Data / Rankings / Job destruction rate / US counties

US counties by job destruction rate

Jefferson Davis County had the highest job destruction rate of 3142 counties in 2020, at 81.654%. Greenlee County had the lowest, at 1.783%. The median was 10.824% and the figure for the United States was 11.326%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest81.654Jefferson Davis County
Lowest1.783Greenlee County
Median10.8243142 counties
United States11.326History

Map of counties, 2020

%, 2020. 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, 2020

Jefferson Davis County: 81.654 %Jefferson Davis County81.654Carter County: 73.684 %Carter County73.684Borden County: 71.233 %Borden County71.233Johnston County: 70.42 %Johnston County70.42Taylor County: 67.254 %Taylor County67.254Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area: 59.591 %Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area59.591McMullen County: 54.696 %McMullen County54.696Eastland County: 53.028 %Eastland County53.028Cheyenne County: 52.737 %Cheyenne County52.737Breathitt County: 51.46 %Breathitt County51.46Coffey County: 46.316 %Coffey County46.316Treasure County: 41.558 %Treasure County41.558Lincoln County: 41.314 %Lincoln County41.314Knott County: 37.81 %Knott County37.81Graham County: 37.414 %Graham County37.414Eureka County: 36.389 %Eureka County36.389McCormick County: 35.795 %McCormick County35.795Lake and Peninsula Borough: 35.577 %Lake and Peninsula Borough35.577Nowata County: 34.333 %Nowata County34.333Garden County: 32.809 %Garden County32.809McCulloch County: 32.158 %McCulloch County32.158Dimmit County: 31.909 %Dimmit County31.909Roger Mills County: 31.481 %Roger Mills County31.481Mills County: 30.274 %Mills County30.274McLean County: 30.004 %McLean County30.004Harlan County: 29.577 %Harlan County29.577Anderson County: 29.518 %Anderson County29.518Rush County: 29.011 %Rush County29.011Lyon County: 28.956 %Lyon County28.956Foard County: 28.758 %Foard County28.758Crittenden County: 28.502 %Crittenden County28.502Thurston County: 28.34 %Thurston County28.34Thomas County: 28.157 %Thomas County28.157Roane County: 27.929 %Roane County27.929Johnson County: 27.874 %Johnson County27.874Sherman County: 27.379 %Sherman County27.379Trego County: 27.262 %Trego County27.262Oscoda County: 26.89 %Oscoda County26.89Gilpin County: 26.868 %Gilpin County26.868Reeves County: 26.763 %Reeves County26.763Jefferson Davis County: 81.654 %Jefferson Davis County81.654Carter County: 73.684 %Carter County73.684Borden County: 71.233 %Borden County71.233Johnston County: 70.42 %Johnston County70.42Taylor County: 67.254 %Taylor County67.254Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area: 59.591 %Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area59.591McMullen County: 54.696 %McMullen County54.696Eastland County: 53.028 %Eastland County53.028Cheyenne County: 52.737 %Cheyenne County52.737Breathitt County: 51.46 %Breathitt County51.46Coffey County: 46.316 %Coffey County46.316Treasure County: 41.558 %Treasure County41.558Lincoln County: 41.314 %Lincoln County41.314Knott County: 37.81 %Knott County37.81Graham County: 37.414 %Graham County37.414Eureka County: 36.389 %Eureka County36.389McCormick County: 35.795 %McCormick County35.795Lake and Peninsula Borough: 35.577 %Lake and Peninsula Borough35.577Nowata County: 34.333 %Nowata County34.333Garden County: 32.809 %Garden County32.809McCulloch County: 32.158 %McCulloch County32.158Dimmit County: 31.909 %Dimmit County31.909Roger Mills County: 31.481 %Roger Mills County31.481Mills County: 30.274 %Mills County30.274McLean County: 30.004 %McLean County30.004Harlan County: 29.577 %Harlan County29.577Anderson County: 29.518 %Anderson County29.518Rush County: 29.011 %Rush County29.011Lyon County: 28.956 %Lyon County28.956Foard County: 28.758 %Foard County28.758Crittenden County: 28.502 %Crittenden County28.502Thurston County: 28.34 %Thurston County28.34Thomas County: 28.157 %Thomas County28.157Roane County: 27.929 %Roane County27.929Johnson County: 27.874 %Johnson County27.874Sherman County: 27.379 %Sherman County27.379Trego County: 27.262 %Trego County27.262Oscoda County: 26.89 %Oscoda County26.89Gilpin County: 26.868 %Gilpin County26.868Reeves County: 26.763 %Reeves County26.763
%. 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
1Jefferson Davis County81.654+76.06 pts
2Carter County73.684+54.33 pts
3Borden County71.233+61.13 pts
4Johnston County70.42+61 pts
5Taylor County67.254+59.96 pts
6Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area59.591+25.8 pts
7McMullen County54.696+37.28 pts
8Eastland County53.028+33.73 pts
9Cheyenne County52.737+39.59 pts
10Breathitt County51.46+43.13 pts
11Coffey County46.316+33.91 pts
12Treasure County41.558+38.74 pts
13Lincoln County41.314+35.12 pts
14Knott County37.81+26.86 pts
15Graham County37.414+24.97 pts
16Eureka County36.389+27.54 pts
17McCormick County35.795+25.73 pts
18Lake and Peninsula Borough35.577+26.55 pts
19Nowata County34.333+24.05 pts
20Garden County32.809+19.78 pts
21McCulloch County32.158+8.59 pts
22Dimmit County31.909+26.85 pts
23Roger Mills County31.481+16.61 pts
24Mills County30.274+16.41 pts
25McLean County30.004+16.47 pts
26Harlan County29.577+19.75 pts
27Anderson County29.518+22.22 pts
28Rush County29.011+22.49 pts
29Lyon County28.956+12.54 pts
30Foard County28.758+21.26 pts
31Crittenden County28.502+15.41 pts
32Thurston County28.34+9.72 pts
33Thomas County28.157+24.66 pts
34Roane County27.929+16.88 pts
35Johnson County27.874+14.6 pts
36Sherman County27.379+14.81 pts
37Trego County27.262+22.49 pts
38Oscoda County26.89+19.21 pts
39Gilpin County26.868+16.53 pts
40Reeves County26.763+16.16 pts
41Briscoe County26.718-9.24 pts
42Harding County26.667+17.58 pts
43Patrick County26.512+20.87 pts
44Buffalo County26.263+21.34 pts
45Carroll County26.178+7.03 pts
46Haines Borough26.129+14.96 pts
47Liberty County26.034+17.16 pts
48Jasper County25.932+21.91 pts
49Allen County25.447+18.01 pts
50Giles County25.294+17.85 pts
51Hanson County25.054+10.02 pts
52Allendale County25+20.33 pts
53Ellis County24.986+15.63 pts
54Wrangell City and Borough24.947-18.48 pts
55Perry County24.941+17.01 pts
56Muhlenberg County24.758+10.09 pts
57Jeff Davis County24.54+11.24 pts
58Wheatland County24.48+13.28 pts
59Caribou County24.177+0.63 pts
60Morgan County24.17+10.12 pts
61Ashley County24.151+14.55 pts
62Bayfield County23.958+7.18 pts
63Warren County23.474+17.11 pts
64Nance County23.269+8.31 pts
65Franklin County23.238+12.66 pts
66Motley County23.158+4.64 pts
67Grand Isle County23.043+12.28 pts
68Weston County22.925+14.59 pts
69Howard County22.863+14.29 pts
70Van Buren County22.727+15.82 pts
71Alpine County22.442+13.19 pts
72Cherry County22.401+9.64 pts
73Graham County22.344+5.47 pts
74Wayne County22.343+12.08 pts
75Edmonson County22.311+11.23 pts
76Doddridge County22.253+9.95 pts
77Niobrara County22.251+7.98 pts
78Live Oak County22.2+15.27 pts
79Jones County22.177+13.14 pts
80Monroe County22.158+14.43 pts
81Clark County22.145+10.66 pts
82Irion County22.05+8.94 pts
83Harrison County22.013+8.34 pts
84Major County21.946+7.65 pts
85Atoka County21.679+12.92 pts
86Knox County21.647+11.84 pts
87Hyde County21.465+6.47 pts
88Van Buren County21.293+10.09 pts
89Taylor County21.224+13.88 pts
90Beckham County21.201+6.52 pts
91Freestone County21.161+2.8 pts
92Cochran County21.142-2.39 pts
93Wheeler County21.138+7.29 pts
94Holmes County20.922+8.66 pts
95McIntosh County20.894+9.65 pts
96Marion County20.882+9.68 pts
97Crosby County20.848+15.83 pts
98Boise County20.557+12.22 pts
99Macon County20.483+14.69 pts
100Eagle County20.442+11.01 pts
101Calloway County20.403+11.88 pts
102Wayne County20.383-3.72 pts
103Webster County20.325+14.61 pts
104Talbot County20.273+11.91 pts
105Roanoke city20.241+12.82 pts
106Sublette County20.224+5.98 pts
107Kemper County20.193+10.44 pts
108Ripley County20.179+8.06 pts
109Lafayette County20.153+5.89 pts
110Sitka City and Borough20.098+10.02 pts
111Andrews County20.059+11.27 pts
112Loving County20.049+9.36 pts
113Parmer County20.046+15.12 pts
114Hampton County19.991+10.37 pts
115Copiah County19.99+14.71 pts
116Pike County19.983+9.13 pts
117Howard County19.977+13.08 pts
118Madison County19.892-0.45 pts
119Keweenaw County19.732+9.21 pts
120Lyon County19.721+11.53 pts
121Copper River Census Area19.72+5.44 pts
122Comanche County19.681+9.22 pts
123Rice County19.635+4.64 pts
124Lee County19.621+10.98 pts
125Big Horn County19.605+11.17 pts
126Woodford County19.572+13.69 pts
127Camas County19.487+1.08 pts
128San Saba County19.438+6.64 pts
129Aleutians East Borough19.376+11.6 pts
130Marion County19.374+7.72 pts
131Montgomery County19.37+14.54 pts
132Tripp County19.363+10.84 pts
133Petroleum County19.355-10.95 pts
134Duval County19.343+12.32 pts
135Montgomery County19.34+5.62 pts
136Lincoln County19.331+8.54 pts
137Baylor County19.288+10.22 pts
138Charlotte County19.287+10.61 pts
139Worth County19.244+9.79 pts
140Goshen County19.207+5.34 pts
141Moore County19.19+16.94 pts
142Murray County19.045+4.49 pts
143Cheyenne County18.992+12.1 pts
144Rio Arriba County18.911+10.74 pts
145Somervell County18.909+8.28 pts
146McCook County18.897+5.81 pts
147Dickens County18.876+5.97 pts
148Kusilvak Census Area18.871+3.08 pts
149Poinsett County18.863+5.95 pts
150Rock County18.862+10.23 pts
151Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area18.84+8.18 pts
152Ste. Genevieve County18.832+11.74 pts
153Scurry County18.823+10.43 pts
154Hidalgo County18.807+4.9 pts
155Mineral County18.705+4.91 pts
156Snyder County18.667+9.07 pts
157Cheyenne County18.658+12.58 pts
158Bennett County18.636+2.03 pts
159Pulaski County18.633+10.84 pts
160Telfair County18.627+12.93 pts
161Calhoun County18.606+5.61 pts
162Coahoma County18.603+11.41 pts
163Fayette County18.593+7.93 pts
164Newton County18.559+3.51 pts
165Prince George County18.544-12.61 pts
166Ouray County18.538+4.58 pts
167Archer County18.53-4.75 pts
168Stone County18.517+3.65 pts
169Clinton County18.515+12.04 pts
170Ward County18.505+11.49 pts
171Halifax County18.49+7.91 pts
172McDowell County18.423+3.34 pts
173Pickaway County18.393+5.81 pts
174Meigs County18.388+4.26 pts
174Nemaha County18.388+2.62 pts
176Chattooga County18.38+10.95 pts
177Marshall County18.369+9.5 pts
178Washita County18.306+5.44 pts
179New Kent County18.289+8.5 pts
180Cumberland County18.236+5.41 pts
180Mingo County18.236+0.96 pts
182Washington County18.144+7.38 pts
183Newton County18.134+9.68 pts
184Letcher County18.112+3.58 pts
185Lipscomb County18.098+8.63 pts
186Meade County18.097+11.71 pts
187Buchanan County18.085+9.22 pts
188Poquoson city18.068+1.67 pts
189Morgan County18.063+11.64 pts
190Daggett County18.018+7.64 pts
191Logan County17.98+6.63 pts
192Chicot County17.918+10.2 pts
193McKenzie County17.916+10.49 pts
194Lewis County17.914+2.88 pts
195Terrell County17.91+10.5 pts
196Cameron County17.898+10.95 pts
197Rio Grande County17.893+3.84 pts
198Jackson County17.874+2.04 pts
199Northampton County17.844+13.29 pts
200Jasper County17.834+7.42 pts
201Owen County17.831-3.26 pts
202Bracken County17.822+5.8 pts
202Shackelford County17.822-17.08 pts
204Skagway Municipality17.771-12.5 pts
205Grant County17.746+1.32 pts
205Howard County17.746+9.44 pts
207Floyd County17.667+8.05 pts
208Hickory County17.65+10.36 pts
209Lincoln County17.62+6.32 pts
210Lake County17.581+6.55 pts
211Cook County17.579+5.62 pts
212Lincoln County17.571+7.73 pts
213Kingfisher County17.555+4.9 pts
214Adams County17.554+4.63 pts
215Waseca County17.53+6.2 pts
216Monroe County17.477+3.2 pts
217Madison County17.451+5.12 pts
218Caswell County17.446-1.33 pts
219Presidio County17.415-0.33 pts
220Bristol Bay Borough17.414-4 pts
221Broadwater County17.371+0.58 pts
222Lincoln County17.37+6.73 pts
223Cass County17.364+8.61 pts
224Mayes County17.282+10.56 pts
225Alcona County17.256+10.63 pts
226Douglas County17.25+4.47 pts
227Piscataquis County17.243+4.99 pts
228Van Zandt County17.225+4.24 pts
229Parke County17.211+9.53 pts
230Colfax County17.193+13.67 pts
231Tensas Parish17.155+6.43 pts
232Park County17.152-0.52 pts
233Mason County17.139+2.41 pts
234Gosper County17.125-3.5 pts
235Garrard County17.122+2.13 pts
236Berrien County17.113+1.83 pts
237McClain County17.083+5.5 pts
238Hinsdale County17.065+3.27 pts
239Searcy County17.035+3.97 pts
240La Paz County17.022+7.34 pts
241Ontonagon County17.006+3.68 pts
242Martin County17.001+1.04 pts
243Morgan County16.848+7.6 pts
244Livingston County16.837-4.99 pts
245St. Clair County16.822+7.74 pts
246Beaver County16.807+3.3 pts
247Kalkaska County16.748+6.48 pts
248Oregon County16.726+9.26 pts
249San Juan County16.698+0.03 pts
250Gaines County16.69+1.39 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, 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, US counties 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/us-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. US counties 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/us-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, US counties 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/us-counties?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_counties_by_job_2020,
  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, 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/us-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: US counties 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/us-counties?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/us-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?

Jefferson Davis County, with 81.654% in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Greenlee County, with 1.783% 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

US counties: more rankings