Data / Rankings / Job destruction rate / Counties in Washington

Counties in Washington by job destruction rate

Wahkiakum County had the highest job destruction rate of 39 counties in 2016, at 19.072%. Walla Walla County had the lowest, at 6.39%. The median was 10.165% and the figure for Washington was 10.242%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest19.072Wahkiakum County
Lowest6.39Walla Walla County
Median10.16539 counties
Washington10.242History

Map of counties, 2016

Adams County: 10.844 %Asotin County: 7.611 %Benton County: 9.338 %Chelan County: 11.554 %Clallam County: 10.399 %Clark County: 10.427 %Columbia County: 8.886 %Cowlitz County: 10.895 %Douglas County: 10.813 %Ferry County: 8.516 %Franklin County: 10.649 %Garfield County: 9.385 %Grant County: 8.474 %Grays Harbor County: 10.305 %Island County: 9.783 %Jefferson County: 8.986 %King County: 10.587 %Kitsap County: 11.072 %Kittitas County: 13.084 %Klickitat County: 9.863 %Lewis County: 8.712 %Lincoln County: 11.577 %Mason County: 8.744 %Okanogan County: 10.057 %Pacific County: 10.997 %Pend Oreille County: 11.856 %Pierce County: 10.464 %San Juan County: 13.799 %Skagit County: 10.094 %Skamania County: 9.986 %Snohomish County: 10.264 %Spokane County: 9.591 %Stevens County: 10.165 %Thurston County: 8.617 %Wahkiakum County: 19.072 %Walla Walla County: 6.39 %Whatcom County: 10.885 %Whitman County: 8.463 %Yakima County: 8.915 %
  • Under 8.7
  • 8.7 to 9.5
  • 9.5 to 10
  • 10 to 11
  • 11 and over
%, 2016. 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, 2016

Wahkiakum County: 19.072 %Wahkiakum County19.072San Juan County: 13.799 %San Juan County13.799Kittitas County: 13.084 %Kittitas County13.084Pend Oreille County: 11.856 %Pend Oreille County11.856Lincoln County: 11.577 %Lincoln County11.577Chelan County: 11.554 %Chelan County11.554Kitsap County: 11.072 %Kitsap County11.072Pacific County: 10.997 %Pacific County10.997Cowlitz County: 10.895 %Cowlitz County10.895Whatcom County: 10.885 %Whatcom County10.885Adams County: 10.844 %Adams County10.844Douglas County: 10.813 %Douglas County10.813Franklin County: 10.649 %Franklin County10.649King County: 10.587 %King County10.587Pierce County: 10.464 %Pierce County10.464Clark County: 10.427 %Clark County10.427Clallam County: 10.399 %Clallam County10.399Grays Harbor County: 10.305 %Grays Harbor County10.305Snohomish County: 10.264 %Snohomish County10.264Stevens County: 10.165 %Stevens County10.165Skagit County: 10.094 %Skagit County10.094Okanogan County: 10.057 %Okanogan County10.057Skamania County: 9.986 %Skamania County9.986Klickitat County: 9.863 %Klickitat County9.863Island County: 9.783 %Island County9.783Spokane County: 9.591 %Spokane County9.591Garfield County: 9.385 %Garfield County9.385Benton County: 9.338 %Benton County9.338Jefferson County: 8.986 %Jefferson County8.986Yakima County: 8.915 %Yakima County8.915Columbia County: 8.886 %Columbia County8.886Mason County: 8.744 %Mason County8.744Lewis County: 8.712 %Lewis County8.712Thurston County: 8.617 %Thurston County8.617Ferry County: 8.516 %Ferry County8.516Grant County: 8.474 %Grant County8.474Whitman County: 8.463 %Whitman County8.463Asotin County: 7.611 %Asotin County7.611Walla Walla County: 6.39 %Walla Walla County6.39Wahkiakum County: 19.072 %Wahkiakum County19.072San Juan County: 13.799 %San Juan County13.799Kittitas County: 13.084 %Kittitas County13.084Pend Oreille County: 11.856 %Pend Oreille County11.856Lincoln County: 11.577 %Lincoln County11.577Chelan County: 11.554 %Chelan County11.554Kitsap County: 11.072 %Kitsap County11.072Pacific County: 10.997 %Pacific County10.997Cowlitz County: 10.895 %Cowlitz County10.895Whatcom County: 10.885 %Whatcom County10.885Adams County: 10.844 %Adams County10.844Douglas County: 10.813 %Douglas County10.813Franklin County: 10.649 %Franklin County10.649King County: 10.587 %King County10.587Pierce County: 10.464 %Pierce County10.464Clark County: 10.427 %Clark County10.427Clallam County: 10.399 %Clallam County10.399Grays Harbor County: 10.305 %Grays Harbor County10.305Snohomish County: 10.264 %Snohomish County10.264Stevens County: 10.165 %Stevens County10.165Skagit County: 10.094 %Skagit County10.094Okanogan County: 10.057 %Okanogan County10.057Skamania County: 9.986 %Skamania County9.986Klickitat County: 9.863 %Klickitat County9.863Island County: 9.783 %Island County9.783Spokane County: 9.591 %Spokane County9.591Garfield County: 9.385 %Garfield County9.385Benton County: 9.338 %Benton County9.338Jefferson County: 8.986 %Jefferson County8.986Yakima County: 8.915 %Yakima County8.915Columbia County: 8.886 %Columbia County8.886Mason County: 8.744 %Mason County8.744Lewis County: 8.712 %Lewis County8.712Thurston County: 8.617 %Thurston County8.617Ferry County: 8.516 %Ferry County8.516Grant County: 8.474 %Grant County8.474Whitman County: 8.463 %Whitman County8.463Asotin County: 7.611 %Asotin County7.611Walla Walla County: 6.39 %Walla Walla County6.39
%. 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

RankCounties2016 (%)Change on 2015
1Wahkiakum County19.072+6.96 pts
2San Juan County13.799+1.62 pts
3Kittitas County13.084+3.63 pts
4Pend Oreille County11.856+0.27 pts
5Lincoln County11.577-1.92 pts
6Chelan County11.554+2.22 pts
7Kitsap County11.072+0.88 pts
8Pacific County10.997+2.81 pts
9Cowlitz County10.895+2.77 pts
10Whatcom County10.885-0.54 pts
11Adams County10.844+5.13 pts
12Douglas County10.813+0.5 pts
13Franklin County10.649-0.76 pts
14King County10.587+0.01 pts
15Pierce County10.464+0.16 pts
16Clark County10.427+0.51 pts
17Clallam County10.399-0.77 pts
18Grays Harbor County10.305-2.26 pts
19Snohomish County10.264-0.41 pts
20Stevens County10.165+0.7 pts
21Skagit County10.094+0.08 pts
22Okanogan County10.057-0.73 pts
23Skamania County9.986+0.67 pts
24Klickitat County9.863+0.45 pts
25Island County9.783-1.09 pts
26Spokane County9.591-0.46 pts
27Garfield County9.385+0.18 pts
28Benton County9.338+0.21 pts
29Jefferson County8.986-7.84 pts
30Yakima County8.915+1.02 pts
31Columbia County8.886-5.12 pts
32Mason County8.744+1 pts
33Lewis County8.712-0.62 pts
34Thurston County8.617-0.69 pts
35Ferry County8.516+3.53 pts
36Grant County8.474-0.73 pts
37Whitman County8.463+1.87 pts
38Asotin County7.611-5.33 pts
39Walla Walla County6.39-0.21 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, 2016) [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, 2016. 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?period=2016. 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, 2016. 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?period=2016.

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, 2016 [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?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_counties_in_washington_by_2016,
  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, 2016}},
  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?period=2016. 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, 2016
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?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-destruction-rate/washington-counties?period=2016.
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?

Wahkiakum County, with 19.072% in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which county has the lowest job destruction rate?

Walla Walla County, with 6.39% in 2016.

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