Vice President Kamala Harris claimed in June 2021 that during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, one-third of the country’s small businesses had closed. While it wasn’t clear whether Harris meant the businesses closed temporarily or permanently or both, PolitiFact, the Poynter Institute’s nonprofit fact-checker, found the claim to be “mostly true.”
We may never know exactly how many U.S. businesses went under as a direct result of the pandemic, but examining wage and employment data from the nation’s 500 largest counties by the number of businesses, it is possible to get an idea of where the coronavirus had the worst impact on business activity and jobs. (Here are U.S. city economies that were growing the fastest before the pandemic.)
To determine the 25 counties that lost the most businesses during the pandemic, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed data on the number of business establishments per county from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. We ranked the 500 largest counties by establishment count based on the percentage change in the number of establishments from the third quarter of 2019 to the third quarter of 2021. Data on employment also came from the QCEW. Data on unemployment for February 2022 came from the BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics program and is not seasonally adjusted.
Among the 25 counties that went through the biggest percentage declines in the number of local businesses during the pandemic, the median loss of establishments was 1.7% and the median decline in the number of local jobs was 6%.
Livingston County, Michigan, part of the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metropolitan area led all counties with a 5.1% decline in the number of businesses. New York County, also known as Manhattan, led counties on the list in the percentage of jobs lost, at 11.6%. Among the 25 counties that lost the most business activity in this period of time, seven are in New York state and eight in Michigan. (These are the fastest shrinking local economies in America.)
The situation has improved somewhat since the worst days of the pandemic, prior to the development and widespread deployment of COVID-19 vaccines. According to a Harvard University-based project called the Economic Tracker, the number of small businesses in the United States increased 2.9% by January 2022 compared to January 2020, when the first confirmed case of novel coronavirus in the U.S. was detected in Washington state.
Here are the counties that lost the most business activity during the pandemic
Source: DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images
25. Onondaga County, New York
> Establishment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -1.0% (-126 businesses)
> Employment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -6.9% (-17,296 jobs)
> Unemployment rate, February 2022: 4.0%
> Metropolitan area: Syracuse, NY
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24. Grand Traverse County, Michigan
> Establishment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -1.1% (-39 businesses)
> Employment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -4.9% (-2,513 jobs)
> Unemployment rate, February 2022: 4.6%
> Metropolitan area: Not in MSA
Source: DenisTangneyJr / iStock via Getty Images
23. Westchester County, New York
> Establishment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -1.1% (-407 businesses)
> Employment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -7.5% (-32,322 jobs)
> Unemployment rate, February 2022: 3.8%
> Metropolitan area: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
Source: Brian Sevald / iStock via Getty Images
22. Macomb County, Michigan
> Establishment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -1.1% (-222 businesses)
> Employment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -2.7% (-8,930 jobs)
> Unemployment rate, February 2022: 5.0%
> Metropolitan area: Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
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21. Monroe County, New York
> Establishment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -1.2% (-223 businesses)
> Employment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -7.0% (-27,517 jobs)
> Unemployment rate, February 2022: 4.2%
> Metropolitan area: Rochester, NY
Source: iowanrcs / Flickr / Public Domain
20. Black Hawk County, Iowa
> Establishment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -1.3% (-49 businesses)
> Employment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -2.6% (-1,932 jobs)
> Unemployment rate, February 2022: 3.6%
> Metropolitan area: Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA
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19. Prince George’s County, Maryland
> Establishment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -1.4% (-228 businesses)
> Employment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -4.4% (-14,155 jobs)
> Unemployment rate, February 2022: 5.3%
> Metropolitan area: Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
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18. Cambria County, Pennsylvania
> Establishment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -1.4% (-48 businesses)
> Employment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -6.9% (-3,475 jobs)
> Unemployment rate, February 2022: 5.9%
> Metropolitan area: Johnstown, PA
Source: Matthew Van Dyke / iStock via Getty Images
17. Washington County, Maryland
> Establishment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -1.5% (-54 businesses)
> Employment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -4.9% (-3,153 jobs)
> Unemployment rate, February 2022: 4.3%
> Metropolitan area: Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV
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16. Albany County, New York
> Establishment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -1.6% (-164 businesses)
> Employment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -6.0% (-14,039 jobs)
> Unemployment rate, February 2022: 3.5%
> Metropolitan area: Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
15. Harford County, Maryland
> Establishment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -1.6% (-96 businesses)
> Employment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -3.2% (-3,001 jobs)
> Unemployment rate, February 2022: 3.8%
> Metropolitan area: Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
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14. Ingham County, Michigan
> Establishment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -1.7% (-113 businesses)
> Employment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -6.3% (-9,780 jobs)
> Unemployment rate, February 2022: 4.6%
> Metropolitan area: Lansing-East Lansing, MI
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Source: onasill / Flickr
13. Niagara County, New York
> Establishment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -1.7% (-85 businesses)
> Employment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -8.5% (-6,366 jobs)
> Unemployment rate, February 2022: 5.1%
> Metropolitan area: Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY
Source: nathanphoto / iStock via Getty Images
12. Mendocino County, California
> Establishment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -2.1% (-89 businesses)
> Employment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -3.9% (-1,295 jobs)
> Unemployment rate, February 2022: 4.6%
> Metropolitan area: Not in MSA
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11. Wayne County, Michigan
> Establishment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -2.2% (-770 businesses)
> Employment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -6.0% (-44,070 jobs)
> Unemployment rate, February 2022: 7.1%
> Metropolitan area: Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
10. Carroll County, Maryland
> Establishment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -2.5% (-115 businesses)
> Employment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -4.3% (-2,510 jobs)
> Unemployment rate, February 2022: 3.3%
> Metropolitan area: Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
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9. Baltimore City, Maryland
> Establishment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -2.6% (-363 businesses)
> Employment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -1.7% (-5,946 jobs)
> Unemployment rate, February 2022: 6.0%
> Metropolitan area: Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
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8. Broome County, New York
> Establishment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -2.6% (-115 businesses)
> Employment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -7.8% (-6,715 jobs)
> Unemployment rate, February 2022: 4.6%
> Metropolitan area: Binghamton, NY
Source: pabradyphoto / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
7. Hinds County, Mississippi
> Establishment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -2.6% (-150 businesses)
> Employment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -7.3% (-8,797 jobs)
> Unemployment rate, February 2022: 4.7%
> Metropolitan area: Jackson, MS
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6. Butte County, California
> Establishment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -2.6% (-226 businesses)
> Employment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -5.6% (-4,699 jobs)
> Unemployment rate, February 2022: 5.1%
> Metropolitan area: Chico, CA
Source: DenisTangneyJr / iStock via Getty Images
5. Saginaw County, Michigan
> Establishment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -2.8% (-113 businesses)
> Employment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -8.4% (-7,102 jobs)
> Unemployment rate, February 2022: 6.8%
> Metropolitan area: Saginaw, MI
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4. Oakland County, Michigan
> Establishment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -2.9% (-1,283 businesses)
> Employment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -6.9% (-51,696 jobs)
> Unemployment rate, February 2022: 3.8%
> Metropolitan area: Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
Source: DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images
3. Genesee County, Michigan
> Establishment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -3.5% (-258 businesses)
> Employment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -8.7% (-11,961 jobs)
> Unemployment rate, February 2022: 6.8%
> Metropolitan area: Flint, MI
Source: gregobagel / iStock via Getty Images
2. New York County, New York
> Establishment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -3.6% (-4,674 businesses)
> Employment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -11.6% (-294,053 jobs)
> Unemployment rate, February 2022: 5.1%
> Metropolitan area: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA
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1. Livingston County, Michigan
> Establishment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -5.1% (-253 businesses)
> Employment change, Q3 2019 to Q3 2021: -5.8% (-3,707 jobs)
> Unemployment rate, February 2022: 3.8%
> Metropolitan area: Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
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