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 2021, at 83.297%. Borden County had the lowest, at 0%. The median was 13.183% and the figure for the United States was 15.837%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest83.297Loving County
Lowest0Borden County
Median13.1833142 counties
United States15.837History

Map of counties, 2021

%, 2021. 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, 2021

Loving County: 83.297 %Loving County83.297Webster County: 79.204 %Webster County79.204Sullivan County: 68.49 %Sullivan County68.49Ward County: 58.862 %Ward County58.862Wheeler County: 52 %Wheeler County52Fentress County: 51.591 %Fentress County51.591Aleutians East Borough: 47.595 %Aleutians East Borough47.595Dunn County: 47.235 %Dunn County47.235Union County: 45.43 %Union County45.43Camas County: 41.758 %Camas County41.758Edgefield County: 41.401 %Edgefield County41.401Beaver County: 41.21 %Beaver County41.21Real County: 39.883 %Real County39.883Sierra County: 39.431 %Sierra County39.431Reeves County: 39.153 %Reeves County39.153Harding County: 38.889 %Harding County38.889Greenup County: 38.463 %Greenup County38.463Skagway Municipality: 37.838 %Skagway Municipality37.838Kinney County: 37.5 %Kinney County37.5Charlton County: 36.488 %Charlton County36.488Pitkin County: 35.949 %Pitkin County35.949Rich County: 35.692 %Rich County35.692Uinta County: 34.881 %Uinta County34.881Winkler County: 34.002 %Winkler County34.002North Slope Borough: 33.274 %North Slope Borough33.274Mingo County: 32.864 %Mingo County32.864Crockett County: 32.719 %Crockett County32.719Reagan County: 32.342 %Reagan County32.342Sheridan County: 32.065 %Sheridan County32.065Dimmit County: 31.614 %Dimmit County31.614Morris County: 31.423 %Morris County31.423Karnes County: 31.322 %Karnes County31.322Hinsdale County: 30.986 %Hinsdale County30.986Crane County: 30.88 %Crane County30.88Jackson County: 30.501 %Jackson County30.501Montour County: 30.39 %Montour County30.39McKenzie County: 30.231 %McKenzie County30.231King William County: 30.195 %King William County30.195Kauai County: 30.116 %Kauai County30.116Osage County: 29.99 %Osage County29.99Loving County: 83.297 %Loving County83.297Webster County: 79.204 %Webster County79.204Sullivan County: 68.49 %Sullivan County68.49Ward County: 58.862 %Ward County58.862Wheeler County: 52 %Wheeler County52Fentress County: 51.591 %Fentress County51.591Aleutians East Borough: 47.595 %Aleutians East Borough47.595Dunn County: 47.235 %Dunn County47.235Union County: 45.43 %Union County45.43Camas County: 41.758 %Camas County41.758Edgefield County: 41.401 %Edgefield County41.401Beaver County: 41.21 %Beaver County41.21Real County: 39.883 %Real County39.883Sierra County: 39.431 %Sierra County39.431Reeves County: 39.153 %Reeves County39.153Harding County: 38.889 %Harding County38.889Greenup County: 38.463 %Greenup County38.463Skagway Municipality: 37.838 %Skagway Municipality37.838Kinney County: 37.5 %Kinney County37.5Charlton County: 36.488 %Charlton County36.488Pitkin County: 35.949 %Pitkin County35.949Rich County: 35.692 %Rich County35.692Uinta County: 34.881 %Uinta County34.881Winkler County: 34.002 %Winkler County34.002North Slope Borough: 33.274 %North Slope Borough33.274Mingo County: 32.864 %Mingo County32.864Crockett County: 32.719 %Crockett County32.719Reagan County: 32.342 %Reagan County32.342Sheridan County: 32.065 %Sheridan County32.065Dimmit County: 31.614 %Dimmit County31.614Morris County: 31.423 %Morris County31.423Karnes County: 31.322 %Karnes County31.322Hinsdale County: 30.986 %Hinsdale County30.986Crane County: 30.88 %Crane County30.88Jackson County: 30.501 %Jackson County30.501Montour County: 30.39 %Montour County30.39McKenzie County: 30.231 %McKenzie County30.231King William County: 30.195 %King William County30.195Kauai County: 30.116 %Kauai County30.116Osage County: 29.99 %Osage County29.99
%. 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

RankCounties2021 (%)Change on 2020
1Loving County83.297+63.25 pts
2Webster County79.204+71.96 pts
3Sullivan County68.49+65.03 pts
4Ward County58.862+40.36 pts
5Wheeler County52+30.86 pts
6Fentress County51.591+41.84 pts
7Aleutians East Borough47.595+28.22 pts
8Dunn County47.235+36.88 pts
9Union County45.43+36.12 pts
10Camas County41.758+22.27 pts
11Edgefield County41.401+33.34 pts
12Beaver County41.21+27.42 pts
13Real County39.883+25.86 pts
14Sierra County39.431+28.86 pts
15Reeves County39.153+12.39 pts
16Harding County38.889+12.22 pts
17Greenup County38.463+29.03 pts
18Skagway Municipality37.838+20.07 pts
19Kinney County37.5+25.43 pts
20Charlton County36.488+29.55 pts
21Pitkin County35.949+24.05 pts
22Rich County35.692+24.11 pts
23Uinta County34.881+23.74 pts
24Winkler County34.002+19.62 pts
25North Slope Borough33.274+20.99 pts
26Mingo County32.864+14.63 pts
27Crockett County32.719+18.86 pts
28Reagan County32.342+16.51 pts
29Sheridan County32.065+23.07 pts
30Dimmit County31.614-0.29 pts
31Morris County31.423+16.4 pts
32Karnes County31.322+21.09 pts
33Hinsdale County30.986+13.92 pts
34Crane County30.88+18.46 pts
35Jackson County30.501+25.64 pts
36Montour County30.39+27.29 pts
37McKenzie County30.231+12.32 pts
38King William County30.195+19.68 pts
39Kauai County30.116+16.51 pts
40Osage County29.99+25.47 pts
41Skamania County29.916+18.8 pts
42Converse County29.691+16.56 pts
43Schleicher County29.36+16.06 pts
44Terrell County29.31+11.4 pts
45Morton County28.874+20.09 pts
46McLean County28.835-1.17 pts
47Logan County28.645+17.71 pts
48Eddy County28.378+13.64 pts
49Adams County28.344+20.5 pts
50Clear Creek County28.078+16.18 pts
51Taos County28.006+15.31 pts
52Maui County27.963+17.93 pts
53Treutlen County27.927+14.2 pts
54Williamsburg city27.885+14.56 pts
55Robertson County27.879+11.72 pts
56Pulaski County27.767+16.99 pts
57Williams County27.706+13.71 pts
58Wabash County27.687+18.23 pts
59Peach County27.548+20.51 pts
60Coke County27.309+14.29 pts
61Lee County27.288+7.67 pts
62Gaines County27.187+10.5 pts
63Issaquena County27.184+19.67 pts
64Midland County27.095+10.57 pts
65Mountrail County26.875+11.78 pts
66Harding County26.814+19.59 pts
67Yakutat City and Borough26.797+21.6 pts
68Live Oak County26.728+4.53 pts
69Nolan County26.695+12.29 pts
70Benson County26.598+14.63 pts
71Kingfisher County26.486+8.93 pts
72Yoakum County26.156+11.52 pts
73Chattahoochee County26.112+17.07 pts
74Refugio County26.029+14.41 pts
75Stone County25.927+13.85 pts
76Garden County25.917-6.89 pts
77Doddridge County25.719+3.47 pts
78Perry County25.462+17.72 pts
79Ector County25.421+9.74 pts
80Graham County25.413+3.07 pts
81Tunica County25.322+20.24 pts
82Sumner County25.272+14.16 pts
83Delta County25.146+9.39 pts
84Lyman County25.047+10.46 pts
85Lea County24.903+8.74 pts
86Clark County24.846+12.85 pts
87Cheyenne County24.814+6.16 pts
88Pine County24.79+15.23 pts
89San Francisco County24.644+11.85 pts
90Holmes County24.636+3.71 pts
91Liberty County24.565+12.88 pts
92Orleans Parish24.454+14.88 pts
93Morrill County24.442+20.05 pts
94Rusk County24.434+11.92 pts
95New York County24.385+12.65 pts
96Murray County24.351+15.96 pts
97Carter County24.343+13.39 pts
98Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area24.242-35.35 pts
99Bacon County24.189+13.77 pts
100Ohio County24.159+11.29 pts
100Patrick County24.159-2.35 pts
102Roberts County24.138+11.15 pts
103Calcasieu Parish24.128+12.62 pts
104Lake County24.069+11.26 pts
105McMullen County23.971-30.72 pts
106Madison County23.857+13.6 pts
107Seneca County23.844+13.18 pts
108Taney County23.824+9.69 pts
109La Salle County23.819+7.35 pts
110Frio County23.816+10.41 pts
111Greene County23.8+11.06 pts
112Humphreys County23.786+12.74 pts
113Stark County23.754+12.18 pts
114Haskell County23.69+10.66 pts
115Loup County23.656+7.33 pts
116Charlottesville city23.492+11.55 pts
117Jeff Davis County23.431-1.11 pts
118Guadalupe County23.333+13.2 pts
119Iberia Parish23.331+8.68 pts
120Grand County23.318+11.06 pts
121DeKalb County23.243+9.66 pts
122Hoonah-Angoon Census Area23.178+11.13 pts
123Irion County23.142+1.09 pts
124Morgan County23.05+13.97 pts
125Butte County23.045+14.46 pts
126Mathews County23.002+6.36 pts
127Jack County22.999+8.39 pts
128Sully County22.93+14.39 pts
129Grant County22.92+13.53 pts
130Columbia County22.912+18.23 pts
131Shannon County22.905+14.39 pts
132Jasper County22.892+5.06 pts
133Kimball County22.836+15.47 pts
134Phillips County22.801+12.64 pts
135McCormick County22.788-13.01 pts
136Herkimer County22.784+9.74 pts
137Hamilton County22.782+8.93 pts
138Ray County22.75+14.02 pts
139Lincoln County22.586+9.46 pts
140Menard County22.482+11.05 pts
141Atascosa County22.419+7.26 pts
142Martin County22.363+5.36 pts
143Rush County22.338+10.47 pts
144Trigg County22.253+6.37 pts
145Marshall County22.222+13.42 pts
146Barbour County22.194+15.22 pts
147Bandera County22.168+5.59 pts
148Honolulu County22.149+11.92 pts
149Marion County22.025+15.68 pts
150Switzerland County21.967+12.73 pts
151Hawaii County21.945+11.65 pts
152Dodge County21.893+12.1 pts
153Upton County21.889+5.25 pts
154Essex County21.868+12.05 pts
155Trinity County21.862+12.14 pts
156San Miguel County21.802+12.13 pts
157Buchanan County21.781+3.7 pts
158Fredericksburg city21.638+12.32 pts
159Santa Fe County21.587+11.23 pts
160Rogers County21.536+9.48 pts
161Nelson County21.505+11.98 pts
162Fairfax city21.452+9.5 pts
163Cook County21.415+3.84 pts
164Belknap County21.382+10.89 pts
165Floyd County21.369+5.29 pts
166Bristol Bay Borough21.333+3.92 pts
167Ulster County21.294+8.15 pts
168Crawford County21.248+11.83 pts
169Andrews County21.215+1.16 pts
170Iron County21.21+7.68 pts
171Denver County21.161+8.89 pts
172Dolores County21.12+5.16 pts
173Lake County21.108+3.53 pts
174Van Buren County21.081-1.65 pts
175Burke County21.071+17.32 pts
176Woodford County21.045+1.47 pts
177Canadian County21.024+4.98 pts
178Queens County21.007+9.35 pts
179Wallowa County20.997+9.62 pts
180Multnomah County20.984+10.12 pts
181Foster County20.976+13.68 pts
182Hockley County20.967+4.37 pts
183District of Columbia20.956+10.67 pts
184Stonewall County20.909+8.15 pts
185Zapata County20.908+7.28 pts
186Broomfield County20.854+5.57 pts
187Hampshire County20.833+10.35 pts
188Indiana County20.802+11.91 pts
189Atlantic County20.741+11.76 pts
190Napa County20.735+10.38 pts
191Crawford County20.695+15.17 pts
192Bleckley County20.601+12.34 pts
193Slope County20.548+10.4 pts
194Grimes County20.539+8.98 pts
195Carroll County20.529+9.6 pts
196Barren County20.503+7.26 pts
197Coahoma County20.453+1.85 pts
198Bergen County20.392+7.48 pts
199Santa Cruz County20.383+6.31 pts
200Cameron Parish20.322+9.3 pts
201Forest County20.315+10.84 pts
202Ohio County20.289+8.2 pts
203Presidio County20.282+2.87 pts
204Allegany County20.259+11.59 pts
205Piute County20.253+4.57 pts
206Marshall County20.241+11.2 pts
207Noble County20.228+4.24 pts
208Routt County20.207+7.17 pts
209Wayne County20.174-0.21 pts
210Grant County20.162+10.97 pts
211Essex County20.1+9.86 pts
212Bossier Parish20.09+7.93 pts
213Cooke County20.067+5.52 pts
214Sussex County20.063+11.32 pts
215Chester County20.057+12.35 pts
216Hudson County20.052+8.15 pts
217Mariposa County20+7.93 pts
217McNairy County20+4.02 pts
219Casey County19.947+13.02 pts
220Gasconade County19.933+9.09 pts
221Berrien County19.905+8.89 pts
222Sublette County19.862-0.36 pts
223Garfield County19.829+9.3 pts
224Roanoke city19.81-0.43 pts
225Marin County19.777+7.72 pts
226Dawson County19.759+10.72 pts
227Henrico County19.731+8.51 pts
228Cherokee County19.721+10.41 pts
229Greenwood County19.698+12.02 pts
230Elliott County19.688+9.16 pts
231St. Francis County19.685+8.03 pts
232Bennington County19.648+9.64 pts
233Amador County19.643+8.65 pts
234Kings County19.6+8.16 pts
235Coal County19.589+4.54 pts
236Duval County19.586+0.24 pts
237Valley County19.554+10.26 pts
238Los Angeles County19.541+6.52 pts
239Adams County19.521+9.93 pts
240Toombs County19.489+12.51 pts
241Beckham County19.483-1.72 pts
242Bethel Census Area19.478+7.75 pts
243Worth County19.459+6.64 pts
244Athens County19.458+8.88 pts
245Lamoille County19.441+3.87 pts
246Monterey County19.39+6.93 pts
247Haines Borough19.372-6.76 pts
248Warren County19.368+8.04 pts
249Morgan County19.332+8.95 pts
250Orleans County19.327+8.53 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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_counties_by_job_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/us-counties?period=2021.
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 83.297% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Borden County, with 0% in 2021.

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