Data / Rankings / Job destruction rate / US counties

US counties by job destruction rate

Loving County had the highest job destruction rate of 3142 counties in 2018, at 66.667%. Brown County had the lowest, at 2.013%. The median was 10.587% and the figure for the United States was 11.142%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest66.667Loving County
Lowest2.013Brown County
Median10.5873142 counties
United States11.142History

Map of counties, 2018

%, 2018. 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, 2018

Loving County: 66.667 %Loving County66.667Delta County: 60.586 %Delta County60.586Concho County: 58.555 %Concho County58.555Crawford County: 56.716 %Crawford County56.716Lawrence County: 53.812 %Lawrence County53.812Burke County: 49.916 %Burke County49.916Borden County: 43.396 %Borden County43.396Hudspeth County: 42.674 %Hudspeth County42.674Petroleum County: 42.105 %Petroleum County42.105Potter County: 41.558 %Potter County41.558Okfuskee County: 36.989 %Okfuskee County36.989Greer County: 36.213 %Greer County36.213Alpine County: 33.67 %Alpine County33.67Wibaux County: 32.759 %Wibaux County32.759Keya Paha County: 32.653 %Keya Paha County32.653McDowell County: 31.839 %McDowell County31.839Haskell County: 30.973 %Haskell County30.973Chattahoochee County: 30.784 %Chattahoochee County30.784Pike County: 30.759 %Pike County30.759Gallatin County: 29.63 %Gallatin County29.63Owen County: 29.6 %Owen County29.6Menifee County: 29.339 %Menifee County29.339Dallas County: 29.257 %Dallas County29.257Van Buren County: 28.603 %Van Buren County28.603Phillips County: 28.571 %Phillips County28.571Jackson County: 28.043 %Jackson County28.043Jack County: 27.826 %Jack County27.826Garden County: 27.547 %Garden County27.547Aransas County: 27.501 %Aransas County27.501Torrance County: 27.449 %Torrance County27.449Liberty County: 27.408 %Liberty County27.408Martin County: 27.28 %Martin County27.28Starke County: 26.686 %Starke County26.686Craig County: 26.335 %Craig County26.335Franklin County: 26.225 %Franklin County26.225Red River County: 26.219 %Red River County26.219Carter County: 25.83 %Carter County25.83Sabine Parish: 25.659 %Sabine Parish25.659Murray County: 25.363 %Murray County25.363Wrangell City and Borough: 25.268 %Wrangell City and Borough25.268Loving County: 66.667 %Loving County66.667Delta County: 60.586 %Delta County60.586Concho County: 58.555 %Concho County58.555Crawford County: 56.716 %Crawford County56.716Lawrence County: 53.812 %Lawrence County53.812Burke County: 49.916 %Burke County49.916Borden County: 43.396 %Borden County43.396Hudspeth County: 42.674 %Hudspeth County42.674Petroleum County: 42.105 %Petroleum County42.105Potter County: 41.558 %Potter County41.558Okfuskee County: 36.989 %Okfuskee County36.989Greer County: 36.213 %Greer County36.213Alpine County: 33.67 %Alpine County33.67Wibaux County: 32.759 %Wibaux County32.759Keya Paha County: 32.653 %Keya Paha County32.653McDowell County: 31.839 %McDowell County31.839Haskell County: 30.973 %Haskell County30.973Chattahoochee County: 30.784 %Chattahoochee County30.784Pike County: 30.759 %Pike County30.759Gallatin County: 29.63 %Gallatin County29.63Owen County: 29.6 %Owen County29.6Menifee County: 29.339 %Menifee County29.339Dallas County: 29.257 %Dallas County29.257Van Buren County: 28.603 %Van Buren County28.603Phillips County: 28.571 %Phillips County28.571Jackson County: 28.043 %Jackson County28.043Jack County: 27.826 %Jack County27.826Garden County: 27.547 %Garden County27.547Aransas County: 27.501 %Aransas County27.501Torrance County: 27.449 %Torrance County27.449Liberty County: 27.408 %Liberty County27.408Martin County: 27.28 %Martin County27.28Starke County: 26.686 %Starke County26.686Craig County: 26.335 %Craig County26.335Franklin County: 26.225 %Franklin County26.225Red River County: 26.219 %Red River County26.219Carter County: 25.83 %Carter County25.83Sabine Parish: 25.659 %Sabine Parish25.659Murray County: 25.363 %Murray County25.363Wrangell City and Borough: 25.268 %Wrangell City and Borough25.268
%. 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

RankCounties2018 (%)Change on 2017
1Loving County66.667+61.79 pts
2Delta County60.586+45.7 pts
3Concho County58.555+51.81 pts
4Crawford County56.716+33.04 pts
5Lawrence County53.812+36.63 pts
6Burke County49.916+43.98 pts
7Borden County43.396+31.02 pts
8Hudspeth County42.674+35.74 pts
9Petroleum County42.105+36.7 pts
10Potter County41.558+31.27 pts
11Okfuskee County36.989+30.18 pts
12Greer County36.213+23.1 pts
13Alpine County33.67+25.28 pts
14Wibaux County32.759+9.85 pts
15Keya Paha County32.653+25.38 pts
16McDowell County31.839+7.6 pts
17Haskell County30.973+20.39 pts
18Chattahoochee County30.784+8.56 pts
19Pike County30.759+22.04 pts
20Gallatin County29.63+4.25 pts
21Owen County29.6+8.01 pts
22Menifee County29.339+14.05 pts
23Dallas County29.257+15.1 pts
24Van Buren County28.603+10.83 pts
25Phillips County28.571+16.31 pts
26Jackson County28.043+19.93 pts
27Jack County27.826+7.68 pts
28Garden County27.547+19.83 pts
29Aransas County27.501+14.22 pts
30Torrance County27.449+17.36 pts
31Liberty County27.408+18.24 pts
32Martin County27.28-2.25 pts
33Starke County26.686+15.75 pts
34Craig County26.335+20.29 pts
35Franklin County26.225+3.3 pts
36Red River County26.219+16.16 pts
37Carter County25.83+15.76 pts
38Sabine Parish25.659+11.03 pts
39Murray County25.363+9.09 pts
40Wrangell City and Borough25.268+18.64 pts
41Nance County24.98+1.02 pts
42Bienville Parish24.905+12.09 pts
43Edmunds County24.527+9.27 pts
44McHenry County24.485+10.46 pts
45Slope County24.176-63.44 pts
46Duval County24.067-3.75 pts
47Barbour County23.996+15.41 pts
48Freestone County23.969+5.27 pts
49Presidio County23.961+10.83 pts
50Caldwell County23.732+11.77 pts
51Jones County23.729+12.77 pts
52Fairfield County23.645+15.68 pts
53Arenac County23.526+15.13 pts
54Monroe County23.384+14.51 pts
55Tyler County23.302-6.45 pts
56Alexander County23.153+5.27 pts
57Wabaunsee County23.069+6.8 pts
58Houston County22.942+12.59 pts
59Turner County22.821+6.46 pts
60Gulf County22.764+10.15 pts
61Daggett County22.707-0.68 pts
62Newton County22.583+6.58 pts
63Thomas County22.495-6.02 pts
64Stafford County22.443+10.23 pts
65Kemper County22.408+7.55 pts
66Waseca County22.324+11.8 pts
67Clark County22.313+2.27 pts
68Cherokee County22.178+15.1 pts
69San Juan County22.099+6.24 pts
70Haines Borough22.034+10.47 pts
71Tallahatchie County21.918+9.01 pts
72Douglas County21.478+4.7 pts
73Menard County21.408+4.1 pts
74Mississippi County21.385+9.09 pts
75Wheeler County21.311-28.69 pts
76Humphreys County21.263+13.67 pts
77Cochran County21.223+11 pts
78Montgomery County21.084+6.97 pts
79Butler County21.044+10.52 pts
80Jasper County20.921+11.94 pts
81Adams County20.829+13.71 pts
82Bandera County20.768+8.45 pts
83Terrell County20.741+10.05 pts
84Pleasants County20.558-2.7 pts
85Trinity County20.552+8.77 pts
86Sussex County20.332+8.42 pts
87Jasper County20.228+8.86 pts
88Jones County20.119+10.51 pts
89Skamania County20.104+8.64 pts
90Traverse County20.089+5.17 pts
91McMullen County20.081-7.64 pts
92Merrick County20.075+7.15 pts
93Pointe Coupee Parish20.052+8.13 pts
94Cheboygan County20.045+9.43 pts
95Webster County20.006+6.01 pts
96Saline County19.958+10.79 pts
97Zavala County19.942-0.16 pts
98Hinsdale County19.835-9.17 pts
99Coke County19.784-0.5 pts
100Lafayette County19.78+4.38 pts
101Cimarron County19.733+3.77 pts
102Dickens County19.658+2.61 pts
103Dixie County19.596-5.86 pts
104Prairie County19.585-2.77 pts
105La Salle County19.571-57.77 pts
106Camden County19.539-7.71 pts
107Gilchrist County19.534+9.41 pts
108Lake and Peninsula Borough19.4-1.83 pts
109Lafayette County19.37+8.57 pts
110Kenedy County19.269+8.9 pts
111Powell County19.266+5.84 pts
112Perquimans County19.255+8.85 pts
113Brown County19.243+6.54 pts
114Robertson County19.207+7.37 pts
115Milam County19.159+9.18 pts
116Grant County19.149+2.96 pts
117Assumption Parish19.127+0.53 pts
118Custer County19.101+7.2 pts
119Northumberland County19.064+9.53 pts
120McCook County19.003+0.02 pts
121Sierra County18.953-0.34 pts
122Franklin County18.918+9.14 pts
123Fannin County18.889+6.76 pts
124Lamb County18.849+6.64 pts
125Latimer County18.796-5.22 pts
126Loup County18.75+16.28 pts
127Divide County18.735+0.63 pts
128Sutton County18.706+4.84 pts
129Houston County18.657+6.91 pts
130Dewey County18.652-0.36 pts
131Oldham County18.519+12.9 pts
132Lincoln County18.468+2.17 pts
133Livingston County18.449+10.57 pts
134Attala County18.448+9.62 pts
135Marshall County18.312+7.76 pts
136Prince George County18.236+4.3 pts
137Lewis County18.213-1.07 pts
138Izard County18.076+6.94 pts
139Donley County18.059-2.4 pts
140West Baton Rouge Parish18.041+9.31 pts
141Antrim County18.029+10.19 pts
142Baylor County18.017-3.49 pts
143Presque Isle County18.011+5.71 pts
144Stark County17.98+6.52 pts
145Clearwater County17.945+1.8 pts
146Wallace County17.933+12.05 pts
147Deuel County17.915+5.75 pts
148Pope County17.893-12.2 pts
149Oconee County17.865+8.6 pts
150Buchanan County17.828+6.45 pts
151Montague County17.756-4.1 pts
152Hardee County17.746+5.53 pts
153Madison County17.731+9.03 pts
154Bath County17.703+13.41 pts
155Judith Basin County17.631+4.12 pts
156Gates County17.63+1.7 pts
157Burt County17.612+7.44 pts
158Alger County17.565+8.48 pts
159Fremont County17.551-0.33 pts
160Shoshone County17.549+0.58 pts
161Amherst County17.518+8.16 pts
162Custer County17.462-6.03 pts
163Morgan County17.422+7.59 pts
164Coshocton County17.41+4.87 pts
165Hyde County17.391+0.65 pts
166Mineral County17.34+0.27 pts
167New Madrid County17.302-13.44 pts
168Deer Lodge County17.3+5.9 pts
169Nome Census Area17.267+7.01 pts
170Wasco County17.266+9.31 pts
171Boyle County17.259+7.73 pts
172Crook County17.244+3.72 pts
173Hamilton County17.224+5.29 pts
174North Slope Borough17.217+6.92 pts
174Union County17.217+5.69 pts
176Jackson County17.201-1.79 pts
177Perry County17.186-9.97 pts
178Wood County17.175+2.96 pts
179Hettinger County17.162+5.88 pts
180Walthall County17.138-10.17 pts
181Roscommon County17.119-0.3 pts
182Lincoln County17.117+5.49 pts
183Monroe County17.11+3.48 pts
184Ouray County17.106+0.26 pts
185Cedar County17.099+4.03 pts
186Neosho County17.053+3.27 pts
187Albany County17.047+3.12 pts
188Putnam County17.04+10.74 pts
189Esmeralda County17.021+7.89 pts
190Mitchell County16.966+6.1 pts
191Swain County16.951+4.31 pts
192McKenzie County16.936-3.94 pts
193Hampton County16.931+4.46 pts
194Siskiyou County16.926+5.39 pts
195Stanton County16.894-2.54 pts
196Stone County16.872+6.74 pts
197Houston County16.863+6.79 pts
198Johnson County16.835+3.75 pts
199Nelson County16.83-2.63 pts
200Edmonson County16.826+4.72 pts
201Delaware County16.808+5.18 pts
202Lincoln County16.8+7.28 pts
203Levy County16.788+8.52 pts
204Glasscock County16.777-1.75 pts
205Dodge County16.774+4.13 pts
206Keith County16.727+6.66 pts
207Motley County16.715+6.39 pts
207Teton County16.715+1.77 pts
209Gilliam County16.667+8.2 pts
209Ramsey County16.667+5.23 pts
211Patrick County16.659-9.75 pts
212Mason County16.636+3.37 pts
213Wilcox County16.635-8.13 pts
214Frio County16.612-1.7 pts
215Bath County16.609-9.37 pts
216Alfalfa County16.595-15.01 pts
217Chouteau County16.591+5.93 pts
218Hancock County16.58+0.45 pts
219Spencer County16.556+8.79 pts
220Stanton County16.538-1.94 pts
221Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area16.53-2.13 pts
222Tyler County16.501+1.82 pts
223Echols County16.45+9.81 pts
224Mercer County16.43+6.58 pts
225Treutlen County16.425+8.98 pts
226Knox County16.416+7.62 pts
227Pecos County16.408-1.94 pts
228Shackelford County16.392+3.61 pts
229Barry County16.383+9.31 pts
230Ascension Parish16.368+4.45 pts
231Carlisle County16.349+4.03 pts
232Jones County16.341-4.88 pts
233Ferry County16.339-8.44 pts
234Jackson County16.258+2.38 pts
235Poinsett County16.231+7.26 pts
236Graves County16.229+5.78 pts
237Calhoun County16.193+7.8 pts
238Culberson County16.178+0.68 pts
239Harlan County16.169+6.57 pts
240Colleton County16.164+6.42 pts
241Green Lake County16.163+6.08 pts
242Modoc County16.136+4.24 pts
243Clinton County16.134+7.88 pts
244Carroll County16.121+6.99 pts
245Crittenden County16.115+0.37 pts
246Sussex County16.112+1.08 pts
247San Saba County16.107+6.03 pts
248Cape May County16.053+3.11 pts
249Dillon County16.038+0.61 pts
250McCracken County15.994+5.2 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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

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, 2018 [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=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_counties_by_job_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/us-counties?period=2018.
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?

Loving County, with 66.667% in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Brown County, with 2.013% in 2018.

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