Data / Rankings / Job destruction rate / Counties in Washington

Counties in Washington by job destruction rate, 2023

Garfield County had the highest job destruction rate of 39 counties in 2023, at 23.315%. Adams County had the lowest, at 6.014%. The median was 11.45% and the figure for Washington was 12.338%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest23.315Garfield County
Lowest6.014Adams County
Median11.4539 counties
Washington12.338History

Map of counties, 2023

Adams County: 6.014 %Asotin County: 10.038 %Benton County: 13.125 %Chelan County: 12.081 %Clallam County: 10.549 %Clark County: 11.387 %Columbia County: 19.227 %Cowlitz County: 10.383 %Douglas County: 10.979 %Ferry County: 13.205 %Franklin County: 13.065 %Garfield County: 23.315 %Grant County: 11.185 %Grays Harbor County: 11.45 %Island County: 11.395 %Jefferson County: 10.97 %King County: 12.773 %Kitsap County: 11.604 %Kittitas County: 10.928 %Klickitat County: 11.029 %Lewis County: 9.908 %Lincoln County: 8.459 %Mason County: 11.07 %Okanogan County: 12.189 %Pacific County: 15.68 %Pend Oreille County: 16.206 %Pierce County: 11.505 %San Juan County: 14.639 %Skagit County: 10.268 %Skamania County: 15.187 %Snohomish County: 12.902 %Spokane County: 13.484 %Stevens County: 12.645 %Thurston County: 11.95 %Wahkiakum County: 11.361 %Walla Walla County: 9.617 %Whatcom County: 10.342 %Whitman County: 11.936 %Yakima County: 11.349 %
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%, 2023. 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 counties, 2023

Garfield County: 23.315 %Garfield County23.315Columbia County: 19.227 %Columbia County19.227Pend Oreille County: 16.206 %Pend Oreille County16.206Pacific County: 15.68 %Pacific County15.68Skamania County: 15.187 %Skamania County15.187San Juan County: 14.639 %San Juan County14.639Spokane County: 13.484 %Spokane County13.484Ferry County: 13.205 %Ferry County13.205Benton County: 13.125 %Benton County13.125Franklin County: 13.065 %Franklin County13.065Snohomish County: 12.902 %Snohomish County12.902King County: 12.773 %King County12.773Stevens County: 12.645 %Stevens County12.645Okanogan County: 12.189 %Okanogan County12.189Chelan County: 12.081 %Chelan County12.081Thurston County: 11.95 %Thurston County11.95Whitman County: 11.936 %Whitman County11.936Kitsap County: 11.604 %Kitsap County11.604Pierce County: 11.505 %Pierce County11.505Grays Harbor County: 11.45 %Grays Harbor County11.45Island County: 11.395 %Island County11.395Clark County: 11.387 %Clark County11.387Wahkiakum County: 11.361 %Wahkiakum County11.361Yakima County: 11.349 %Yakima County11.349Grant County: 11.185 %Grant County11.185Mason County: 11.07 %Mason County11.07Klickitat County: 11.029 %Klickitat County11.029Douglas County: 10.979 %Douglas County10.979Jefferson County: 10.97 %Jefferson County10.97Kittitas County: 10.928 %Kittitas County10.928Clallam County: 10.549 %Clallam County10.549Cowlitz County: 10.383 %Cowlitz County10.383Whatcom County: 10.342 %Whatcom County10.342Skagit County: 10.268 %Skagit County10.268Asotin County: 10.038 %Asotin County10.038Lewis County: 9.908 %Lewis County9.908Walla Walla County: 9.617 %Walla Walla County9.617Lincoln County: 8.459 %Lincoln County8.459Adams County: 6.014 %Adams County6.014Garfield County: 23.315 %Garfield County23.315Columbia County: 19.227 %Columbia County19.227Pend Oreille County: 16.206 %Pend Oreille County16.206Pacific County: 15.68 %Pacific County15.68Skamania County: 15.187 %Skamania County15.187San Juan County: 14.639 %San Juan County14.639Spokane County: 13.484 %Spokane County13.484Ferry County: 13.205 %Ferry County13.205Benton County: 13.125 %Benton County13.125Franklin County: 13.065 %Franklin County13.065Snohomish County: 12.902 %Snohomish County12.902King County: 12.773 %King County12.773Stevens County: 12.645 %Stevens County12.645Okanogan County: 12.189 %Okanogan County12.189Chelan County: 12.081 %Chelan County12.081Thurston County: 11.95 %Thurston County11.95Whitman County: 11.936 %Whitman County11.936Kitsap County: 11.604 %Kitsap County11.604Pierce County: 11.505 %Pierce County11.505Grays Harbor County: 11.45 %Grays Harbor County11.45Island County: 11.395 %Island County11.395Clark County: 11.387 %Clark County11.387Wahkiakum County: 11.361 %Wahkiakum County11.361Yakima County: 11.349 %Yakima County11.349Grant County: 11.185 %Grant County11.185Mason County: 11.07 %Mason County11.07Klickitat County: 11.029 %Klickitat County11.029Douglas County: 10.979 %Douglas County10.979Jefferson County: 10.97 %Jefferson County10.97Kittitas County: 10.928 %Kittitas County10.928Clallam County: 10.549 %Clallam County10.549Cowlitz County: 10.383 %Cowlitz County10.383Whatcom County: 10.342 %Whatcom County10.342Skagit County: 10.268 %Skagit County10.268Asotin County: 10.038 %Asotin County10.038Lewis County: 9.908 %Lewis County9.908Walla Walla County: 9.617 %Walla Walla County9.617Lincoln County: 8.459 %Lincoln County8.459Adams County: 6.014 %Adams County6.014
%. 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

RankCounties2023 (%)Change on 2022
1Garfield County23.315+3.72 pts
2Columbia County19.227+11.75 pts
3Pend Oreille County16.206-2.67 pts
4Pacific County15.68+3.25 pts
5Skamania County15.187-2.45 pts
6San Juan County14.639+0.86 pts
7Spokane County13.484+1.96 pts
8Ferry County13.205-7.6 pts
9Benton County13.125+3.4 pts
10Franklin County13.065+2.85 pts
11Snohomish County12.902+0.65 pts
12King County12.773+1.03 pts
13Stevens County12.645+0.05 pts
14Okanogan County12.189-0.66 pts
15Chelan County12.081+1.03 pts
16Thurston County11.95+0.73 pts
17Whitman County11.936+3.07 pts
18Kitsap County11.604-0.04 pts
19Pierce County11.505-1.61 pts
20Grays Harbor County11.45+0.6 pts
21Island County11.395+0.02 pts
22Clark County11.387-1.16 pts
23Wahkiakum County11.361+3.58 pts
24Yakima County11.349+0.79 pts
25Grant County11.185-2.08 pts
26Mason County11.07+1.1 pts
27Klickitat County11.029+0.2 pts
28Douglas County10.979-2.01 pts
29Jefferson County10.97-1.68 pts
30Kittitas County10.928-2.37 pts
31Clallam County10.549-0.57 pts
32Cowlitz County10.383-2.79 pts
33Whatcom County10.342-1.3 pts
34Skagit County10.268-0.29 pts
35Asotin County10.038-9.71 pts
36Lewis County9.908-1.92 pts
37Walla Walla County9.617+2.32 pts
38Lincoln County8.459-5.65 pts
39Adams County6.014-3.58 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 Washington by job destruction rate, 2023) [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 Washington by job destruction rate, 2023. 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/washington-counties. 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 Washington by job destruction rate, 2023. 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/washington-counties.

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 Washington by job destruction rate, 2023 [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/washington-counties (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_washington_by_2023,
  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 Washington by job destruction rate, 2023}},
  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/washington-counties. 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 Washington by job destruction rate, 2023
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/washington-counties
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/washington-counties.
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?

Garfield County, with 23.315% in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Adams County, with 6.014% in 2023.

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 Washington: more rankings