Rutherford County earned an unfortunate spot on the Associated Press' national list of counties with a population greater than 25,000 that were most severely affected by the recession.

The county ranked 13th out of the top 20 counties in the U.S. whose economic health had deteriorated the most between April 2008 and April 2009.  The AP uses unemployment, bankruptcy and foreclosure rates to measure the recession's impact.

Rutherford, home to Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, is between Charlotte and Asheville and was pummeled by the closure of textile mills in recent years. 

Here's the complete list.