Data / Rankings / Job destruction rate / US states

US states by job destruction rate

Arizona had the highest job destruction rate of 51 states in 2012, at 14.073%. Iowa had the lowest, at 9.76%. The median was 11.363% and the figure for the United States was 11.634%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest14.073Arizona
Lowest9.76Iowa
Median11.36351 states
United States11.634History

Map of states, 2012

Alabama: 13.157 %Alaska: 13.474 %Arizona: 14.073 %Arkansas: 12.325 %California: 12.505 %Colorado: 12.145 %Connecticut: 10.759 %Delaware: 12.685 %District of Columbia: 11.871 %Florida: 13.001 %Georgia: 12.785 %Hawaii: 10.512 %Idaho: 11.951 %Illinois: 11.575 %Indiana: 10.738 %Iowa: 9.76 %Kansas: 10.893 %Kentucky: 11.304 %Louisiana: 12.104 %Maine: 10.628 %Maryland: 11.753 %Massachusetts: 9.82 %Michigan: 11.32 %Minnesota: 9.9 %Mississippi: 10.722 %Missouri: 11.156 %Montana: 11.363 %Nebraska: 10.222 %Nevada: 12.25 %New Hampshire: 12.318 %New Jersey: 11.926 %New Mexico: 13.065 %New York: 10.891 %North Carolina: 11.39 %North Dakota: 10.006 %Ohio: 10.958 %Oklahoma: 11.743 %Oregon: 11.322 %Pennsylvania: 10.624 %Rhode Island: 11.385 %South Carolina: 11.24 %South Dakota: 10.162 %Tennessee: 10.947 %Texas: 12.039 %Utah: 11.362 %Vermont: 10.062 %Virginia: 12.51 %Washington: 11.971 %West Virginia: 10.826 %Wisconsin: 9.856 %Wyoming: 12.593 %
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%, 2012. 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, 2012

Arizona: 14.073 %Arizona14.073Alaska: 13.474 %Alaska13.474Alabama: 13.157 %Alabama13.157New Mexico: 13.065 %New Mexico13.065Florida: 13.001 %Florida13.001Georgia: 12.785 %Georgia12.785Delaware: 12.685 %Delaware12.685Wyoming: 12.593 %Wyoming12.593Virginia: 12.51 %Virginia12.51California: 12.505 %California12.505Arkansas: 12.325 %Arkansas12.325New Hampshire: 12.318 %New Hampshire12.318Nevada: 12.25 %Nevada12.25Colorado: 12.145 %Colorado12.145Louisiana: 12.104 %Louisiana12.104Texas: 12.039 %Texas12.039Washington: 11.971 %Washington11.971Idaho: 11.951 %Idaho11.951New Jersey: 11.926 %New Jersey11.926District of Columbia: 11.871 %District of Columbia11.871Maryland: 11.753 %Maryland11.753Oklahoma: 11.743 %Oklahoma11.743Illinois: 11.575 %Illinois11.575North Carolina: 11.39 %North Carolina11.39Rhode Island: 11.385 %Rhode Island11.385Montana: 11.363 %Montana11.363Utah: 11.362 %Utah11.362Oregon: 11.322 %Oregon11.322Michigan: 11.32 %Michigan11.32Kentucky: 11.304 %Kentucky11.304South Carolina: 11.24 %South Carolina11.24Missouri: 11.156 %Missouri11.156Ohio: 10.958 %Ohio10.958Tennessee: 10.947 %Tennessee10.947Kansas: 10.893 %Kansas10.893New York: 10.891 %New York10.891West Virginia: 10.826 %West Virginia10.826Connecticut: 10.759 %Connecticut10.759Indiana: 10.738 %Indiana10.738Mississippi: 10.722 %Mississippi10.722Maine: 10.628 %Maine10.628Pennsylvania: 10.624 %Pennsylvania10.624Hawaii: 10.512 %Hawaii10.512Nebraska: 10.222 %Nebraska10.222South Dakota: 10.162 %South Dakota10.162Vermont: 10.062 %Vermont10.062North Dakota: 10.006 %North Dakota10.006Minnesota: 9.9 %Minnesota9.9Wisconsin: 9.856 %Wisconsin9.856Massachusetts: 9.82 %Massachusetts9.82Iowa: 9.76 %Iowa9.76Arizona: 14.073 %Arizona14.073Alaska: 13.474 %Alaska13.474Alabama: 13.157 %Alabama13.157New Mexico: 13.065 %New Mexico13.065Florida: 13.001 %Florida13.001Georgia: 12.785 %Georgia12.785Delaware: 12.685 %Delaware12.685Wyoming: 12.593 %Wyoming12.593Virginia: 12.51 %Virginia12.51California: 12.505 %California12.505Arkansas: 12.325 %Arkansas12.325New Hampshire: 12.318 %New Hampshire12.318Nevada: 12.25 %Nevada12.25Colorado: 12.145 %Colorado12.145Louisiana: 12.104 %Louisiana12.104Texas: 12.039 %Texas12.039Washington: 11.971 %Washington11.971Idaho: 11.951 %Idaho11.951New Jersey: 11.926 %New Jersey11.926District of Columbia: 11.871 %District of Columbia11.871Maryland: 11.753 %Maryland11.753Oklahoma: 11.743 %Oklahoma11.743Illinois: 11.575 %Illinois11.575North Carolina: 11.39 %North Carolina11.39Rhode Island: 11.385 %Rhode Island11.385Montana: 11.363 %Montana11.363Utah: 11.362 %Utah11.362Oregon: 11.322 %Oregon11.322Michigan: 11.32 %Michigan11.32Kentucky: 11.304 %Kentucky11.304South Carolina: 11.24 %South Carolina11.24Missouri: 11.156 %Missouri11.156Ohio: 10.958 %Ohio10.958Tennessee: 10.947 %Tennessee10.947Kansas: 10.893 %Kansas10.893New York: 10.891 %New York10.891West Virginia: 10.826 %West Virginia10.826Connecticut: 10.759 %Connecticut10.759Indiana: 10.738 %Indiana10.738Mississippi: 10.722 %Mississippi10.722Maine: 10.628 %Maine10.628Pennsylvania: 10.624 %Pennsylvania10.624Hawaii: 10.512 %Hawaii10.512Nebraska: 10.222 %Nebraska10.222South Dakota: 10.162 %South Dakota10.162Vermont: 10.062 %Vermont10.062North Dakota: 10.006 %North Dakota10.006Minnesota: 9.9 %Minnesota9.9Wisconsin: 9.856 %Wisconsin9.856Massachusetts: 9.82 %Massachusetts9.82Iowa: 9.76 %Iowa9.76
%. 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

RankStates2012 (%)Change on 2011
1Arizona14.073+1.33 pts
2Alaska13.474+1.32 pts
3Alabama13.157+1.24 pts
4New Mexico13.065+1.12 pts
5Florida13.001-1.21 pts
6Georgia12.785-0.25 pts
7Delaware12.685+0.29 pts
8Wyoming12.593-0.39 pts
9Virginia12.51+0.3 pts
10California12.505+0.11 pts
11Arkansas12.325+0.96 pts
12New Hampshire12.318+0.63 pts
13Nevada12.25-1.39 pts
14Colorado12.145-1.16 pts
15Louisiana12.104+0.09 pts
16Texas12.039-0.73 pts
17Washington11.971-0.38 pts
18Idaho11.951-1.5 pts
19New Jersey11.926-0.12 pts
20District of Columbia11.871+1.46 pts
21Maryland11.753+0.33 pts
22Oklahoma11.743+0.59 pts
23Illinois11.575+0.71 pts
24North Carolina11.39-0.08 pts
25Rhode Island11.385+0.87 pts
26Montana11.363-1.43 pts
27Utah11.362-1.2 pts
28Oregon11.322-0.21 pts
29Michigan11.32+0.02 pts
30Kentucky11.304-0.26 pts
31South Carolina11.24-0.48 pts
32Missouri11.156+0.11 pts
33Ohio10.958+0.26 pts
34Tennessee10.947-0.33 pts
35Kansas10.893-0.97 pts
36New York10.891-0.53 pts
37West Virginia10.826-0.01 pts
38Connecticut10.759-0.17 pts
39Indiana10.738+0.18 pts
40Mississippi10.722-0.07 pts
41Maine10.628-0.69 pts
42Pennsylvania10.624+0.25 pts
43Hawaii10.512-0.17 pts
44Nebraska10.222-0.57 pts
45South Dakota10.162-1.33 pts
46Vermont10.062-0.28 pts
47North Dakota10.006-0.31 pts
48Minnesota9.9+0.08 pts
49Wisconsin9.856+0.41 pts
50Massachusetts9.82-0.27 pts
51Iowa9.76-0.1 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, 2012) [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, 2012. 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?period=2012. 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, 2012. 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?period=2012.

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, 2012 [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?period=2012 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_job_2012,
  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, 2012}},
  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?period=2012. 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, 2012
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?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/us-states?period=2012.
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 14.073% in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest job destruction rate?

Iowa, with 9.76% in 2012.

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