Data / Rankings / Job destruction rate / US counties

US counties by job destruction rate

Slope County had the highest job destruction rate of 3142 counties in 2017, at 87.619%. Greenlee County had the lowest, at 2.119%. The median was 11.418% and the figure for the United States was 11.951%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest87.619Slope County
Lowest2.119Greenlee County
Median11.4183142 counties
United States11.951History

Map of counties, 2017

%, 2017. 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, 2017

Slope County: 87.619 %Slope County87.619La Salle County: 77.338 %La Salle County77.338Robertson County: 62.312 %Robertson County62.312Lander County: 59.478 %Lander County59.478Stevens County: 58.593 %Stevens County58.593Hall County: 50.598 %Hall County50.598Deuel County: 50.242 %Deuel County50.242Wheeler County: 50 %Wheeler County50Taliaferro County: 41.481 %Taliaferro County41.481Mariposa County: 40.939 %Mariposa County40.939Quitman County: 40 %Quitman County40Sullivan County: 37.891 %Sullivan County37.891Ballard County: 37.696 %Ballard County37.696Southeast Fairbanks Census Area: 36.545 %Southeast Fairbanks Census Area36.545Wirt County: 35.294 %Wirt County35.294Hayes County: 34.694 %Hayes County34.694Grant County: 34.648 %Grant County34.648Logan County: 34.532 %Logan County34.532Norton city: 33.82 %Norton city33.82Taylor County: 33.784 %Taylor County33.784Sargent County: 33.517 %Sargent County33.517Clark County: 33.333 %Clark County33.333Morrow County: 31.872 %Morrow County31.872Irion County: 31.809 %Irion County31.809Alfalfa County: 31.609 %Alfalfa County31.609Harding County: 31.579 %Harding County31.579Hays County: 31.259 %Hays County31.259Charlton County: 30.935 %Charlton County30.935New Madrid County: 30.743 %New Madrid County30.743Sublette County: 30.105 %Sublette County30.105Pope County: 30.096 %Pope County30.096Garfield County: 29.994 %Garfield County29.994Tyler County: 29.754 %Tyler County29.754Martin County: 29.534 %Martin County29.534Cleveland County: 29.273 %Cleveland County29.273Musselshell County: 29.26 %Musselshell County29.26Hinsdale County: 29.008 %Hinsdale County29.008Piute County: 29.008 %Piute County29.008Talbot County: 28.963 %Talbot County28.963Union County: 28.709 %Union County28.709Slope County: 87.619 %Slope County87.619La Salle County: 77.338 %La Salle County77.338Robertson County: 62.312 %Robertson County62.312Lander County: 59.478 %Lander County59.478Stevens County: 58.593 %Stevens County58.593Hall County: 50.598 %Hall County50.598Deuel County: 50.242 %Deuel County50.242Wheeler County: 50 %Wheeler County50Taliaferro County: 41.481 %Taliaferro County41.481Mariposa County: 40.939 %Mariposa County40.939Quitman County: 40 %Quitman County40Sullivan County: 37.891 %Sullivan County37.891Ballard County: 37.696 %Ballard County37.696Southeast Fairbanks Census Area: 36.545 %Southeast Fairbanks Census Area36.545Wirt County: 35.294 %Wirt County35.294Hayes County: 34.694 %Hayes County34.694Grant County: 34.648 %Grant County34.648Logan County: 34.532 %Logan County34.532Norton city: 33.82 %Norton city33.82Taylor County: 33.784 %Taylor County33.784Sargent County: 33.517 %Sargent County33.517Clark County: 33.333 %Clark County33.333Morrow County: 31.872 %Morrow County31.872Irion County: 31.809 %Irion County31.809Alfalfa County: 31.609 %Alfalfa County31.609Harding County: 31.579 %Harding County31.579Hays County: 31.259 %Hays County31.259Charlton County: 30.935 %Charlton County30.935New Madrid County: 30.743 %New Madrid County30.743Sublette County: 30.105 %Sublette County30.105Pope County: 30.096 %Pope County30.096Garfield County: 29.994 %Garfield County29.994Tyler County: 29.754 %Tyler County29.754Martin County: 29.534 %Martin County29.534Cleveland County: 29.273 %Cleveland County29.273Musselshell County: 29.26 %Musselshell County29.26Hinsdale County: 29.008 %Hinsdale County29.008Piute County: 29.008 %Piute County29.008Talbot County: 28.963 %Talbot County28.963Union County: 28.709 %Union County28.709
%. 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

RankCounties2017 (%)Change on 2016
1Slope County87.619+60.12 pts
2La Salle County77.338+48.48 pts
3Robertson County62.312+51.2 pts
4Lander County59.478+52.3 pts
5Stevens County58.593+48.18 pts
6Hall County50.598+24.5 pts
7Deuel County50.242+40.6 pts
8Wheeler County50+42.48 pts
9Taliaferro County41.481+30.44 pts
10Mariposa County40.939+7.29 pts
11Quitman County40+26.18 pts
12Sullivan County37.891+29.13 pts
13Ballard County37.696+23.37 pts
14Southeast Fairbanks Census Area36.545+18.78 pts
15Wirt County35.294+27.91 pts
16Hayes County34.694+26 pts
17Grant County34.648+13.99 pts
18Logan County34.532+0.21 pts
19Norton city33.82+19.3 pts
20Taylor County33.784+22.04 pts
21Sargent County33.517+28.51 pts
22Clark County33.333+28.36 pts
23Morrow County31.872+27.34 pts
24Irion County31.809-1.44 pts
25Alfalfa County31.609+16.05 pts
26Harding County31.579+8.2 pts
27Hays County31.259+23.52 pts
28Charlton County30.935+24.52 pts
29New Madrid County30.743+22.46 pts
30Sublette County30.105+1.45 pts
31Pope County30.096+20.64 pts
32Garfield County29.994+10.77 pts
33Tyler County29.754+19.47 pts
34Martin County29.534+9.09 pts
35Cleveland County29.273+3.67 pts
36Musselshell County29.26+14.32 pts
37Hinsdale County29.008-2.22 pts
37Piute County29.008+0.44 pts
39Talbot County28.963+22.41 pts
40Union County28.709+21.99 pts
41Treasure County28.571+23.92 pts
42Thomas County28.512+26.29 pts
43Duval County27.814+5.47 pts
44McMullen County27.724-2.32 pts
45Johnson County27.632+15.54 pts
46Henry County27.517+18.74 pts
47Walthall County27.309+14.21 pts
48Camden County27.25+12.69 pts
49Perry County27.157+15.71 pts
50Clay County27.071+16.04 pts
51Thomas County26.972+18.03 pts
52Searcy County26.809+18.02 pts
53Burke County26.739+14.77 pts
54Yakutat City and Borough26.71+4.75 pts
55Woodson County26.49+15.02 pts
56Patrick County26.406+20.14 pts
57Hoonah-Angoon Census Area26.005+2.24 pts
58Bath County25.977+16.7 pts
59Skagway Municipality25.835+6.6 pts
60Jefferson County25.532+3.9 pts
61Dixie County25.455+12.99 pts
62Abbeville County25.443+17.38 pts
63Gallatin County25.381+9.48 pts
64Ritchie County25.148+17.66 pts
65Beaver County25.136+16.88 pts
66Coal County25.113+11.9 pts
67Meade County24.842+19.04 pts
68Schley County24.825+7.26 pts
69Ferry County24.781+16.27 pts
70Wilcox County24.769+12.89 pts
71Forest County24.663+17.26 pts
72Noble County24.645+14.54 pts
73Caldwell County24.414+11.35 pts
74Campbell County24.388+16 pts
75McDowell County24.238+7.36 pts
76Jackson County24.125+17.36 pts
77Beaverhead County24.06+12.7 pts
78Latimer County24.013+13.61 pts
79McIntosh County23.98+13.79 pts
80Nance County23.956+10.79 pts
81Wallowa County23.92+11.67 pts
82Crawford County23.676+16.45 pts
83Terry County23.663+11.28 pts
84White County23.517+12.12 pts
85Custer County23.489+3.31 pts
86Box Butte County23.467+14.14 pts
87Daggett County23.387+18.71 pts
88Hardin County23.295+15.87 pts
89Boise County23.266-43.51 pts
90Pleasants County23.255+15.11 pts
91La Paz County23.241+13.54 pts
92Sherman County23.178+14.39 pts
93Williams County23.172-13.28 pts
94Dimmit County23.087-21.01 pts
95Washington County23.021+17.73 pts
96Franklin County22.93+14.87 pts
97Mississippi County22.927+12.28 pts
98Wibaux County22.907+5.48 pts
99Bristol Bay Borough22.865+12.65 pts
100Lincoln County22.67+13.69 pts
101Eddy County22.527+13.92 pts
102Sanborn County22.52+13.64 pts
103Pushmataha County22.49+10.21 pts
104Lincoln County22.481+12.72 pts
105Alleghany County22.462+16.39 pts
106Craig County22.367+10.21 pts
107Prairie County22.36+9.9 pts
108Irwin County22.309+13.84 pts
109Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area22.289-18.37 pts
110Mountrail County22.278-13.29 pts
111Chattahoochee County22.222+14.21 pts
112Boone County22.173-7.16 pts
113Kit Carson County22.119+7.9 pts
114Sully County21.931+14.36 pts
115Montague County21.858+2.73 pts
116Spink County21.809+9.74 pts
117Plaquemines Parish21.795+2.96 pts
118Dickey County21.786+9.78 pts
119Green County21.785+13.17 pts
120Sheridan County21.756+11.09 pts
121Smith County21.75+9.06 pts
122San Jacinto County21.68-2.38 pts
123Granite County21.625+11.35 pts
124Owen County21.593+11.13 pts
125Lee County21.553+4.79 pts
126Baylor County21.504+16.64 pts
127Gadsden County21.475+13.73 pts
128Wheeler County21.406-0.55 pts
129Warren County21.377+18.14 pts
130Harrison County21.253+0.6 pts
131Renville County21.252+6.62 pts
132McPherson County21.25+9.4 pts
133Lake and Peninsula Borough21.231+8.1 pts
134Jones County21.223+5.75 pts
135Bradley County21.151+8.85 pts
136Parke County21.099+14.32 pts
137Lyman County21.069+11.76 pts
138Sioux County20.91+15.09 pts
139McKenzie County20.879-26.15 pts
140Cheyenne County20.827-26.73 pts
141Winkler County20.806+5.95 pts
142Crane County20.783-4.23 pts
143Letcher County20.763+4.58 pts
144Laramie County20.751+6.67 pts
145Mitchell County20.745-3.62 pts
146Carbon County20.73+6.92 pts
147Hartley County20.645+9.69 pts
148Panola County20.637+0.34 pts
149Barton County20.6+9.13 pts
150Gregory County20.513+6.99 pts
151Ellsworth County20.508+12.21 pts
152Hopkins County20.502+9.7 pts
153Donley County20.46-6.78 pts
154Cass County20.414+7.11 pts
155Carson County20.374+10.32 pts
156Coke County20.285+9.45 pts
157Real County20.264+12.38 pts
158Converse County20.244+5.2 pts
159Jack County20.149-5.67 pts
160Pemiscot County20.113+13.72 pts
161Zavala County20.097+8.09 pts
162Clark County20.047+8.54 pts
163Steele County20.024+11.98 pts
164Edwards County19.983+11.69 pts
165Newton County19.969+7.07 pts
166Kidder County19.883+8.04 pts
167Andrew County19.879+7.98 pts
168Dunn County19.849-7.68 pts
169Scurry County19.822-0.89 pts
170Kleberg County19.8+6.67 pts
171Hood County19.767+5.34 pts
172Pierce County19.694+10.02 pts
173Renville County19.66+10.2 pts
174Franklin County19.65+13.46 pts
175Live Oak County19.603-5.9 pts
176Nelson County19.464+12.82 pts
177Magoffin County19.443+4.93 pts
178Stanton County19.43+4.14 pts
179Nowata County19.365-0.69 pts
180Reagan County19.325-6.98 pts
181Mercer County19.302+9.31 pts
182Sierra County19.294-2.62 pts
183Randolph County19.293+4.96 pts
184Lewis County19.285+3.25 pts
185De Soto Parish19.282-6.23 pts
186Sterling County19.243-63.21 pts
187Sharkey County19.193+11.57 pts
188Anderson County19.151+10.64 pts
189Towner County19.106+8.41 pts
190Bailey County19.096+10.45 pts
191Crawford County19.064-1.24 pts
192Vinton County19.063+5.77 pts
193Kimble County19.058+12.93 pts
194Dewey County19.011+6.31 pts
195Marshall County18.999+5.46 pts
196Jackson County18.989+3.75 pts
197McCook County18.978+7.97 pts
198Black Hawk County18.938+10.34 pts
199Kingman County18.912+4.58 pts
200Bland County18.879+14.14 pts
201Lyon County18.865+9.74 pts
202Crawford County18.849+8.05 pts
203Lafayette County18.833+8.08 pts
204Highland County18.826+4.56 pts
205Van Buren County18.761+2.95 pts
206Linn County18.734+8.37 pts
207Freestone County18.703-4.48 pts
208Johnson County18.685+4.31 pts
208Saguache County18.685+7 pts
210Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area18.656+7.85 pts
211Hidalgo County18.653+3.9 pts
212Winona County18.641+9.43 pts
213Assumption Parish18.593+2.2 pts
214Hamlin County18.555+8.09 pts
215Glasscock County18.527-13.76 pts
216Stillwater County18.508+7.06 pts
217Sheridan County18.493+6.88 pts
218Stanton County18.478+7.06 pts
219Terrebonne Parish18.455-1.69 pts
220Billings County18.43-4.93 pts
221Barnes County18.407+9.99 pts
222Madison County18.406+7.22 pts
223Oregon County18.35-5.77 pts
224Pecos County18.347-0.36 pts
225Wayne County18.322+8.59 pts
226Towns County18.317+12.46 pts
227Frio County18.308-10.32 pts
228Carroll County18.251+10.35 pts
229Clarke County18.246+8.66 pts
230Northampton County18.223+10.38 pts
231Waynesboro city18.222+8.28 pts
232Denali Borough18.166+6.18 pts
233Custer County18.143+5.14 pts
234Divide County18.107-23.18 pts
235Calhoun County18.093+7.71 pts
236Ford County18.076+9.83 pts
237Itasca County18.062+5.42 pts
238Custer County18.053+5.41 pts
239Tishomingo County18.048+9.46 pts
240Desha County18.037+7.25 pts
241Falls County18.02+4.52 pts
242Campbell County18.007+0.63 pts
243Clay County17.994+1.58 pts
244Richland County17.913-9.45 pts
245Alexander County17.885+6.22 pts
246Walworth County17.88+9.43 pts
247Fremont County17.876-3.22 pts
248Wasatch County17.872+4.79 pts
249Jefferson County17.841+7.38 pts
250Marion County17.817+2.62 pts

Showing the top 250 of 3142. 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. 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, 2017) [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, 2017. 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=2017. 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, 2017. 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=2017.

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, 2017 [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=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_counties_by_job_2017,
  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, 2017}},
  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=2017. 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, 2017
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=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/us-counties?period=2017.
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?

Slope County, with 87.619% in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Greenlee County, with 2.119% in 2017.

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

US counties: more rankings