Data / Rankings / Job destruction rate / US states

US states by job destruction rate

Alaska had the highest job destruction rate of 51 states in 2014, at 13.797%. Wisconsin had the lowest, at 8.643%. The median was 10.74% and the figure for the United States was 10.968%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest13.797Alaska
Lowest8.643Wisconsin
Median10.7451 states
United States10.968History

Map of states, 2014

Alabama: 11.525 %Alaska: 13.797 %Arizona: 12.964 %Arkansas: 10.691 %California: 12.097 %Colorado: 11.87 %Connecticut: 10.563 %Delaware: 11.113 %District of Columbia: 10.749 %Florida: 12.098 %Georgia: 11.438 %Hawaii: 9.098 %Idaho: 11.356 %Illinois: 10.433 %Indiana: 9.723 %Iowa: 8.911 %Kansas: 10.869 %Kentucky: 11.171 %Louisiana: 11.03 %Maine: 10.22 %Maryland: 10.74 %Massachusetts: 10.411 %Michigan: 10.2 %Minnesota: 9.43 %Mississippi: 9.819 %Missouri: 9.89 %Montana: 10.981 %Nebraska: 9.057 %Nevada: 10.956 %New Hampshire: 9.32 %New Jersey: 11.717 %New Mexico: 10.858 %New York: 10.945 %North Carolina: 10.735 %North Dakota: 10.827 %Ohio: 10.238 %Oklahoma: 10.803 %Oregon: 10.559 %Pennsylvania: 9.816 %Rhode Island: 9.632 %South Carolina: 10.039 %South Dakota: 9.099 %Tennessee: 10.184 %Texas: 12.06 %Utah: 11.107 %Vermont: 9.568 %Virginia: 11.508 %Washington: 10.346 %West Virginia: 11.646 %Wisconsin: 8.643 %Wyoming: 11.4 %
  • Under 9.7
  • 9.7 to 10
  • 10 to 11
  • 11 to 12
  • 12 and over
%, 2014. 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, 2014

Alaska: 13.797 %Alaska13.797Arizona: 12.964 %Arizona12.964Florida: 12.098 %Florida12.098California: 12.097 %California12.097Texas: 12.06 %Texas12.06Colorado: 11.87 %Colorado11.87New Jersey: 11.717 %New Jersey11.717West Virginia: 11.646 %West Virginia11.646Alabama: 11.525 %Alabama11.525Virginia: 11.508 %Virginia11.508Georgia: 11.438 %Georgia11.438Wyoming: 11.4 %Wyoming11.4Idaho: 11.356 %Idaho11.356Kentucky: 11.171 %Kentucky11.171Delaware: 11.113 %Delaware11.113Utah: 11.107 %Utah11.107Louisiana: 11.03 %Louisiana11.03Montana: 10.981 %Montana10.981Nevada: 10.956 %Nevada10.956New York: 10.945 %New York10.945Kansas: 10.869 %Kansas10.869New Mexico: 10.858 %New Mexico10.858North Dakota: 10.827 %North Dakota10.827Oklahoma: 10.803 %Oklahoma10.803District of Columbia: 10.749 %District of Columbia10.749Maryland: 10.74 %Maryland10.74North Carolina: 10.735 %North Carolina10.735Arkansas: 10.691 %Arkansas10.691Connecticut: 10.563 %Connecticut10.563Oregon: 10.559 %Oregon10.559Illinois: 10.433 %Illinois10.433Massachusetts: 10.411 %Massachusetts10.411Washington: 10.346 %Washington10.346Ohio: 10.238 %Ohio10.238Maine: 10.22 %Maine10.22Michigan: 10.2 %Michigan10.2Tennessee: 10.184 %Tennessee10.184South Carolina: 10.039 %South Carolina10.039Missouri: 9.89 %Missouri9.89Mississippi: 9.819 %Mississippi9.819Pennsylvania: 9.816 %Pennsylvania9.816Indiana: 9.723 %Indiana9.723Rhode Island: 9.632 %Rhode Island9.632Vermont: 9.568 %Vermont9.568Minnesota: 9.43 %Minnesota9.43New Hampshire: 9.32 %New Hampshire9.32South Dakota: 9.099 %South Dakota9.099Hawaii: 9.098 %Hawaii9.098Nebraska: 9.057 %Nebraska9.057Iowa: 8.911 %Iowa8.911Wisconsin: 8.643 %Wisconsin8.643Alaska: 13.797 %Alaska13.797Arizona: 12.964 %Arizona12.964Florida: 12.098 %Florida12.098California: 12.097 %California12.097Texas: 12.06 %Texas12.06Colorado: 11.87 %Colorado11.87New Jersey: 11.717 %New Jersey11.717West Virginia: 11.646 %West Virginia11.646Alabama: 11.525 %Alabama11.525Virginia: 11.508 %Virginia11.508Georgia: 11.438 %Georgia11.438Wyoming: 11.4 %Wyoming11.4Idaho: 11.356 %Idaho11.356Kentucky: 11.171 %Kentucky11.171Delaware: 11.113 %Delaware11.113Utah: 11.107 %Utah11.107Louisiana: 11.03 %Louisiana11.03Montana: 10.981 %Montana10.981Nevada: 10.956 %Nevada10.956New York: 10.945 %New York10.945Kansas: 10.869 %Kansas10.869New Mexico: 10.858 %New Mexico10.858North Dakota: 10.827 %North Dakota10.827Oklahoma: 10.803 %Oklahoma10.803District of Columbia: 10.749 %District of Columbia10.749Maryland: 10.74 %Maryland10.74North Carolina: 10.735 %North Carolina10.735Arkansas: 10.691 %Arkansas10.691Connecticut: 10.563 %Connecticut10.563Oregon: 10.559 %Oregon10.559Illinois: 10.433 %Illinois10.433Massachusetts: 10.411 %Massachusetts10.411Washington: 10.346 %Washington10.346Ohio: 10.238 %Ohio10.238Maine: 10.22 %Maine10.22Michigan: 10.2 %Michigan10.2Tennessee: 10.184 %Tennessee10.184South Carolina: 10.039 %South Carolina10.039Missouri: 9.89 %Missouri9.89Mississippi: 9.819 %Mississippi9.819Pennsylvania: 9.816 %Pennsylvania9.816Indiana: 9.723 %Indiana9.723Rhode Island: 9.632 %Rhode Island9.632Vermont: 9.568 %Vermont9.568Minnesota: 9.43 %Minnesota9.43New Hampshire: 9.32 %New Hampshire9.32South Dakota: 9.099 %South Dakota9.099Hawaii: 9.098 %Hawaii9.098Nebraska: 9.057 %Nebraska9.057Iowa: 8.911 %Iowa8.911Wisconsin: 8.643 %Wisconsin8.643
%. 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

RankStates2014 (%)Change on 2013
1Alaska13.797+3.39 pts
2Arizona12.964+0.93 pts
3Florida12.098-0.57 pts
4California12.097+0.27 pts
5Texas12.06-0.02 pts
6Colorado11.87-0.24 pts
7New Jersey11.717-0.53 pts
8West Virginia11.646-0.18 pts
9Alabama11.525+0.12 pts
10Virginia11.508-0.85 pts
11Georgia11.438-0.17 pts
12Wyoming11.4-1.73 pts
13Idaho11.356+0.22 pts
14Kentucky11.171-0.21 pts
15Delaware11.113-0.17 pts
16Utah11.107-0.95 pts
17Louisiana11.03-1.12 pts
18Montana10.981+0.06 pts
19Nevada10.956-1.5 pts
20New York10.945-0.31 pts
21Kansas10.869+0.12 pts
22New Mexico10.858-2.55 pts
23North Dakota10.827-1.47 pts
24Oklahoma10.803-0.66 pts
25District of Columbia10.749+0.57 pts
26Maryland10.74-0.88 pts
27North Carolina10.735-0.5 pts
28Arkansas10.691-1.17 pts
29Connecticut10.563-0.29 pts
30Oregon10.5590 pts
31Illinois10.433-0.79 pts
32Massachusetts10.411+0.59 pts
33Washington10.346-1.35 pts
34Ohio10.238-1.1 pts
35Maine10.22-1.07 pts
36Michigan10.2-0.38 pts
37Tennessee10.184-1.13 pts
38South Carolina10.039-0.71 pts
39Missouri9.89-0.62 pts
40Mississippi9.819-0.7 pts
41Pennsylvania9.816-1.4 pts
42Indiana9.723-0.69 pts
43Rhode Island9.632-0.47 pts
44Vermont9.568-4.19 pts
45Minnesota9.43-1.19 pts
46New Hampshire9.32-1.49 pts
47South Dakota9.099-1.34 pts
48Hawaii9.098-0.65 pts
49Nebraska9.057-1.86 pts
50Iowa8.911-0.55 pts
51Wisconsin8.643-1.13 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, 2014) [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, 2014. 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=2014. 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, 2014. 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=2014.

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, 2014 [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=2014 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_job_2014,
  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, 2014}},
  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=2014. 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, 2014
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=2014
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/us-states?period=2014.
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?

Alaska, with 13.797% in 2014, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest job destruction rate?

Wisconsin, with 8.643% in 2014.

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