Data / Rankings / Job destruction rate / Counties in Virginia

Counties in Virginia by job destruction rate

Essex County had the highest job destruction rate of 133 counties in 2022, at 22.424%. Bath County had the lowest, at 3.975%. The median was 11.006% and the figure for Virginia was 11.202%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest22.424Essex County
Lowest3.975Bath County
Median11.006133 counties
Virginia11.202History

Map of counties, 2022

Accomack County: 13.528 %Albemarle County: 9.677 %Alleghany County: 12.912 %Amelia County: 15.047 %Amherst County: 9.389 %Appomattox County: 10.722 %Arlington County: 11.542 %Augusta County: 7.706 %Bath County: 3.975 %Bedford County: 20.762 %Bland County: 15.248 %Botetourt County: 6.958 %Brunswick County: 15.062 %Buchanan County: 11.738 %Buckingham County: 13.036 %Campbell County: 9.415 %Caroline County: 12.878 %Carroll County: 8.119 %Charles City County: 5.711 %Charlotte County: 11.926 %Chesterfield County: 12.594 %Clarke County: 14.526 %Craig County: 19.121 %Culpeper County: 8.211 %Cumberland County: 10.545 %Dickenson County: 16.219 %Dinwiddie County: 8.727 %Essex County: 22.424 %Fairfax County: 12.998 %Fauquier County: 11.998 %Floyd County: 7.303 %Fluvanna County: 10.397 %Franklin County: 8.704 %Frederick County: 7.301 %Giles County: 6.869 %Gloucester County: 11.06 %Goochland County: 5.005 %Grayson County: 5.071 %Greene County: 16.042 %Greensville County: 9.253 %Halifax County: 9.303 %Hanover County: 9.966 %Henrico County: 11.658 %Henry County: 11.255 %Highland County: 8.443 %Isle of Wight County: 19.528 %James City County: 12.241 %King and Queen County: 14.797 %King George County: 18.273 %King William County: 22.367 %Lancaster County: 9.753 %Lee County: 10.992 %Loudoun County: 10.222 %Louisa County: 10.069 %Lunenburg County: 12.082 %Madison County: 11.517 %Mathews County: 10.644 %Mecklenburg County: 13.113 %Middlesex County: 10.833 %Montgomery County: 8.127 %Nelson County: 12.24 %New Kent County: 12.471 %Northampton County: 9.061 %Northumberland County: 16.223 %Nottoway County: 13.823 %Orange County: 9.168 %Page County: 10.931 %Patrick County: 17.365 %Pittsylvania County: 11.475 %Powhatan County: 9.805 %Prince Edward County: 12.611 %Prince George County: 19.322 %Prince William County: 11.043 %Pulaski County: 6.28 %Rappahannock County: 9.175 %Richmond County: 11.172 %Roanoke County: 10.229 %Rockbridge County: 15.205 %Rockingham County: 12.692 %Russell County: 12.857 %Scott County: 11.762 %Shenandoah County: 10.091 %Smyth County: 10.606 %Southampton County: 19.09 %Spotsylvania County: 10.213 %Stafford County: 11.841 %Surry County: 5.054 %Sussex County: 11.073 %Tazewell County: 10.964 %Warren County: 8.869 %Washington County: 8.272 %Westmoreland County: 16.713 %Wise County: 11.124 %Wythe County: 11.289 %York County: 12.063 %Alexandria city: 8.649 %Bristol city: 20.208 %Buena Vista city: 5.281 %Charlottesville city: 10.126 %Chesapeake city: 11.083 %Colonial Heights city: 15.744 %Covington city: 8.112 %Danville city: 9.846 %Emporia city: 13.735 %Fairfax city: 16.467 %Falls Church city: 9.444 %Franklin city: 14.412 %Fredericksburg city: 12.509 %Galax city: 7.511 %Hampton city: 13.536 %Harrisonburg city: 11.322 %Hopewell city: 10.472 %Lexington city: 5.248 %Lynchburg city: 9.001 %Manassas city: 10.109 %Manassas Park city: 11.202 %Martinsville city: 14.106 %Newport News city: 8.365 %Norfolk city: 11.006 %Norton city: 19.05 %Petersburg city: 7.184 %Poquoson city: 14.602 %Portsmouth city: 12.632 %Radford city: 6.546 %Richmond city: 9.343 %Roanoke city: 7.877 %Salem city: 9.848 %Staunton city: 10.232 %Suffolk city: 9.77 %Virginia Beach city: 11.027 %Waynesboro city: 10.891 %Williamsburg city: 7.339 %Winchester city: 10.612 %
  • Under 8.3
  • 8.3 to 9.8
  • 9.8 to 11
  • 11 to 12
  • 12 to 15
  • 15 and over
%, 2022. 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, 2022

Essex County: 22.424 %Essex County22.424King William County: 22.367 %King William County22.367Bedford County: 20.762 %Bedford County20.762Bristol city: 20.208 %Bristol city20.208Isle of Wight County: 19.528 %Isle of Wight County19.528Prince George County: 19.322 %Prince George County19.322Craig County: 19.121 %Craig County19.121Southampton County: 19.09 %Southampton County19.09Norton city: 19.05 %Norton city19.05King George County: 18.273 %King George County18.273Patrick County: 17.365 %Patrick County17.365Westmoreland County: 16.713 %Westmoreland County16.713Fairfax city: 16.467 %Fairfax city16.467Northumberland County: 16.223 %Northumberland County16.223Dickenson County: 16.219 %Dickenson County16.219Greene County: 16.042 %Greene County16.042Colonial Heights city: 15.744 %Colonial Heights city15.744Bland County: 15.248 %Bland County15.248Rockbridge County: 15.205 %Rockbridge County15.205Brunswick County: 15.062 %Brunswick County15.062Amelia County: 15.047 %Amelia County15.047King and Queen County: 14.797 %King and Queen County14.797Poquoson city: 14.602 %Poquoson city14.602Clarke County: 14.526 %Clarke County14.526Franklin city: 14.412 %Franklin city14.412Martinsville city: 14.106 %Martinsville city14.106Nottoway County: 13.823 %Nottoway County13.823Emporia city: 13.735 %Emporia city13.735Hampton city: 13.536 %Hampton city13.536Accomack County: 13.528 %Accomack County13.528Mecklenburg County: 13.113 %Mecklenburg County13.113Buckingham County: 13.036 %Buckingham County13.036Fairfax County: 12.998 %Fairfax County12.998Alleghany County: 12.912 %Alleghany County12.912Caroline County: 12.878 %Caroline County12.878Russell County: 12.857 %Russell County12.857Rockingham County: 12.692 %Rockingham County12.692Portsmouth city: 12.632 %Portsmouth city12.632Prince Edward County: 12.611 %Prince Edward County12.611Chesterfield County: 12.594 %Chesterfield County12.594Essex County: 22.424 %Essex County22.424King William County: 22.367 %King William County22.367Bedford County: 20.762 %Bedford County20.762Bristol city: 20.208 %Bristol city20.208Isle of Wight County: 19.528 %Isle of Wight County19.528Prince George County: 19.322 %Prince George County19.322Craig County: 19.121 %Craig County19.121Southampton County: 19.09 %Southampton County19.09Norton city: 19.05 %Norton city19.05King George County: 18.273 %King George County18.273Patrick County: 17.365 %Patrick County17.365Westmoreland County: 16.713 %Westmoreland County16.713Fairfax city: 16.467 %Fairfax city16.467Northumberland County: 16.223 %Northumberland County16.223Dickenson County: 16.219 %Dickenson County16.219Greene County: 16.042 %Greene County16.042Colonial Heights city: 15.744 %Colonial Heights city15.744Bland County: 15.248 %Bland County15.248Rockbridge County: 15.205 %Rockbridge County15.205Brunswick County: 15.062 %Brunswick County15.062Amelia County: 15.047 %Amelia County15.047King and Queen County: 14.797 %King and Queen County14.797Poquoson city: 14.602 %Poquoson city14.602Clarke County: 14.526 %Clarke County14.526Franklin city: 14.412 %Franklin city14.412Martinsville city: 14.106 %Martinsville city14.106Nottoway County: 13.823 %Nottoway County13.823Emporia city: 13.735 %Emporia city13.735Hampton city: 13.536 %Hampton city13.536Accomack County: 13.528 %Accomack County13.528Mecklenburg County: 13.113 %Mecklenburg County13.113Buckingham County: 13.036 %Buckingham County13.036Fairfax County: 12.998 %Fairfax County12.998Alleghany County: 12.912 %Alleghany County12.912Caroline County: 12.878 %Caroline County12.878Russell County: 12.857 %Russell County12.857Rockingham County: 12.692 %Rockingham County12.692Portsmouth city: 12.632 %Portsmouth city12.632Prince Edward County: 12.611 %Prince Edward County12.611Chesterfield County: 12.594 %Chesterfield County12.594
%. 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

RankCounties2022 (%)Change on 2021
1Essex County22.424+0.56 pts
2King William County22.367-7.83 pts
3Bedford County20.762+7.05 pts
4Bristol city20.208+7.84 pts
5Isle of Wight County19.528+8.63 pts
6Prince George County19.322+3.93 pts
7Craig County19.121+10.55 pts
8Southampton County19.09+10.39 pts
9Norton city19.05+6.02 pts
10King George County18.273+2.17 pts
11Patrick County17.365-6.79 pts
12Westmoreland County16.713+2.88 pts
13Fairfax city16.467-4.99 pts
14Northumberland County16.223-2.42 pts
15Dickenson County16.219+8.12 pts
16Greene County16.042-0.24 pts
17Colonial Heights city15.744-2.51 pts
18Bland County15.248+4.19 pts
19Rockbridge County15.205+2.49 pts
20Brunswick County15.062-2.62 pts
21Amelia County15.047-2.18 pts
22King and Queen County14.797+0.52 pts
23Poquoson city14.602-1.57 pts
24Clarke County14.526-1.4 pts
25Franklin city14.412+0.84 pts
26Martinsville city14.106-0.17 pts
27Nottoway County13.823-1.53 pts
28Emporia city13.735-1.1 pts
29Hampton city13.536-3.83 pts
30Accomack County13.528-0.42 pts
31Mecklenburg County13.113-3.55 pts
32Buckingham County13.036-4.65 pts
33Fairfax County12.998-3.14 pts
34Alleghany County12.912-3.07 pts
35Caroline County12.878+3.78 pts
36Russell County12.857+2.31 pts
37Rockingham County12.692+2.99 pts
38Portsmouth city12.632-4.32 pts
39Prince Edward County12.611-2.97 pts
40Chesterfield County12.594-1.54 pts
41Fredericksburg city12.509-9.13 pts
42New Kent County12.471-1.4 pts
43James City County12.241-4.65 pts
44Nelson County12.24-9.26 pts
45Lunenburg County12.082-3.23 pts
46York County12.063-5.99 pts
47Fauquier County11.998-3.42 pts
48Charlotte County11.926-3.15 pts
49Stafford County11.841-0.28 pts
50Scott County11.762-0.96 pts
51Buchanan County11.738-10.04 pts
52Henrico County11.658-8.07 pts
53Arlington County11.542-6.45 pts
54Madison County11.517-12.34 pts
55Pittsylvania County11.475-2.83 pts
56Harrisonburg city11.322-4.49 pts
57Wythe County11.289+1.8 pts
58Henry County11.255+0.66 pts
59Manassas Park city11.202-1.01 pts
60Richmond County11.172+0.79 pts
61Wise County11.124+1.44 pts
62Chesapeake city11.083-2.82 pts
63Sussex County11.073-8.99 pts
64Gloucester County11.06-0.9 pts
65Prince William County11.043-3.1 pts
66Virginia Beach city11.027-4.57 pts
67Norfolk city11.006-6.06 pts
68Lee County10.992-2.08 pts
69Tazewell County10.964-0.9 pts
70Page County10.931-2.9 pts
71Waynesboro city10.891-2.79 pts
72Middlesex County10.833-7.97 pts
73Appomattox County10.722+1.34 pts
74Mathews County10.644-12.36 pts
75Winchester city10.612-1.71 pts
76Smyth County10.606+1.81 pts
77Cumberland County10.545-0.83 pts
78Hopewell city10.472-4.62 pts
79Fluvanna County10.397-1.77 pts
80Staunton city10.232-3.43 pts
81Roanoke County10.229-1.74 pts
82Loudoun County10.222-6.57 pts
83Spotsylvania County10.213-3.21 pts
84Charlottesville city10.126-13.37 pts
85Manassas city10.109-1.8 pts
86Shenandoah County10.091-4.25 pts
87Louisa County10.069-1.96 pts
88Hanover County9.966-5.35 pts
89Salem city9.848-2.79 pts
90Danville city9.846-1.48 pts
91Powhatan County9.805-2.86 pts
92Suffolk city9.77-2.89 pts
93Lancaster County9.753-6.4 pts
94Albemarle County9.677-2.08 pts
95Falls Church city9.444-8.45 pts
96Campbell County9.415-2.65 pts
97Amherst County9.389-2.19 pts
98Richmond city9.343-9.13 pts
99Halifax County9.303-3.64 pts
100Greensville County9.253-3.69 pts
101Rappahannock County9.175-5.61 pts
102Orange County9.168-1.11 pts
103Northampton County9.061-3.18 pts
104Lynchburg city9.001-4.11 pts
105Warren County8.869-5.02 pts
106Dinwiddie County8.727-1.05 pts
107Franklin County8.704-5.1 pts
108Alexandria city8.649-8.03 pts
109Highland County8.443-10.88 pts
110Newport News city8.365-0.89 pts
111Washington County8.272-4.43 pts
112Culpeper County8.211-2.63 pts
113Montgomery County8.127-9.38 pts
114Carroll County8.119-4.08 pts
115Covington city8.112+0.69 pts
116Roanoke city7.877-11.93 pts
117Augusta County7.706-1.5 pts
118Galax city7.511-10.14 pts
119Williamsburg city7.339-20.55 pts
120Floyd County7.303-4.77 pts
121Frederick County7.301-3.52 pts
122Petersburg city7.184-9.05 pts
123Botetourt County6.958-3.47 pts
124Giles County6.869-2.84 pts
125Radford city6.546-6.34 pts
126Pulaski County6.28-2.08 pts
127Charles City County5.711-9.5 pts
128Buena Vista city5.281-5.71 pts
129Lexington city5.248-2.89 pts
130Grayson County5.071-13.06 pts
131Surry County5.054-7.44 pts
132Goochland County5.005-11.72 pts
133Bath County3.975-3.18 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, 2022) [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, 2022. 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=2022. 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, 2022. 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=2022.

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, 2022 [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=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_virginia_by_2022,
  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, 2022}},
  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=2022. 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, 2022
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=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/virginia-counties?period=2022.
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?

Essex County, with 22.424% in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Bath County, with 3.975% in 2022.

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