Data / Rankings / Job destruction rate / Counties in Virginia

Counties in Virginia by job destruction rate

King George County had the highest job destruction rate of 133 counties in 2012, at 29.668%. Botetourt County had the lowest, at 5.693%. The median was 10.982% and the figure for Virginia was 12.51%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest29.668King George County
Lowest5.693Botetourt County
Median10.982133 counties
Virginia12.51History

Map of counties, 2012

Accomack County: 7.342 %Albemarle County: 9.567 %Alleghany County: 9.165 %Amelia County: 10.176 %Amherst County: 11.705 %Appomattox County: 18.463 %Arlington County: 12.932 %Augusta County: 9.659 %Bath County: 8.839 %Bedford County: 10.04 %Bland County: 6.261 %Botetourt County: 5.693 %Brunswick County: 12.153 %Buchanan County: 9.488 %Buckingham County: 8.693 %Campbell County: 10.466 %Caroline County: 12.392 %Carroll County: 12.936 %Charles City County: 7.719 %Charlotte County: 14.649 %Chesterfield County: 10.348 %Clarke County: 16.581 %Craig County: 23.478 %Culpeper County: 11.124 %Cumberland County: 12.152 %Dickenson County: 25.445 %Dinwiddie County: 10.647 %Essex County: 7.116 %Fairfax County: 16.517 %Fauquier County: 11.519 %Floyd County: 11.581 %Fluvanna County: 17.556 %Franklin County: 9.757 %Frederick County: 10.775 %Giles County: 9.38 %Gloucester County: 11.989 %Goochland County: 19.447 %Grayson County: 15.133 %Greene County: 10.52 %Greensville County: 14.501 %Halifax County: 13.983 %Hanover County: 9.624 %Henrico County: 14.965 %Henry County: 10.832 %Highland County: 14.237 %Isle of Wight County: 8.454 %James City County: 12.759 %King and Queen County: 11.602 %King George County: 29.668 %King William County: 9.358 %Lancaster County: 14.045 %Lee County: 9.506 %Loudoun County: 10.487 %Louisa County: 12.021 %Lunenburg County: 8.876 %Madison County: 11.353 %Mathews County: 12.012 %Mecklenburg County: 10.982 %Middlesex County: 11.376 %Montgomery County: 9.905 %Nelson County: 20.177 %New Kent County: 12.489 %Northampton County: 12.535 %Northumberland County: 16.143 %Nottoway County: 10.077 %Orange County: 10.429 %Page County: 12.192 %Patrick County: 8.538 %Pittsylvania County: 9.818 %Powhatan County: 12.133 %Prince Edward County: 12.017 %Prince George County: 17.315 %Prince William County: 12.269 %Pulaski County: 9.223 %Rappahannock County: 13.278 %Richmond County: 13.179 %Roanoke County: 10.855 %Rockbridge County: 9.89 %Rockingham County: 6.904 %Russell County: 15.867 %Scott County: 11.649 %Shenandoah County: 12.073 %Smyth County: 9.609 %Southampton County: 8.459 %Spotsylvania County: 13.333 %Stafford County: 15.519 %Surry County: 8.228 %Sussex County: 14.325 %Tazewell County: 10.78 %Warren County: 10.297 %Washington County: 10.117 %Westmoreland County: 20.552 %Wise County: 9.706 %Wythe County: 8.626 %York County: 10.601 %Alexandria city: 12.045 %Bristol city: 11.211 %Buena Vista city: 15.724 %Charlottesville city: 9.836 %Chesapeake city: 13.691 %Colonial Heights city: 9.442 %Covington city: 6.209 %Danville city: 8.84 %Emporia city: 11.114 %Fairfax city: 10.418 %Falls Church city: 11.382 %Franklin city: 6.813 %Fredericksburg city: 7.741 %Galax city: 8.661 %Hampton city: 13.761 %Harrisonburg city: 10.018 %Hopewell city: 8.844 %Lexington city: 9.641 %Lynchburg city: 9.655 %Manassas city: 7.842 %Manassas Park city: 13.319 %Martinsville city: 19.497 %Newport News city: 11.366 %Norfolk city: 13.229 %Norton city: 8.557 %Petersburg city: 7.432 %Poquoson city: 11.892 %Portsmouth city: 15.17 %Radford city: 14.823 %Richmond city: 11.642 %Roanoke city: 8.149 %Salem city: 8.587 %Staunton city: 8.192 %Suffolk city: 14.373 %Virginia Beach city: 11.7 %Waynesboro city: 9.525 %Williamsburg city: 6.442 %Winchester city: 7.471 %
  • Under 8.7
  • 8.7 to 9.8
  • 9.8 to 11
  • 11 to 12
  • 12 to 14
  • 14 and over
%, 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.

Top 40 counties, 2012

King George County: 29.668 %King George County29.668Dickenson County: 25.445 %Dickenson County25.445Craig County: 23.478 %Craig County23.478Westmoreland County: 20.552 %Westmoreland County20.552Nelson County: 20.177 %Nelson County20.177Martinsville city: 19.497 %Martinsville city19.497Goochland County: 19.447 %Goochland County19.447Appomattox County: 18.463 %Appomattox County18.463Fluvanna County: 17.556 %Fluvanna County17.556Prince George County: 17.315 %Prince George County17.315Clarke County: 16.581 %Clarke County16.581Fairfax County: 16.517 %Fairfax County16.517Northumberland County: 16.143 %Northumberland County16.143Russell County: 15.867 %Russell County15.867Buena Vista city: 15.724 %Buena Vista city15.724Stafford County: 15.519 %Stafford County15.519Portsmouth city: 15.17 %Portsmouth city15.17Grayson County: 15.133 %Grayson County15.133Henrico County: 14.965 %Henrico County14.965Radford city: 14.823 %Radford city14.823Charlotte County: 14.649 %Charlotte County14.649Greensville County: 14.501 %Greensville County14.501Suffolk city: 14.373 %Suffolk city14.373Sussex County: 14.325 %Sussex County14.325Highland County: 14.237 %Highland County14.237Lancaster County: 14.045 %Lancaster County14.045Halifax County: 13.983 %Halifax County13.983Hampton city: 13.761 %Hampton city13.761Chesapeake city: 13.691 %Chesapeake city13.691Spotsylvania County: 13.333 %Spotsylvania County13.333Manassas Park city: 13.319 %Manassas Park city13.319Rappahannock County: 13.278 %Rappahannock County13.278Norfolk city: 13.229 %Norfolk city13.229Richmond County: 13.179 %Richmond County13.179Carroll County: 12.936 %Carroll County12.936Arlington County: 12.932 %Arlington County12.932James City County: 12.759 %James City County12.759Northampton County: 12.535 %Northampton County12.535New Kent County: 12.489 %New Kent County12.489Caroline County: 12.392 %Caroline County12.392King George County: 29.668 %King George County29.668Dickenson County: 25.445 %Dickenson County25.445Craig County: 23.478 %Craig County23.478Westmoreland County: 20.552 %Westmoreland County20.552Nelson County: 20.177 %Nelson County20.177Martinsville city: 19.497 %Martinsville city19.497Goochland County: 19.447 %Goochland County19.447Appomattox County: 18.463 %Appomattox County18.463Fluvanna County: 17.556 %Fluvanna County17.556Prince George County: 17.315 %Prince George County17.315Clarke County: 16.581 %Clarke County16.581Fairfax County: 16.517 %Fairfax County16.517Northumberland County: 16.143 %Northumberland County16.143Russell County: 15.867 %Russell County15.867Buena Vista city: 15.724 %Buena Vista city15.724Stafford County: 15.519 %Stafford County15.519Portsmouth city: 15.17 %Portsmouth city15.17Grayson County: 15.133 %Grayson County15.133Henrico County: 14.965 %Henrico County14.965Radford city: 14.823 %Radford city14.823Charlotte County: 14.649 %Charlotte County14.649Greensville County: 14.501 %Greensville County14.501Suffolk city: 14.373 %Suffolk city14.373Sussex County: 14.325 %Sussex County14.325Highland County: 14.237 %Highland County14.237Lancaster County: 14.045 %Lancaster County14.045Halifax County: 13.983 %Halifax County13.983Hampton city: 13.761 %Hampton city13.761Chesapeake city: 13.691 %Chesapeake city13.691Spotsylvania County: 13.333 %Spotsylvania County13.333Manassas Park city: 13.319 %Manassas Park city13.319Rappahannock County: 13.278 %Rappahannock County13.278Norfolk city: 13.229 %Norfolk city13.229Richmond County: 13.179 %Richmond County13.179Carroll County: 12.936 %Carroll County12.936Arlington County: 12.932 %Arlington County12.932James City County: 12.759 %James City County12.759Northampton County: 12.535 %Northampton County12.535New Kent County: 12.489 %New Kent County12.489Caroline County: 12.392 %Caroline County12.392
%. 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

RankCounties2012 (%)Change on 2011
1King George County29.668+17.28 pts
2Dickenson County25.445+12.2 pts
3Craig County23.478+11.13 pts
4Westmoreland County20.552+7.74 pts
5Nelson County20.177+7.58 pts
6Martinsville city19.497+8.87 pts
7Goochland County19.447+11.83 pts
8Appomattox County18.463+5.98 pts
9Fluvanna County17.556-5.76 pts
10Prince George County17.315+8.01 pts
11Clarke County16.581-1.2 pts
12Fairfax County16.517+4.26 pts
13Northumberland County16.143+1.9 pts
14Russell County15.867+4.8 pts
15Buena Vista city15.724+4.37 pts
16Stafford County15.519+0.6 pts
17Portsmouth city15.17-0.98 pts
18Grayson County15.133-17.49 pts
19Henrico County14.965+2.63 pts
20Radford city14.823+5.07 pts
21Charlotte County14.649-1.69 pts
22Greensville County14.501+0.18 pts
23Suffolk city14.373-0.03 pts
24Sussex County14.325-5.33 pts
25Highland County14.237-1.79 pts
26Lancaster County14.045+0.74 pts
27Halifax County13.983+2.75 pts
28Hampton city13.761+0.93 pts
29Chesapeake city13.691+1.71 pts
30Spotsylvania County13.333+0.49 pts
31Manassas Park city13.319+2.41 pts
32Rappahannock County13.278+0.79 pts
33Norfolk city13.229+2.47 pts
34Richmond County13.179+3.44 pts
35Carroll County12.936+0.66 pts
36Arlington County12.932+0.41 pts
37James City County12.759-2.43 pts
38Northampton County12.535-1.93 pts
39New Kent County12.489-4.05 pts
40Caroline County12.392-2.41 pts
41Prince William County12.269-0.79 pts
42Page County12.192-3.8 pts
43Brunswick County12.153-1.8 pts
44Cumberland County12.152-0.47 pts
45Powhatan County12.133-1.27 pts
46Shenandoah County12.073+1.31 pts
47Alexandria city12.045+0.94 pts
48Louisa County12.021+3.56 pts
49Prince Edward County12.017+1.65 pts
50Mathews County12.012-4.97 pts
51Gloucester County11.989+0.13 pts
52Poquoson city11.892-8.04 pts
53Amherst County11.705+0.51 pts
54Virginia Beach city11.7-1.16 pts
55Scott County11.649+0.94 pts
56Richmond city11.642-2.26 pts
57King and Queen County11.602+1.83 pts
58Floyd County11.581-3.64 pts
59Fauquier County11.519-3.11 pts
60Falls Church city11.382-4.01 pts
61Middlesex County11.376-0.96 pts
62Newport News city11.366+1.88 pts
63Madison County11.353-9.24 pts
64Bristol city11.211+2.71 pts
65Culpeper County11.124-0.35 pts
66Emporia city11.114-0.41 pts
67Mecklenburg County10.982+1.4 pts
68Roanoke County10.855+0.35 pts
69Henry County10.832-8.32 pts
70Tazewell County10.78-0.39 pts
71Frederick County10.775+0.32 pts
72Dinwiddie County10.647+1.27 pts
73York County10.601-2.45 pts
74Greene County10.52+0.44 pts
75Loudoun County10.487-5.41 pts
76Campbell County10.466-0.8 pts
77Orange County10.429+1.34 pts
78Fairfax city10.418-2.71 pts
79Chesterfield County10.348-2.71 pts
80Warren County10.297-1.46 pts
81Amelia County10.176-0.41 pts
82Washington County10.117+1.12 pts
83Nottoway County10.077+3.14 pts
84Bedford County10.04-5.72 pts
85Harrisonburg city10.018-0.27 pts
86Montgomery County9.905-0.45 pts
87Rockbridge County9.89-1.31 pts
88Charlottesville city9.836-2.34 pts
89Pittsylvania County9.818-4.16 pts
90Franklin County9.757-2.92 pts
91Wise County9.706-0.54 pts
92Augusta County9.659-1.57 pts
93Lynchburg city9.655+1.07 pts
94Lexington city9.641+0.65 pts
95Hanover County9.624-1.42 pts
96Smyth County9.609-1.93 pts
97Albemarle County9.567-1.09 pts
98Waynesboro city9.525+1.67 pts
99Lee County9.506-0.68 pts
100Buchanan County9.488+1 pts
101Colonial Heights city9.442-0.55 pts
102Giles County9.38-3.98 pts
103King William County9.358-2.84 pts
104Pulaski County9.223+0.85 pts
105Alleghany County9.165-2.38 pts
106Lunenburg County8.876-4.24 pts
107Hopewell city8.844-2.28 pts
108Danville city8.84-1.51 pts
109Bath County8.839+2.03 pts
110Buckingham County8.693-5.86 pts
111Galax city8.661-2.77 pts
112Wythe County8.626-4.93 pts
113Salem city8.587-0.36 pts
114Norton city8.557-1.08 pts
115Patrick County8.538-11.09 pts
116Southampton County8.459-5.65 pts
117Isle of Wight County8.454-20.37 pts
118Surry County8.228+4.06 pts
119Staunton city8.192-2.06 pts
120Roanoke city8.149-2.19 pts
121Manassas city7.842-1.76 pts
122Fredericksburg city7.741-2.29 pts
123Charles City County7.719+0.08 pts
124Winchester city7.471-1.13 pts
125Petersburg city7.432-3.32 pts
126Accomack County7.342-7.81 pts
127Essex County7.116-5.38 pts
128Rockingham County6.904-5.19 pts
129Franklin city6.813-33.82 pts
130Williamsburg city6.442-1.37 pts
131Bland County6.261-13.72 pts
132Covington city6.209-4.1 pts
133Botetourt County5.693-3.74 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 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 (Counties in Virginia 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_cty.csv

MLA 9

Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, Counties in Virginia 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_cty.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/virginia-counties?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. Counties in Virginia by job destruction rate, 2012. 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/virginia-counties?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, Counties in Virginia by job destruction rate, 2012 [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/virginia-counties?period=2012 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_virginia_by_2012,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: job destruction rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: Counties in Virginia by job destruction rate, 2012}},
  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/virginia-counties?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\_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: Counties in Virginia 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_cty.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/virginia-counties?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/virginia-counties?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_cty.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which county has the highest job destruction rate?

King George County, with 29.668% in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Botetourt County, with 5.693% 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

Counties in Virginia: more rankings