Data / Rankings / Job destruction rate / US states

US states by job destruction rate, 2023

Arizona had the highest job destruction rate of 51 states in 2023, at 12.448%. Hawaii had the lowest, at 9.388%. The median was 10.791% and the figure for the United States was 11.059%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest12.448Arizona
Lowest9.388Hawaii
Median10.79151 states
United States11.059History

Map of states, 2023

Alabama: 9.987 %Alaska: 10.78 %Arizona: 12.448 %Arkansas: 9.716 %California: 12.053 %Colorado: 12.353 %Connecticut: 12.002 %Delaware: 10.97 %District of Columbia: 9.515 %Florida: 11.144 %Georgia: 11.659 %Hawaii: 9.388 %Idaho: 11.43 %Illinois: 10.704 %Indiana: 11.006 %Iowa: 10.038 %Kansas: 11.132 %Kentucky: 10.32 %Louisiana: 10.057 %Maine: 9.794 %Maryland: 11.617 %Massachusetts: 9.85 %Michigan: 10.821 %Minnesota: 10.079 %Mississippi: 10.768 %Missouri: 10.487 %Montana: 11.043 %Nebraska: 9.759 %Nevada: 11.736 %New Hampshire: 9.391 %New Jersey: 11.204 %New Mexico: 11.003 %New York: 10.641 %North Carolina: 10.416 %North Dakota: 10.819 %Ohio: 10.696 %Oklahoma: 10.791 %Oregon: 11.737 %Pennsylvania: 10.013 %Rhode Island: 10.508 %South Carolina: 10.969 %South Dakota: 10.008 %Tennessee: 11.187 %Texas: 11.425 %Utah: 11.268 %Vermont: 9.874 %Virginia: 11.011 %Washington: 12.338 %West Virginia: 10.565 %Wisconsin: 10.703 %Wyoming: 12.01 %
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%, 2023. 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.

All states, 2023

Arizona: 12.448 %Arizona12.448Colorado: 12.353 %Colorado12.353Washington: 12.338 %Washington12.338California: 12.053 %California12.053Wyoming: 12.01 %Wyoming12.01Connecticut: 12.002 %Connecticut12.002Oregon: 11.737 %Oregon11.737Nevada: 11.736 %Nevada11.736Georgia: 11.659 %Georgia11.659Maryland: 11.617 %Maryland11.617Idaho: 11.43 %Idaho11.43Texas: 11.425 %Texas11.425Utah: 11.268 %Utah11.268New Jersey: 11.204 %New Jersey11.204Tennessee: 11.187 %Tennessee11.187Florida: 11.144 %Florida11.144Kansas: 11.132 %Kansas11.132Montana: 11.043 %Montana11.043Virginia: 11.011 %Virginia11.011Indiana: 11.006 %Indiana11.006New Mexico: 11.003 %New Mexico11.003Delaware: 10.97 %Delaware10.97South Carolina: 10.969 %South Carolina10.969Michigan: 10.821 %Michigan10.821North Dakota: 10.819 %North Dakota10.819Oklahoma: 10.791 %Oklahoma10.791Alaska: 10.78 %Alaska10.78Mississippi: 10.768 %Mississippi10.768Illinois: 10.704 %Illinois10.704Wisconsin: 10.703 %Wisconsin10.703Ohio: 10.696 %Ohio10.696New York: 10.641 %New York10.641West Virginia: 10.565 %West Virginia10.565Rhode Island: 10.508 %Rhode Island10.508Missouri: 10.487 %Missouri10.487North Carolina: 10.416 %North Carolina10.416Kentucky: 10.32 %Kentucky10.32Minnesota: 10.079 %Minnesota10.079Louisiana: 10.057 %Louisiana10.057Iowa: 10.038 %Iowa10.038Pennsylvania: 10.013 %Pennsylvania10.013South Dakota: 10.008 %South Dakota10.008Alabama: 9.987 %Alabama9.987Vermont: 9.874 %Vermont9.874Massachusetts: 9.85 %Massachusetts9.85Maine: 9.794 %Maine9.794Nebraska: 9.759 %Nebraska9.759Arkansas: 9.716 %Arkansas9.716District of Columbia: 9.515 %District of Columbia9.515New Hampshire: 9.391 %New Hampshire9.391Hawaii: 9.388 %Hawaii9.388Arizona: 12.448 %Arizona12.448Colorado: 12.353 %Colorado12.353Washington: 12.338 %Washington12.338California: 12.053 %California12.053Wyoming: 12.01 %Wyoming12.01Connecticut: 12.002 %Connecticut12.002Oregon: 11.737 %Oregon11.737Nevada: 11.736 %Nevada11.736Georgia: 11.659 %Georgia11.659Maryland: 11.617 %Maryland11.617Idaho: 11.43 %Idaho11.43Texas: 11.425 %Texas11.425Utah: 11.268 %Utah11.268New Jersey: 11.204 %New Jersey11.204Tennessee: 11.187 %Tennessee11.187Florida: 11.144 %Florida11.144Kansas: 11.132 %Kansas11.132Montana: 11.043 %Montana11.043Virginia: 11.011 %Virginia11.011Indiana: 11.006 %Indiana11.006New Mexico: 11.003 %New Mexico11.003Delaware: 10.97 %Delaware10.97South Carolina: 10.969 %South Carolina10.969Michigan: 10.821 %Michigan10.821North Dakota: 10.819 %North Dakota10.819Oklahoma: 10.791 %Oklahoma10.791Alaska: 10.78 %Alaska10.78Mississippi: 10.768 %Mississippi10.768Illinois: 10.704 %Illinois10.704Wisconsin: 10.703 %Wisconsin10.703Ohio: 10.696 %Ohio10.696New York: 10.641 %New York10.641West Virginia: 10.565 %West Virginia10.565Rhode Island: 10.508 %Rhode Island10.508Missouri: 10.487 %Missouri10.487North Carolina: 10.416 %North Carolina10.416Kentucky: 10.32 %Kentucky10.32Minnesota: 10.079 %Minnesota10.079Louisiana: 10.057 %Louisiana10.057Iowa: 10.038 %Iowa10.038Pennsylvania: 10.013 %Pennsylvania10.013South Dakota: 10.008 %South Dakota10.008Alabama: 9.987 %Alabama9.987Vermont: 9.874 %Vermont9.874Massachusetts: 9.85 %Massachusetts9.85Maine: 9.794 %Maine9.794Nebraska: 9.759 %Nebraska9.759Arkansas: 9.716 %Arkansas9.716District of Columbia: 9.515 %District of Columbia9.515New Hampshire: 9.391 %New Hampshire9.391Hawaii: 9.388 %Hawaii9.388
%. 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

RankStates2023 (%)Change on 2022
1Arizona12.448+0.74 pts
2Colorado12.353-0.2 pts
3Washington12.338+0.39 pts
4California12.053+0.66 pts
5Wyoming12.01-0.61 pts
6Connecticut12.002+2.07 pts
7Oregon11.737+0.1 pts
8Nevada11.736+1.33 pts
9Georgia11.659-0.01 pts
10Maryland11.617+0.41 pts
11Idaho11.43+0.64 pts
12Texas11.425+0.08 pts
13Utah11.268-0.61 pts
14New Jersey11.204+1.11 pts
15Tennessee11.187+0.18 pts
16Florida11.144-0.56 pts
17Kansas11.132-0.44 pts
18Montana11.043-0.53 pts
19Virginia11.011-0.19 pts
20Indiana11.006+0.2 pts
21New Mexico11.003+0.12 pts
22Delaware10.97-1.72 pts
23South Carolina10.969-0.68 pts
24Michigan10.821-0.15 pts
25North Dakota10.819+0.07 pts
26Oklahoma10.791-1.03 pts
27Alaska10.78-2.68 pts
28Mississippi10.768-1.41 pts
29Illinois10.704-0.54 pts
30Wisconsin10.703-0.43 pts
31Ohio10.696-1.56 pts
32New York10.641+0.4 pts
33West Virginia10.565+0.04 pts
34Rhode Island10.508+1.27 pts
35Missouri10.487-0.91 pts
36North Carolina10.416-0.68 pts
37Kentucky10.32-1.6 pts
38Minnesota10.079-0.64 pts
39Louisiana10.057-1.58 pts
40Iowa10.038-0.54 pts
41Pennsylvania10.013+0.41 pts
42South Dakota10.008-0.6 pts
43Alabama9.987-1.54 pts
44Vermont9.874+0.51 pts
45Massachusetts9.85-0.04 pts
46Maine9.794-0.82 pts
47Nebraska9.759-0.99 pts
48Arkansas9.716-1.48 pts
49District of Columbia9.515+0.09 pts
50New Hampshire9.391-0.67 pts
51Hawaii9.388-0.23 pts

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 states 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.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 states by job destruction rate, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv

MLA 9

Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, US states by job destruction rate, 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 Sept. 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/us-states. 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 states by job destruction rate, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/us-states.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, US states by job destruction rate, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/us-states (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_job_2023,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: US states by job destruction rate, 2023}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/us-states. 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.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 states by job destruction rate, 2023
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.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/us-states
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/us-states.
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.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest job destruction rate?

Arizona, with 12.448% in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest job destruction rate?

Hawaii, with 9.388% in 2023.

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 states: more rankings