286Gibson County: 11.082 %Gibson County11.082Polk County: 11.073 %Polk County11.073Weakley County: 10.729 %Weakley County10.729Sevier County: 10.716 %Sevier County10.716Sumner County: 10.664 %Sumner County10.664Shelby County: 10.524 %Shelby County10.524Hamilton County: 10.479 %Hamilton County10.479Washington County: 10.477 %Washington County10.477Lincoln County: 41.314 %Lincoln County41.314Giles County: 25.294 %Giles County25.294Van Buren County: 22.727 %Van Buren County22.727Marion County: 20.882 %Marion County20.882Moore County: 19.19 %Moore County19.19Meigs County: 18.388 %Meigs County18.388Lake County: 17.581 %Lake County17.581Pickett County: 16.006 %Pickett County16.006McNairy County: 15.976 %McNairy County15.976Roane County: 15.902 %Roane County15.902Stewart County: 15.263 %Stewart County15.263Hawkins County: 15.22 %Hawkins County15.22Cocke County: 15.095 %Cocke County15.095Dyer County: 14.665 %Dyer County14.665Cumberland County: 14.502 %Cumberland County14.502Cannon County: 14.465 %Cannon County14.465DeKalb County: 13.586 %DeKalb County13.586Williamson County: 13.424 %Williamson County13.424Scott County: 13.034 %Scott County13.034Lawrence County: 12.848 %Lawrence County12.848Humphreys County: 12.79 %Humphreys County12.79Clay County: 12.705 %Clay County12.705Cheatham County: 12.149 %Cheatham County12.149Montgomery County: 11.87 %Montgomery County11.87Greene County: 11.823 %Greene County11.823Houston County: 11.81 %Houston County11.81Tipton County: 11.772 %Tipton County11.772Campbell County: 11.766 %Campbell County11.766Jefferson County: 11.433 %Jefferson County11.433Sullivan County: 11.371 %Sullivan County11.371Davidson County: 11.36 %Davidson County11.36Benton County: 11.286 %Benton County11.286Gibson County: 11.082 %Gibson County11.082Polk County: 11.073 %Polk County11.073Weakley County: 10.729 %Weakley County10.729Sevier County: 10.716 %Sevier County10.716Sumner County: 10.664 %Sumner County10.664Shelby County: 10.524 %Shelby County10.524Hamilton County: 10.479 %Hamilton County10.479Washington County: 10.477 %Washington County10.477
%. 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
1Lincoln County41.314+35.12 pts
2Giles County25.294+17.85 pts
3Van Buren County22.727+15.82 pts
4Marion County20.882+9.68 pts
5Moore County19.19+16.94 pts
6Meigs County18.388+4.26 pts
7Lake County17.581+6.55 pts
8Pickett County16.006-15.95 pts
9McNairy County15.976+3.56 pts
10Roane County15.902+3.79 pts
11Stewart County15.263+4.42 pts
12Hawkins County15.22+2.24 pts
13Cocke County15.095+6.5 pts
14Dyer County14.665+7.2 pts
15Cumberland County14.502+5.5 pts
16Cannon County14.465+4.12 pts
17DeKalb County13.586+7 pts
18Williamson County13.424+2.03 pts
19Scott County13.034+3.24 pts
20Lawrence County12.848+5.83 pts
21Humphreys County12.79+4.95 pts
22Clay County12.705-0.74 pts
23Cheatham County12.149+1.65 pts
24Montgomery County11.87+0.8 pts
25Greene County11.823+2.79 pts
26Houston County11.81+0.58 pts
27Tipton County11.772+5.21 pts
28Campbell County11.766-7.59 pts
29Jefferson County11.433+0.55 pts
30Sullivan County11.371+0.17 pts
31Davidson County11.36+0.66 pts
32Benton County11.286+0.68 pts
33Gibson County11.082-2.08 pts
34Polk County11.073-4.62 pts
35Weakley County10.729+3.3 pts
36Sevier County10.716-0.4 pts
37Sumner County10.664-0.29 pts
38Shelby County10.524+0.16 pts
39Hamilton County10.479+1.39 pts
40Washington County10.477+1.88 pts
41Dickson County10.424+3.28 pts
42Marshall County10.413+3.79 pts
43Hardeman County10.39+3.72 pts
44Bradley County10.368+2.01 pts
45Morgan County10.343-0.63 pts
46Hickman County10.334-5.91 pts
47Rutherford County10.29-0.69 pts
48Macon County10.243-1.92 pts
49Henry County10.232-1.58 pts
50White County10.21+1.98 pts
51Carroll County10.208-1.8 pts
52Loudon County10.123+0.25 pts
53Perry County10.095-2.8 pts
54Trousdale County10.0230 pts
55Maury County10.004+2.32 pts
56Bedford County9.973+3.19 pts
57Jackson County9.966-5.13 pts
58Grundy County9.809-0.4 pts
59Blount County9.758+1.4 pts
60Fentress County9.754+4.09 pts
61Robertson County9.743-0.33 pts
62Carter County9.741-0.47 pts
63Wayne County9.702+2.49 pts
64Hamblen County9.648-2.17 pts
65Rhea County9.647+2.83 pts
66Wilson County9.64-0.87 pts
67Obion County9.617+0.18 pts
68Knox County9.502-0.32 pts
69Coffee County9.345+0.27 pts
70Henderson County9.272+0.33 pts
71Warren County9.221-5.83 pts
72Monroe County9.152+3.21 pts
73Overton County8.985-0.39 pts
74Union County8.954-2.94 pts
75Haywood County8.918-3.42 pts
76Fayette County8.826-4.85 pts
77Decatur County8.736-1.46 pts
78Franklin County8.683+2.5 pts
79Lauderdale County8.574+2.13 pts
80Putnam County8.346+0.4 pts
81Smith County7.879-1.48 pts
82Chester County7.703-3.75 pts
83Hardin County7.549+0.58 pts
84Madison County7.542-0.54 pts
85McMinn County7.205+0.59 pts
86Hancock County6.78-7.62 pts
87Claiborne County6.693+0.7 pts
88Lewis County6.483-0.1 pts
89Sequatchie County6.431-4.12 pts
90Anderson County6.128-2.57 pts
91Unicoi County5.871-2.87 pts
92Crockett County5.334-4.8 pts
93Grainger County5.313-4.26 pts
94Bledsoe County5.189-0.54 pts
95Johnson County5.077-0.68 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, 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 Tennessee 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/tennessee-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 Tennessee 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/tennessee-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 Tennessee 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/tennessee-counties?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_tennessee_by_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 Tennessee 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/tennessee-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 Tennessee 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/tennessee-counties?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/tennessee-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?

Lincoln County, with 41.314% in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Johnson County, with 5.077% 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 Tennessee: more rankings