Data / Rankings / Job destruction rate / US states

US states by job destruction rate

Montana had the highest job destruction rate of 51 states in 2018, at 13.938%. Vermont had the lowest, at 9.421%. The median was 11.002% and the figure for the United States was 11.142%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest13.938Montana
Lowest9.421Vermont
Median11.00251 states
United States11.142History

Map of states, 2018

Alabama: 10.994 %Alaska: 12.43 %Arizona: 11.018 %Arkansas: 10.761 %California: 11.499 %Colorado: 12.029 %Connecticut: 12.048 %Delaware: 11.481 %District of Columbia: 9.628 %Florida: 11.346 %Georgia: 11.719 %Hawaii: 9.884 %Idaho: 11.084 %Illinois: 11.284 %Indiana: 11.1 %Iowa: 9.625 %Kansas: 11.568 %Kentucky: 10.836 %Louisiana: 11.962 %Maine: 10.427 %Maryland: 10.84 %Massachusetts: 10.562 %Michigan: 10.581 %Minnesota: 10.256 %Mississippi: 10.785 %Missouri: 11.521 %Montana: 13.938 %Nebraska: 10.477 %Nevada: 11.561 %New Hampshire: 10.188 %New Jersey: 11.615 %New Mexico: 11.162 %New York: 11.26 %North Carolina: 10.978 %North Dakota: 11.381 %Ohio: 10.76 %Oklahoma: 11.77 %Oregon: 10.745 %Pennsylvania: 10.264 %Rhode Island: 11.062 %South Carolina: 11.288 %South Dakota: 10.443 %Tennessee: 10.668 %Texas: 12.024 %Utah: 10.252 %Vermont: 9.421 %Virginia: 10.483 %Washington: 10.861 %West Virginia: 11.002 %Wisconsin: 9.753 %Wyoming: 11.812 %
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%, 2018. 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, 2018

Montana: 13.938 %Montana13.938Alaska: 12.43 %Alaska12.43Connecticut: 12.048 %Connecticut12.048Colorado: 12.029 %Colorado12.029Texas: 12.024 %Texas12.024Louisiana: 11.962 %Louisiana11.962Wyoming: 11.812 %Wyoming11.812Oklahoma: 11.77 %Oklahoma11.77Georgia: 11.719 %Georgia11.719New Jersey: 11.615 %New Jersey11.615Kansas: 11.568 %Kansas11.568Nevada: 11.561 %Nevada11.561Missouri: 11.521 %Missouri11.521California: 11.499 %California11.499Delaware: 11.481 %Delaware11.481North Dakota: 11.381 %North Dakota11.381Florida: 11.346 %Florida11.346South Carolina: 11.288 %South Carolina11.288Illinois: 11.284 %Illinois11.284New York: 11.26 %New York11.26New Mexico: 11.162 %New Mexico11.162Indiana: 11.1 %Indiana11.1Idaho: 11.084 %Idaho11.084Rhode Island: 11.062 %Rhode Island11.062Arizona: 11.018 %Arizona11.018West Virginia: 11.002 %West Virginia11.002Alabama: 10.994 %Alabama10.994North Carolina: 10.978 %North Carolina10.978Washington: 10.861 %Washington10.861Maryland: 10.84 %Maryland10.84Kentucky: 10.836 %Kentucky10.836Mississippi: 10.785 %Mississippi10.785Arkansas: 10.761 %Arkansas10.761Ohio: 10.76 %Ohio10.76Oregon: 10.745 %Oregon10.745Tennessee: 10.668 %Tennessee10.668Michigan: 10.581 %Michigan10.581Massachusetts: 10.562 %Massachusetts10.562Virginia: 10.483 %Virginia10.483Nebraska: 10.477 %Nebraska10.477South Dakota: 10.443 %South Dakota10.443Maine: 10.427 %Maine10.427Pennsylvania: 10.264 %Pennsylvania10.264Minnesota: 10.256 %Minnesota10.256Utah: 10.252 %Utah10.252New Hampshire: 10.188 %New Hampshire10.188Hawaii: 9.884 %Hawaii9.884Wisconsin: 9.753 %Wisconsin9.753District of Columbia: 9.628 %District of Columbia9.628Iowa: 9.625 %Iowa9.625Vermont: 9.421 %Vermont9.421Montana: 13.938 %Montana13.938Alaska: 12.43 %Alaska12.43Connecticut: 12.048 %Connecticut12.048Colorado: 12.029 %Colorado12.029Texas: 12.024 %Texas12.024Louisiana: 11.962 %Louisiana11.962Wyoming: 11.812 %Wyoming11.812Oklahoma: 11.77 %Oklahoma11.77Georgia: 11.719 %Georgia11.719New Jersey: 11.615 %New Jersey11.615Kansas: 11.568 %Kansas11.568Nevada: 11.561 %Nevada11.561Missouri: 11.521 %Missouri11.521California: 11.499 %California11.499Delaware: 11.481 %Delaware11.481North Dakota: 11.381 %North Dakota11.381Florida: 11.346 %Florida11.346South Carolina: 11.288 %South Carolina11.288Illinois: 11.284 %Illinois11.284New York: 11.26 %New York11.26New Mexico: 11.162 %New Mexico11.162Indiana: 11.1 %Indiana11.1Idaho: 11.084 %Idaho11.084Rhode Island: 11.062 %Rhode Island11.062Arizona: 11.018 %Arizona11.018West Virginia: 11.002 %West Virginia11.002Alabama: 10.994 %Alabama10.994North Carolina: 10.978 %North Carolina10.978Washington: 10.861 %Washington10.861Maryland: 10.84 %Maryland10.84Kentucky: 10.836 %Kentucky10.836Mississippi: 10.785 %Mississippi10.785Arkansas: 10.761 %Arkansas10.761Ohio: 10.76 %Ohio10.76Oregon: 10.745 %Oregon10.745Tennessee: 10.668 %Tennessee10.668Michigan: 10.581 %Michigan10.581Massachusetts: 10.562 %Massachusetts10.562Virginia: 10.483 %Virginia10.483Nebraska: 10.477 %Nebraska10.477South Dakota: 10.443 %South Dakota10.443Maine: 10.427 %Maine10.427Pennsylvania: 10.264 %Pennsylvania10.264Minnesota: 10.256 %Minnesota10.256Utah: 10.252 %Utah10.252New Hampshire: 10.188 %New Hampshire10.188Hawaii: 9.884 %Hawaii9.884Wisconsin: 9.753 %Wisconsin9.753District of Columbia: 9.628 %District of Columbia9.628Iowa: 9.625 %Iowa9.625Vermont: 9.421 %Vermont9.421
%. 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

RankStates2018 (%)Change on 2017
1Montana13.938+1.42 pts
2Alaska12.43-1.92 pts
3Connecticut12.048+0.19 pts
4Colorado12.029-0.76 pts
5Texas12.024-1.57 pts
6Louisiana11.962-1.52 pts
7Wyoming11.812-4.03 pts
8Oklahoma11.77-0.85 pts
9Georgia11.719-0.36 pts
10New Jersey11.615-0.72 pts
11Kansas11.568+0.01 pts
12Nevada11.561-0.21 pts
13Missouri11.521-0.22 pts
14California11.499-1.12 pts
15Delaware11.481-2.81 pts
16North Dakota11.381-2.38 pts
17Florida11.346-0.89 pts
18South Carolina11.288+0.03 pts
19Illinois11.284-1.09 pts
20New York11.26-0.85 pts
21New Mexico11.162-1.35 pts
22Indiana11.1+0.16 pts
23Idaho11.084-0.37 pts
24Rhode Island11.062-0.22 pts
25Arizona11.018-1.13 pts
26West Virginia11.002-1.88 pts
27Alabama10.994-0.57 pts
28North Carolina10.978-0.03 pts
29Washington10.861-0.38 pts
30Maryland10.84-0.77 pts
31Kentucky10.836-0.92 pts
32Mississippi10.785-0.38 pts
33Arkansas10.761-1.06 pts
34Ohio10.76-0.99 pts
35Oregon10.745-0.25 pts
36Tennessee10.668-0.88 pts
37Michigan10.581-0.55 pts
38Massachusetts10.562+0.11 pts
39Virginia10.483-0.95 pts
40Nebraska10.477-0.47 pts
41South Dakota10.443-0.66 pts
42Maine10.427-0.49 pts
43Pennsylvania10.264-0.58 pts
44Minnesota10.256-0.98 pts
45Utah10.252-0.96 pts
46New Hampshire10.188+0.13 pts
47Hawaii9.884-1.2 pts
48Wisconsin9.753-0.91 pts
49District of Columbia9.628-1.07 pts
50Iowa9.625-1.32 pts
51Vermont9.421-2.32 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, 2018) [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, 2018. 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=2018. 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, 2018. 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=2018.

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, 2018 [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=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_job_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  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=2018. 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, 2018
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=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/us-states?period=2018.
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?

Montana, with 13.938% in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest job destruction rate?

Vermont, with 9.421% in 2018.

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