Data / Rankings / Job destruction rate / US counties

US counties by job destruction rate

Pulaski County had the highest job destruction rate of 3141 counties in 2012, at 71.171%. Kenedy County had the lowest, at 0%. The median was 11.078% and the figure for the United States was 11.634%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest71.171Pulaski County
Lowest0Kenedy County
Median11.0783141 counties
United States11.634History

Map of counties, 2012

%, 2012. Hatched areas have no value for this period. 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, 2012

Pulaski County: 71.171 %Pulaski County71.171Bristol Bay Borough: 61.273 %Bristol Bay Borough61.273Live Oak County: 48.313 %Live Oak County48.313Cheyenne County: 46.763 %Cheyenne County46.763Hamilton County: 42.455 %Hamilton County42.455Motley County: 41.622 %Motley County41.622Costilla County: 41.014 %Costilla County41.014Harding County: 35.294 %Harding County35.294Issaquena County: 33.79 %Issaquena County33.79Petroleum County: 33.333 %Petroleum County33.333Alpine County: 32.845 %Alpine County32.845East Carroll Parish: 31.931 %East Carroll Parish31.931Knott County: 31.499 %Knott County31.499Jefferson Davis County: 31.231 %Jefferson Davis County31.231Nuckolls County: 31.154 %Nuckolls County31.154King George County: 29.668 %King George County29.668Kent County: 29.464 %Kent County29.464Wallace County: 29.457 %Wallace County29.457Deuel County: 29.075 %Deuel County29.075Hamilton County: 28.614 %Hamilton County28.614Briscoe County: 28.571 %Briscoe County28.571Leslie County: 28.545 %Leslie County28.545Carter County: 28.409 %Carter County28.409Jones County: 27.656 %Jones County27.656Mackinac County: 27.652 %Mackinac County27.652Dallas County: 27.581 %Dallas County27.581Slope County: 27.273 %Slope County27.273Frontier County: 27.119 %Frontier County27.119Clay County: 26.965 %Clay County26.965Furnas County: 26.963 %Furnas County26.963Thomas County: 26.882 %Thomas County26.882Wayne County: 26.651 %Wayne County26.651Hamilton County: 26.62 %Hamilton County26.62Bottineau County: 26.403 %Bottineau County26.403Owen County: 25.472 %Owen County25.472Dickenson County: 25.445 %Dickenson County25.445East Feliciana Parish: 25.324 %East Feliciana Parish25.324Sandoval County: 25.245 %Sandoval County25.245Hickman County: 25.175 %Hickman County25.175Keya Paha County: 25 %Keya Paha County25Pulaski County: 71.171 %Pulaski County71.171Bristol Bay Borough: 61.273 %Bristol Bay Borough61.273Live Oak County: 48.313 %Live Oak County48.313Cheyenne County: 46.763 %Cheyenne County46.763Hamilton County: 42.455 %Hamilton County42.455Motley County: 41.622 %Motley County41.622Costilla County: 41.014 %Costilla County41.014Harding County: 35.294 %Harding County35.294Issaquena County: 33.79 %Issaquena County33.79Petroleum County: 33.333 %Petroleum County33.333Alpine County: 32.845 %Alpine County32.845East Carroll Parish: 31.931 %East Carroll Parish31.931Knott County: 31.499 %Knott County31.499Jefferson Davis County: 31.231 %Jefferson Davis County31.231Nuckolls County: 31.154 %Nuckolls County31.154King George County: 29.668 %King George County29.668Kent County: 29.464 %Kent County29.464Wallace County: 29.457 %Wallace County29.457Deuel County: 29.075 %Deuel County29.075Hamilton County: 28.614 %Hamilton County28.614Briscoe County: 28.571 %Briscoe County28.571Leslie County: 28.545 %Leslie County28.545Carter County: 28.409 %Carter County28.409Jones County: 27.656 %Jones County27.656Mackinac County: 27.652 %Mackinac County27.652Dallas County: 27.581 %Dallas County27.581Slope County: 27.273 %Slope County27.273Frontier County: 27.119 %Frontier County27.119Clay County: 26.965 %Clay County26.965Furnas County: 26.963 %Furnas County26.963Thomas County: 26.882 %Thomas County26.882Wayne County: 26.651 %Wayne County26.651Hamilton County: 26.62 %Hamilton County26.62Bottineau County: 26.403 %Bottineau County26.403Owen County: 25.472 %Owen County25.472Dickenson County: 25.445 %Dickenson County25.445East Feliciana Parish: 25.324 %East Feliciana Parish25.324Sandoval County: 25.245 %Sandoval County25.245Hickman County: 25.175 %Hickman County25.175Keya Paha County: 25 %Keya Paha County25
%. 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

RankCounties2012 (%)Change on 2011
1Pulaski County71.171+57.71 pts
2Bristol Bay Borough61.273+50.97 pts
3Live Oak County48.313+39.78 pts
4Cheyenne County46.763+39.6 pts
5Hamilton County42.455+30.64 pts
6Motley County41.622+19.82 pts
7Costilla County41.014+33.47 pts
8Harding County35.294+35.29 pts
9Issaquena County33.79+12.94 pts
10Petroleum County33.333+20.57 pts
11Alpine County32.845+23.01 pts
12East Carroll Parish31.931+24 pts
13Knott County31.499+16.61 pts
14Jefferson Davis County31.231+13.77 pts
15Nuckolls County31.154+24.01 pts
16King George County29.668+17.28 pts
17Kent County29.464+16.81 pts
18Wallace County29.457+17.87 pts
19Deuel County29.075-0.65 pts
20Hamilton County28.614+19.38 pts
21Briscoe County28.571+17.78 pts
22Leslie County28.545+10.52 pts
23Carter County28.409+11.61 pts
24Jones County27.656+15.03 pts
25Mackinac County27.652+12.04 pts
26Dallas County27.581+19.86 pts
27Slope County27.273+26.48 pts
28Frontier County27.119+8.05 pts
29Clay County26.965+9.32 pts
30Furnas County26.963+16.94 pts
31Thomas County26.882+17.77 pts
32Wayne County26.651+15.35 pts
33Hamilton County26.62+21.12 pts
34Bottineau County26.403+14.64 pts
35Owen County25.472+12.98 pts
36Dickenson County25.445+12.2 pts
37East Feliciana Parish25.324+14.53 pts
38Sandoval County25.245+15.94 pts
39Hickman County25.175+9.17 pts
40Keya Paha County25+9.31 pts
41Jackson County24.838+11.42 pts
42Jones County24.829+8.25 pts
43Carbon County24.816+11.33 pts
44Camp County24.642-10.43 pts
45Treasure County24.615+14.7 pts
46Manatee County24.508+1.32 pts
47Dallam County24.45+12.75 pts
48Clay County24.117+11.73 pts
49Lyman County24.114+10.1 pts
50Lincoln County24.064+15.12 pts
51Massac County24.053+16.54 pts
52Lafayette County23.653+9.44 pts
53Craig County23.478+11.13 pts
54McIntosh County23.404+11.37 pts
55Avery County23.373+8.97 pts
56Fall River County23.296+14.32 pts
57Jefferson County23.143+7.3 pts
58Clearwater County23.128+16.06 pts
59Ben Hill County22.942+6.14 pts
60Culberson County22.881+9.45 pts
61Sutton County22.844+12.61 pts
62Wadena County22.768+8.76 pts
63Van Buren County22.759+16.86 pts
64Obion County22.713+10.47 pts
65Mono County22.611+13.36 pts
66Harrison County22.599+11.97 pts
67Hancock County22.595-4.27 pts
68Lincoln County22.572+12.85 pts
69Larue County22.356+10.89 pts
70Moffat County22.304+11.42 pts
71Bristol County22.3+13.66 pts
72Donley County22.199+6.94 pts
73St. Bernard Parish21.974+11.47 pts
74Allen Parish21.968+11.7 pts
75Mills County21.944+14 pts
76Pike County21.89+9.27 pts
77Washington County21.818+11.92 pts
78Pawnee County21.771+10.56 pts
79Greeley County21.734+14.98 pts
80Lowndes County21.713+8.07 pts
81Yakutat City and Borough21.711-10.8 pts
82Weston County21.514+8.19 pts
83Estill County21.483+11.68 pts
84Taney County21.446+6.7 pts
85Wilcox County21.389+6.87 pts
86Adams County21.28+1.71 pts
87Johnson County21.265+6.24 pts
88Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area21.206+9.12 pts
89Treutlen County21.179-6.89 pts
90Calaveras County21.166+8.68 pts
91Judith Basin County21.16+10.74 pts
92Long County21.018+5.12 pts
93Lawrence County21.015+11.18 pts
94Sierra County20.954+10.41 pts
95Logan County20.942+15.2 pts
96Boone County20.939+9.15 pts
97Owyhee County20.886+9.53 pts
98Park County20.776-1.33 pts
99San Miguel County20.741+4.08 pts
100Lauderdale County20.733+11.42 pts
101Sierra County20.71-11.95 pts
102Socorro County20.681+9.94 pts
103Ontonagon County20.617+4.48 pts
104Meeker County20.571+8.96 pts
105Westmoreland County20.552+7.74 pts
106Benton County20.511+16.64 pts
107Wrangell City and Borough20.405+12.55 pts
108Dundy County20.397+6.05 pts
109Schuyler County20.396+2.39 pts
110Hyde County20.277+8.13 pts
111Lee County20.268+2.3 pts
112Ouray County20.238-5.02 pts
113Wasatch County20.22-9.58 pts
114Menard County20.207+3.25 pts
115Nelson County20.177+7.58 pts
116Humphreys County20.152+9.76 pts
117Madison County20.138-3.03 pts
118Piute County20.118-3.59 pts
119Hale County20.102+10.67 pts
120Jefferson County20.061-1.23 pts
121Alleghany County19.962+7.32 pts
122Randolph County19.936+9.51 pts
123Glades County19.863+12.86 pts
124Rio Grande County19.846+5.77 pts
125Buffalo County19.845+0.93 pts
126Trinity County19.761+6.96 pts
127Renville County19.741+8.51 pts
128Cochise County19.729+2.41 pts
129Jackson County19.728+5.25 pts
130Teton County19.724-1.86 pts
131Catahoula Parish19.677+6.44 pts
132Sublette County19.663-3.66 pts
133Ashley County19.656+9.15 pts
134Chatham County19.651+7.67 pts
135Sully County19.626+9.69 pts
136Putnam County19.621+5.63 pts
137Muhlenberg County19.504+6.7 pts
138Martinsville city19.497+8.87 pts
139Billings County19.482+16.52 pts
140St. James Parish19.461+6.28 pts
141Goochland County19.447+11.83 pts
142Wells County19.444+10.34 pts
143Jefferson County19.394+7.64 pts
144Gilchrist County19.38+4.13 pts
145Steele County19.355+8.96 pts
146Monroe County19.321+4.64 pts
147Eureka County19.27-17.64 pts
148Harris County19.258+7.94 pts
149Harlan County19.228+8.85 pts
150Dale County19.119+9.97 pts
151Garrard County19.117+6.48 pts
152Camden County19.098+1.6 pts
153Sherman County19.086+0.7 pts
154Clay County19.009+3.27 pts
155Panola County18.991+3.74 pts
156Wakulla County18.926+6.1 pts
157Iron County18.922+5.49 pts
158Cimarron County18.915+12.04 pts
159Fulton County18.89+11.29 pts
160Wheeler County18.881+10.16 pts
161Edgecombe County18.752+6.22 pts
162Graham County18.748+0.93 pts
163Custer County18.734+3.18 pts
164Granite County18.635+2.94 pts
165Cass County18.625+7.43 pts
166Childress County18.621+6.42 pts
167Hudspeth County18.613-1.48 pts
168Stewart County18.605+5.81 pts
169Brooks County18.6+8.2 pts
169Woodson County18.6+2.63 pts
171Essex County18.591+3.76 pts
172Echols County18.571-16.89 pts
173Oglethorpe County18.559+6 pts
174Crawford County18.553+1.73 pts
175Warren County18.536+10.49 pts
176Appomattox County18.463+5.98 pts
177Granville County18.452+10.07 pts
178Quay County18.316+0.62 pts
179Cottle County18.315-1.68 pts
180Gem County18.308-1.7 pts
181Lee County18.264+4.96 pts
182Greene County18.238+5.4 pts
183Wirt County18.217+10.49 pts
184Morgan County18.198+7.11 pts
185Powell County18.182+3.39 pts
186Somerset County18.146+8.43 pts
187Bleckley County18.141+9.72 pts
188Hall County18.1+5.68 pts
189Pawnee County18.076+10.28 pts
190Pope County18.074+8.84 pts
191Bannock County18.073+0.34 pts
192Keweenaw County17.957+5.65 pts
193Clinch County17.955+5.69 pts
194Griggs County17.951+6.28 pts
195Lawrence County17.892+6.47 pts
196Anderson County17.88+5.54 pts
197Phillips County17.859+8.22 pts
198Scurry County17.847+7.47 pts
199Sanborn County17.833-35.01 pts
200Guadalupe County17.827+0.79 pts
201San Jacinto County17.817+0.35 pts
202Oregon County17.752+4.13 pts
203Big Horn County17.75-2.27 pts
203Grand County17.75+5.45 pts
205Benton County17.738+2.31 pts
206Broomfield County17.732+0.87 pts
207Swisher County17.693+11.41 pts
208McClain County17.652+5.99 pts
209Mercer County17.629+11.22 pts
210St. Helena Parish17.618+2.12 pts
211Baca County17.607+9.56 pts
212Sharp County17.566+3 pts
213Polk County17.559+0.12 pts
214Fluvanna County17.556-5.76 pts
215Jones County17.555+6.6 pts
216Colorado County17.551-0.37 pts
217Meigs County17.54+8.29 pts
218Lee County17.513+8.54 pts
219San Augustine County17.478-3.16 pts
220Carroll County17.477-1.16 pts
221Murray County17.444+3.23 pts
222Hickman County17.437+4.4 pts
223Daggett County17.436-14.85 pts
224Aransas County17.378+4.49 pts
225Lonoke County17.357+6.35 pts
226Dixie County17.351+5.51 pts
227Mariposa County17.348+10.16 pts
228Warren County17.327+9.45 pts
229Prince George County17.315+8.01 pts
230Pierce County17.3+3.31 pts
231Monona County17.297+4.68 pts
232San Juan County17.268-2.11 pts
233Christian County17.245+1.09 pts
234Lewis County17.232+8.9 pts
235Denali Borough17.217+6.26 pts
236Arenac County17.143-0.55 pts
237Iron County17.061+6.76 pts
238Tyler County17.06+5.35 pts
239Scotland County17.015+5.88 pts
240White County17.011+5.61 pts
241Ashe County17.001+7.5 pts
242Fremont County16.983+2.65 pts
243Huerfano County16.98-4.9 pts
244Caswell County16.956+4.27 pts
245Lake County16.955+4 pts
246Gunnison County16.951-0.11 pts
247Newton County16.942-1.54 pts
248Sanders County16.927+0.9 pts
249Marion County16.889+4.1 pts
250Apache County16.888+5.33 pts

Showing the top 250 of 3141. The Excel download has every row.

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. 1 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2012 and are left out rather than filled from another source. 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 (US counties by job destruction rate, 2012) [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, US counties by job destruction rate, 2012. 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/us-counties?period=2012. 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. US counties by job destruction rate, 2012. 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/us-counties?period=2012.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, US counties by job destruction rate, 2012 [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/us-counties?period=2012 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_counties_by_job_2012,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: US counties by job destruction rate, 2012}},
  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/us-counties?period=2012. 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: US counties by job destruction rate, 2012
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/us-counties?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/us-counties?period=2012.
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?

Pulaski County, with 71.171% in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Kenedy County, with 0% in 2012.

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. 1 counties have no value for 2012 and are not ranked.

Job destruction rate: other rankings

US counties: more rankings